News Releases for June 2002
June 5, 2002
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Hoeven Announces Cooperative Statewide Effort To Prevent Chronic Wasting Disease
Frequently Asked Questions on CWD 
(24kb pdf)
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today announced a coordinated state effort to prevent the introduction of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to North Dakota. CWD is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system that afflicts elk and deer in both captivity and the wild. North Dakota currently has 97 domestic elk producers and 28 licensed deer producers, with nearly 7,000 animals in stock. North Dakota is habitat to hundreds of thousands of deer and elk in the wild.
Hoeven’s announcement was prompted by heightened public interest in the disease owing to recent outbreaks in South Dakota and Wisconsin, a state that had formerly seen no incidence of the disease. To date CWD has been discovered in eight Western and Midwestern states, as well as two Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Although no cases of CWD have been found in North Dakota, Hoeven asked the Department of Game and Fish and Dr. Larry Schuler, D.V.M., the state veterinarian, to step up North Dakota’s effort to protect the state’s deer and elk population, both captive and wild.
“Deer and elk are a prized wildlife resource in North Dakota, as well as a valuable economic product for the state’s deer and elk ranchers,” Hoeven said. “We need to take an aggressive, proactive effort, both in the wild and on the ranch, to protect these valuable resources.”
The North Dakota Board of Animal Health and State Veterinarian initially took steps to safeguard the captive population in 1998, when North Dakota elk and deer farmers requested mandatory surveillance. Since then, the industry has been a partner in prevention and control efforts.
Additionally, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has conducted targeted surveillance of symptomatic wild deer and elk since 1996. Recent cases of infection in nearby states and Canadian provinces have prompted a stepped-up, coordinated effort by state agencies, including development of a new CWD Prevention and Contingency Plan.
The North Dakota Board of Animal Health, with the full cooperation of the deer and elk industry, has taken the following steps to safeguard herds:
- Mandatory surveillance, which entails submission of brain samples from any white-tailed deer, mule deer or elk over 12 months of age that dies for any reason. To date, over 700 samples have been taken, with no positive CWD test results.
- Strict control of imported animals, which entails a CWD risk assessment of the herd of origin and a certificate of veterinary inspection.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is taking the following steps:
- A public awareness campaign using print materials and the N.D. Game and Fish Department Web site.
- Targeted surveillance, which entails recovery and testing of all animals showing signs of CWD.
- Development of a CWD Prevention and Contingency Plan.
- Cooperative agreements with the Board of Animal Health and producers of elk and deer to reduce the likelihood of CWD entering North Dakota.
- A pilot program during deer season this fall to test for CWD in the southwestern and eastern parts of the state.
- A cooperative program to identify North Dakotans hunting in affected states designed to educate sportsmen about safe transporting of game back into North Dakota.
The industry has been diligent and cooperative in partnering with us to help prevent this disease from jeopardizing our native population of deer and elk,” Hoeven said. “Now we’re working together with Game and Fish, the state Veterinarian and other states to enhance our defenses against CWD.” CWD, which first appeared in Colorado in 1967, has never been shown to cause human illness; however, the Game and Fish Department is recommending care in the handling of game to prevent human exposure. Guidelines for handling game, as well as additional information about CWD, will be available on the North Dakota Game & Fish Department Web site at: www.state.nd.us/gnf.
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