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USDA - APHIS - Wildlife Damage

National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC)

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deer at fence line photo of deer with radio collar

Management of Ungulate Disease and Damage

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild and domestic cervids (elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer, etc.) has become a nationwide concern. Realized and perceived threats of CWD have immense implications for federal and state wildlife management agencies, domestic cervid farmers, hunters, and businesses and economies reliant on deer and elk. As a result, Congress has provided funding to help stop the spread of the disease. This congressionally funded research is needed to supplement current biological and ecological knowledge about CWD and to develop methods to manage it.

NWRC scientists are highly qualified to research CWD transmission at the interface between wild and domestic cervids because of their expertise in cervid and disease ecology, biology, and management. Additionally, disease specialists and field personnel are available throughout the country for ongoing, long-term surveillance and research studies which will enable them to address and answer questions related to CWD spread through populations and across landscapes. Once more is learned about the ecology of the disease; the cervids and other species it affects; and the transmission, prevalence and persistence of CWD in wild and captive cervids, the knowledge can be used not only to manage the disease but also to educate the public about CWD disease and any associated risks.

Project Leader: Dr. Kurt C. VerCauteren
(kurt.c.vercauteren@aphis.usda.gov)
USDA/APHIS/WS/NWRC
Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
(970) 266-6093

Downloadable Factsheet on Research Project
348K


Project Homepage
Project Goal and Objectives
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Publications
About Chronic Wasting Disease



Last Modified:

May 18, 2011