The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a hunter-harvested deer sampled for routine surveillance in Lanier County has tested positive for CWD. This is the first case of CWD detected in Georgia. The sample was taken from a 2 ½ year-old male white-tailed deer harvested on private property. Immediately following the positive confirmation, the Department implemented the CWD Response Plan and will begin collecting additional samples from the immediate area.

View our Official Statement on CWD.

• View our CWD Surveillance Plan.
• View our CWD Response Plan.

General Questions about CWD

What is CWD?

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease of deer, elk, and moose caused by misfolded proteins called prions. These defective prions damage brain and nervous system tissue, eventually causing the animal to die. CWD is in the same family of diseases as “mad cow disease,” however, CWD has never been documented in people. There are no vaccines or treatments – all deer that get CWD will get sick and die.

Is CWD transmissible to humans?

There has never been a human case of CWD. Since CWD was first documented in the 1960s in Colorado and despite its having spread to 35 states and 3 Canadian provinces, no case of prion disease in a person has been linked to consumption of venison. However, out of an abundance of caution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises hunters to test deer in areas with CWD before consuming them and to avoid consuming deer that test positive. More information from CDC can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html

If it doesn’t infect people, why is CWD a problem?

A deer with CWD may live 2 years or longer, contaminating the area where it lives and infecting other deer. The CWD prions shed into the environment can still infect deer long after the original deer is gone, because unlike most bacteria and viruses, prions are not destroyed by heat, freezing, drying out, or exposure to sunlight. Because of this environmental contamination, CWD is impossible to eradicate once it becomes established in an area.

Is there a cure for CWD?

No. Currently, no medicine, vaccine, or treatment for CWD exists and the disease is always fatal – deer cannot recover from CWD. Our only options to combat CWD are to avoid introducing it to new areas and to reduce transmission.

Where does it currently exist?

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, as well as the Canadian provinces Alberta, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. USGS Map of CWD Distribution

How can I tell if a deer has CWD?

Once infected with CWD, deer may not show symptoms for over a year but can still spread the disease to other deer. Deer that look healthy can be CWD positive because visible symptoms do not appear until the animal is nearing death. Even then, CWD cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone since other ailments can cause deer to exhibit similar signs. Symptoms include dramatic weight loss, droopy head and ears, and excessive drooling along with neurological signs such as loss of fear of humans, reluctance to move, and other abnormal behavior. However, many common diseases or injuries can cause these symptoms, including hemorrhagic disease (often called “bluetongue”), brain abscesses, and being hit by a vehicle. Often, once symptoms begin to appear, the infected deer dies from other causes such as predators, vehicles, or other diseases before dying of CWD.

If you see a deer with these symptoms there is no cause for panic. Contact your local Game Management Office for guidance at https://georgiawildlife.com/about/contact#gm

Can CWD be transmitted to pets or livestock?

CWD doesn’t appear to naturally infect pets, cattle, or other livestock. Members of the deer family (deer, elk, moose), including captive exotic deer, are susceptible to CWD. Experts with DNR and the Georgia Department of Agriculture will provide CWD guidance directly to facilities permitted or licensed to hold deer species.

CWD Management Questions

How is CWD managed?

Because CWD cannot be eliminated from the environment, the goal of management is to keep the percentage of deer infected, or the prevalence of CWD, as low as reasonably possible. Selectively harvesting deer in the immediate vicinity of positives is the best way to manage CWD. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will work with landowners and hunters to locate and harvest individual deer mostly likely to have CWD to slow the spread to other deer and new areas.

How does CWD spread?

The disease is transmitted among deer through direct contact with saliva, urine, and feces infected with prions. It can also be passed indirectly in the environment through contaminated soil, food, or water. CWD is contagious and, once established, the disease is nearly impossible to eradicate. The prions that cause CWD can stay in the environment for long periods of time. For years after an infected deer has died, other deer can still get infected from the contaminated area.

How can we keep CWD from spreading?

Report the illegal importation of live deer. Moving live deer into Georgia is the greatest risk for introducing CWD to new areas. In Georgia, live importation of all deer species from other states has been prohibited since 2005 (O.C.G.A. 27-5-2.1). Please report any illegal importations to the DNR Law Enforcement Division’s Ranger Hotline by calling 1-800-241-4113, or by using the Ranger Hotline app https://gadnrle.org/ranger-hotline.

Don’t bring deer carcasses from out of state. It is illegal to bring deer carcasses into Georgia from out of state unless certain conditions are met (O.C.G.A. 27-5-2.1). Those who hunt out of state may only bring home a) boned-out meat, hides, skulls or skull caps with antlers attached and all soft tissue removed (velvet antlers are okay), b) jawbones with no soft tissue, c) elk ivories, and d) finished taxidermy mounts. All other carcass parts must be left behind.

Dispose of deer carcasses properly. Any carcass parts you don’t intend to eat or take to a taxidermist should be left on the property where the deer was killed, sent to a landfill, or buried deep enough to prevent scavenging. Carcass parts from CWD positive deer can transmit the disease to other deer if those parts are moved to new areas.  

Although CWD prions may be found in the urine of infected animals, the use of natural deer urine attractants has not been shown to spread CWD. However, using only synthetic urine attractants eliminates any potential risk of introducing CWD into new areas.

Can CWD be eradicated?

Eradication is impossible once CWD is established in a population. Due to the long incubation period and difficulty of detection, CWD often becomes established in a population before surveillance can detect it. There have been a handful of areas in the U.S. that were detected early enough and eradication was successful, but there is a low probability of this happening. For this reason, DNR is prepared to permanently manage CWD wherever it is discovered.

How is CWD different from other disease outbreaks?

Most wildlife disease outbreaks are cyclical, and the population adapts through developing immunity to the disease. Because CWD is always fatal, there are no surviving deer to develop immunity. If left unmanaged, CWD slowly spreads within a population and each year a higher percentage of the population will become infected. Population-level effects are seen when prevalence rates exceed 15%. DNR will strive to keep prevalence well below that threshold.

Can CWD be cooked out of meat?

There is no cooking temperature that will destroy CWD prions without destroying the meat. CWD hasn’t been shown to infect people, but CDC recommends not consuming deer that test positive for CWD. If you hunt in the CWD management area, CDC recommends testing deer before consuming them. There is no testing recommendation outside the CWD management area, but you may contact your local Game Management office if you still prefer to have your deer tested (https://georgiawildlife.com/about/contact#gm).

Questions Related to Positive Sample Found in Lanier County

How did CWD get to Georgia?

At this time, we do not know how CWD got here. However, based on the ways CWD has been introduced to new locations, there are several possibilities:

• Illegal importation of live deer.  
• Spread from an undiscovered pocket of CWD in another state.
• CWD-positive carcass parts from another state were discarded in the area.

What counties are included in the current CWD Management Area?  

The current CWD Management Area includes Lanier and Berrien counties.

What are the impacts to our deer population?

The effects of CWD can take decades to result in noticeable population declines, particularly in eastern populations of white-tailed deer where habitat is good. The disease progresses slowly, and infected deer appear normal until near the end of the 18- to 24-month incubation period. If left unmanaged, the percentage of deer with the disease (prevalence) will slowly increase. Once a high prevalence (>15% of the population) is reached, effects on the population become apparent. Populations begin to decline and the number of deer decreases. Because many deer killed by hunters will test positive for CWD, a substantial portion of meat will be discarded. Georgia is using cluster sampling to monitor and manage CWD, a strategy that has successfully kept prevalence very low in other states. If a low prevalence is maintained, the negative effects of CWD can be minimized.

What is Georgia DNR’s plan for hunter harvested deer testing next season?

Before deer season opens, Georgia DNR will be working with landowners to determine the geographic extent and prevalence using cluster sampling and test deer taken via deer crop depredation permits. As more information becomes available on where the disease is, we will establish sampling stations and provide information to hunters, landowners, taxidermists and processors.

I harvested a deer outside Georgia that tested positive for CWD, what should I do with the meat?

Contact your local Game Management office for advice on proper disposal at https://georgiawildlife.com/about/contact#gm. CWD has not been shown to infect people, but the CDC recommends not consuming deer that test positive for CWD.

I hunted in the CWD Management Area this past season (2024-2025) and have meat from deer harvested in that area in my freezer. Can I get the meat tested? If I don’t want to eat it, what should I do with the meat? 

Currently, there is no reliable, approved food-safety test for meat. The only approved CWD tests that provide consistent and accurate results use lymph nodes or brain tissue. Researchers are working on testing methods using meat or other deer parts. If you are uncomfortable consuming the meat from this past deer season, DNR staff can advise you on proper disposal.

How will Georgia DNR collect samples between now and hunting season?

DNR will work with landowners in the immediate area to cluster sample the local deer herd. Staff will also work with crop depredation permit holders in the CWD Management Area to collect samples from deer taken under those permits. Private landowners and DNR staff working together is critical to managing CWD for the long term.