Check deer for chronic wasting disease, don't consume contaminated venison

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is asking deer hunters to have their kills checked professionally for chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a contagious and a fatal neurological disorder that affects members of the deer family known scientifically as cervids. The state said import restrictions have been designed to protect these native herds, which include white-tailed deer and elk in Tennessee. "It’s possible that every deer you kill will have to be taken first to a mandatory check-station for sample collection. You’ll be limited as to where you can take the carcass without first boning it out. Parts like the head may have to remain in the DMZ and other parts discarded at an approved location."Captive cervid keepers will also face increased government regulation. TWRA's response plan requires affected captive cervid farms and facilities to be quarantined before they are "depopulated," or killed, and sanitarily disposed of before the entire facility must be sanitized. "It's a major threat anywhere in the United States that doesn't have it already," TWRA spokesman Matthew Cameron said.