Mississippi CWD Response Plan Summary
Prepared by Delta Wildlife
The Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan will serve to guide the Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks in addressing risks, developing management strategies, and
protecting wildlife resources from Chronic Wasting Disease in captive or free-range cervid
populations.
The major goals of this plan are:
1) Continue surveillance throughout the state to ensure early detection.
2) If CWD is detected:
a) Determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of CWD.
b) Apply management actions to limit the spread of CWD.
3) Determine the origin of any CWD positive cervid.
4) Provide accurate and relevant information on CWD to the public, agency staff,
affected governmental agencies, and other stakeholders.
5) Continue to gather and evaluate information that would guide research on CWD and
its epidemiology to support future management efforts.
Eradication of CWD once it is established is unlikely due to the persistence of prions (the
infectious agent) in the environment. This plan focuses on detection and control of the
disease with major efforts focused on containing the disease and monitoring its prevalence
within a defined area.
Management Actions:
1) Establish Initial Containment Zone (5-mile radius), High Risk Zone (10-mile radius) and a Buffer Zone (25-mile radius) from the point of detection for initial sampling purposes.
2) Implement Zone Specific Regulations (See below)
3) Ban Supplemental Feeding in all counties containing the Buffer Zone.
4) Begin initial sampling of 60 individuals within 60 days of detection to better define the Containment Zones.
5) Establish formal sample size in each Containment Zone that is able to detect CWD with 95% statistical certainty within the 1% detection rate. (Appendix G of plan provides Sample Size recommendation based on area to be sampled and deer population)
6) Sampling efforts may span multiple years.
7) As any new positive CWD deer are detected, the Containment Zone will increase, as will the required sample size of deer over time.
MDWFP may harvest cervids in areas where other means of sample collection
are inadequate, but only with permission and full cooperation of private
landowners.
9) Firearm hunting seasons will be utilized to supplement CWD sampling through a
special regulatory process in the High Risk Zone
10) Hunter harvested deer within the HRZ will be individually tagged and numbered at
special CWD check stations. CWD test results will be available to hunters via a page
created on the MDWFP website.
11) CWD surveillance will continue until the sample goal is obtained even if no
additional positives are confirmed.
12) If additional positives are not confirmed after the sample goal is obtained, sampling
will be reduced to target animals and road killed samples. Road killed samples will
continue to be taken from the positive county and all adjacent counties for five years.
13) Carcasses may either be left on site or disposed of by incineration, deep burial, or transported to a lined landfill.
14) Additional management actions will be taken in regard to captive deer herds in enclosures throughout Mississippi. See the full CWD Response Plan for more information regarding enclosures.
Additional Management Actions Being CONSIDERED by MDWFP according to Plan:
1) Establish CWD testing guidelines for hunter-harvested cervids
2) Liberalize hunting season lengths and bag limits. This will be defined once the
circumstances (i.e. captive vs. free range, time of year, prevalence rate, deer density,
etc…) of the positive sample are identified.
3) Prohibit exportation of cervids from the CWD Containment Zone and CWD High
Risk Zone with the following exceptions:
a) Deboned meat
b) Antlers
c) Antlers attached to a cleaned skull plate or cleaned skull where no tissue is
attached to the skull
d) Cleaned teeth
e) Hides and tanned products
f) Finished taxidermy and antler products
Containment Zone Specific Regulations:
Containment Zone (CZ) – 5 mile radius from a confirmed CWD positive deer
1) Schedule routine highway surveillance, during which road-killed cervids are
sampled.
2) Create and utilize mandatory check stations to sample hunter harvested deer, until the minimum number of CWD samples are obtained. Recruit assistance from veterinarians, taxidermists, universities, etc.
3) No whole carcass can be removed from the containment zone. Exceptions include; deboned meat, antlers, antlers attached to a cleaned skull plate or cleaned skull where no tissue is
attached to the skull, cleaned teeth, hides and tanned products, finished taxidermy and antler products.
4) Establish permit system for meat processors. No processor may accept and process bone-in meat from both within and outside the CZ.
5) Issue management tags to cooperating landowners to harvest white-tailed deer
outside of the normal season structure within the CZ.
6) Establish a moratorium of all movement of captive white tailed deer, CWD
susceptible cervids, and all cervid reproductive material into, out of, and within
Mississippi.
7) Immediately stop all supplemental feeding within any county including all or part
of the CZ.
Finalize carcass disposal regulations.
High Risk Zone (HRZ) – 10 mile radius from a confirmed CWD positive deer
1) Schedule routine highway surveillance, during which road-killed cervids are
sampled.
2) Create and utilize voluntary check stations to sample hunter harvested deer. Recruit assistance from veterinarians, taxidermists, universities, etc. No whole carcass can removed from the containment zone.
3) Exceptions include; Deboned meat, antlers, antlers attached to a cleaned skull plate or cleaned skull where no tissue is attached to the skull, cleaned teeth, hides and tanned products, finished taxidermy and antler products.
4) Establish permit system for meat processors. No processor may accept and process bone-in meat from both within and outside the HRZ.
5) Issue management tags to cooperating landowners to harvest white-tailed deer
outside of the normal season structure within the HRZ.
6) Establish a moratorium of all movement of captive white tailed deer, CWD
susceptible cervids, and all cervid reproductive material into, out of, and within
Mississippi.
7) Immediately stop all supplemental feeding within any county including all or part
of the HRZ.
Finalize carcass disposal regulations.
Buffer Zone (BZ) – 25 mile radius from a confirmed CWD positive deer
1) Schedule routine highway surveillance, during which roadkill cervids are sampled.
2) Create and utilize voluntary check stations to sample hunter harvested deer. Recruit assistance from veterinarians, taxidermists, universities, etc.
3) Practices that cause unnatural concentration of animals may be prohibited.
Examples: mineral blocks or licks, mineral troughs, etc.