A sample recently collected from a hunter harvested, whitetailed deer in westcentral Lauderdale County has been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This is the first case of CWD detected in Alabama’s deer herd.

The sample from the CWDpositive deer was submitted as part of the state’s ongoing CWD surveillance and volunteer testing program. Preliminary tests performed at the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries discovered the nonnegative case, which was then confirmed positive by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

Due to CWD detection in Lauderdale County, ADCNR has enacted a new regulation for Lauderdale and Colbert counties, as outlined in Alabama’s CWD Surveillance and Response Plan. All of Lauderdale and Colbert counties are designated as a CWD Management Zone (CMZ). The area west of U.S. Highway 43 in Lauderdale County to the Mississippi and Tennessee state lines and south to the Tennessee River is designated as a HighRisk Zone (HRZ). The remainder of Lauderdale County and all of Colbert County is designated as a Buffer Zone.