Chronic wasting illness found in 2 buck deer

Two buck deer taken during this year's Utah muzzle-loader hunt have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the Division of Wildlife Resources announced Monday.

The first deer was a yearling buck taken near the south end of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This is the first CWD-positive deer found in Daggett County. Other CWD-positive deer have been found in the past 20 miles to the south, near Vernal.

The second deer was a mature buck taken on the LaSal Mountains in southeastern Utah.

Both hunters have been notified that their deer tested positive for CWD.

"We've tested approximately 450 deer and elk so far this year, and these are the only animals that have tested positive for CWD," said Leslie McFarlane, wildlife disease specialist for the DWR. "Nearly all of the testing has been completed on samples collected during the archery and muzzle-loader hunts. We expect to collect nearly 2,000 samples during the rifle deer hunt that starts this weekend."

The Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Logan is testing the samples for the DWR.

The latest results bring to 20 the number of deer that have tested positive for CWD since the disease was first found in Utah in February 2003. Fourteen of the 20 deer have come from the LaSal Mountain area, where DWR biologists estimate about 2 percent of the deer have the disease.

CWD is fatal to deer and elk that contract it. However, the World Health Organization has no evidence that CWD is transmitted to humans."