TULSA, Okla. — State wildlife officials were on high alert after a diseased deer was found just miles from Oklahoma's border. While the case hasn't been confirmed within the state, leaders said it's close enough to take action.
Oklahoma wildlife officials took immediate action after a white-tailed deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in Arkansas. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation released a statement on Dec 19, saying they're treating this discovery as if it happened in
Oklahoma.
Joey McAllister is with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
"With the ability of deer to easily travel many miles in a day, the CWD response plan dictates that we respond to this finding as if it were found in Oklahoma," said McAllister
McAllister said CWD is a brain disease that always kills deer, elk, and moose. The disease damages the brain and nervous system, creating holes that make the tissue look like a sponge.
Wildlife officials said that the disease has never spread from wild animals to farm animals or people.
This wasn't Oklahoma's first encounter with chronic wasting disease. The state confirmed its first case in a wild deer in June 2023 in the Panhandle.
"We will be working through our response plan, and our ultimate goal is to ensure healthy and well-managed deer with as little impact to either the resource or our constituents as possible," said McAllister.
2 New reached out to state wildlife officials and local game wardens for more details about their response plan, but haven't heard back as of Dec 22.
Officials promised to share more information soon about how hunters can help detect and stop the spread.
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