A new case of Chronic Wasting Disease has been found on a deer arm outside Big Rapids in Mecosta County.
Authorities say it’s not clear how the deer became infected.
Since 2015 the state has confirmed 30 cases of CWD. 21 of those cases were found this year.
Ryan Soulard is with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He said the farm has been quarantined and surrounding farms are being tested.
“Generally speaking in the country a lot of farms when they find chronic wasting disease are depopulated. But really it’s so evolving with what we know of this disease it’s hard to say what’s going to happen. The Department of Agriculture is working actively with the USDA to come up with a plan.”
Soulard said he anticipates more cases will be found by years end.
“It’s been a constantly evolving number of cases in free-ranging deer. The testing is still ongoing. The DNR just this week is running somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-hundred deer that have been submitted by hunters.”
Soulard said the state is concerned about the spread of CWD because other states with the disease have seen large declines in deer populations.
He said the DNR is doing everything in its power to keep the disease from spreading statewide.
In the interest of transparency, the DNR is a financial supporter of WCMU