By: Ag. Reporter Mollie Goode
The Kentucky General Assembly filed a new bill earlier in February to limit the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
House Bill 700 was filed by Representative Josh Bray and Representative David Hale. The Kentucky bill will prohibit the movement of live cervids and restrict the movement of certain cervid carcasses to help minimize potential outbreaks.
This bill will outline the boundaries of a CWD Surveillance Zone, which includes a county within a 30-mile radius of a CWD detection. The surveillance zone would expire after five years without a CWD detection.
The new practices follow an outline created by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), which also gained support from the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission.
CWD is a fatal disease caused by abnormal proteins that affect white-tailed deer, elk, and other members of the cervid family. There are no known cures or vaccines for this disease, and testing can only be done on deceased animals.
The bill currently awaits a floor vote in the House of Representatives.