Second CWD case confirmed in north Mississippi

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks received confirmation from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory that a 1.5-year-old, free-range, male, white-tailed deer collected in Pontotoc County on October 8 tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

MDWFP has established a CWD Management Zone that includes Pontotoc and Union counties and all portions of Lee County west of Highway 45. For any MDWFP-defined CWD Management Zone it is unlawful to do the following:

Supplemental feed;

Establish new mineral sites or add supplements to existing sites;

Remove certain portions of cervid carcasses from the zone (carcass regulations); or

Trap wild hogs without a permit from MDWFP.

To monitor CWD in the Pontotoc Zone, MDWFP will rely on hunter-harvested deer during the 2018-19 hunting season. Hunters can submit deer for testing at established drop-off locations or MDWFP-staffed check stations.

–Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks