DELAWARE - The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) will hold its first community meeting on the recent detection of chronic wasting disease in the state’s white-tailed deer herd at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13.
The meeting will take place at the Baldcypress Nature Center at Trap Pond State Park, with a virtual attendance option available through the agency’s meeting calendar. Officials say the session is an early step in Delaware’s response plan and will allow people to ask questions, learn about the disease and understand how surveillance efforts could affect upcoming hunting seasons.
The meeting follows Delaware’s first confirmed case of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer harvested in Sussex County.
The deer tested positive after routine surveillance, with confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. A second deer has tested presumptive positive and is awaiting federal confirmation.
State officials say the discovery marks the first time the fatal neurological disease has been detected in Delaware. Chronic Wasting Disease affects deer, elk and moose and is caused by infectious proteins known as prions, which spread through bodily fluids or contaminated environments.
DNREC has since activated its response plan, establishing a management zone in Sussex County and increasing sampling efforts to determine how far the disease may have spread.
Entrance fees to Trap Pond State Park will be waived from 6 to 8 p.m. for those attending the May 13 meeting.
Additional public meetings for hunters and deer processors are planned in the coming months. The Chronic Wasting Disease will also be discussed at the next Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish meeting on June 2 at the Little Creek Hunter Education Building. Officials say future meetings will include virtual attendance options.
DNREC officials say continued surveillance and public cooperation will be key to slowing the spread of the disease, which has now been detected in dozens of states nationwide.
More information, including the state’s response plan and guidance for the public, is available on the DNREC website.
