Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Brown County High-Fence Release Site

Jan. 10, 2025

Media Contact: TPWD News, Business Hours, 512-389-8030

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AUSTIN - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) received confirmation of one case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a Brown County high fence ranch, marking the first confirmed detection in the county.

A three and a half-year-old female white-tailed deer tested positive through postmortem testing conducted to meet CWD surveillance requirements for a site epidemiologically traced to a CWD-positive facility. Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) initially analyzed the samples, and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa confirmed the CWD detection.

The detection occurred on a ranch registered as a deer breeder release site and identified as having received deer from a CWD-positive breeding facility reported in 2024.

CWD has an incubation period that can span years, so the first indication of the disease in a herd is often found through surveillance testing rather than observed clinical signs. Testing hunter-harvested deer allows animal health officials to assess disease presence and was required as part of the quarantine issued for this property epidemiologically traced to a facility with a CWD-positive detection.

Landowners and hunters are encouraged to implement sound wildlife management practices, such as adequate deer harvest and management of healthy native habitat, to help mitigate disease impacts on the deer populations, especially in areas where CWD has been detected.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease found in certain cervids including deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family. This slow, progressive disease may not produce visible signs in susceptible species for several years after infection. As the disease process continues, animals with CWD may show changes in behavior and appearance. Clinical signs may include progressive weight loss, stumbling or tremors with a lack of coordination, loss of appetite, teeth grinding, abnormal head posture and/or drooping ears, and excessive thirst, salivation or urination.

In Texas, the disease was first discovered in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer along a remote area of the Hueco Mountains near the Texas-New Mexico border. CWD has since been detected in Texas captive and free-ranging cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer and elk.

For more information on previous detections in Texas, regulations, and CWD best management practices for hunters and landowners, visit TPWD's CWD page or TAHC's CWD page.