Kentucky Fish and Wildlife expands CWD Surveillance Zone to include nine new counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 5, 2025) — New Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance measures are now in effect for Casey, Laurel, Lincoln, McCreary, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Wayne and Whitley counties. The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission approved these measures at its quarterly meeting today, Dec. 5, following the detection of CWD in a deer harvested in Pulaski County this past September.

Chronic Wasting Disease is an always-fatal disease caused by an abnormal protein called a prion. CWD affects animals in the deer family, including white-tailed deer and elk.

In response, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a CWD Surveillance Zone expansion to include the nine counties, thereby adding them to the state’s existing surveillance area, which includes Ballard, Breckinridge, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Marshall, McCracken, Meade, Union and Webster counties. The zone brings specific regulations to help limit the spread of the disease among deer and elk.

Key regulations now in effect:

• Carcass transport limits: Whole carcasses or high-risk parts from deer harvested in the zone cannot leave the counties listed above. Permitted items for transport include de-boned meat, clean skulls and teeth, antlers, hides and finished taxidermy mounts. Carcasses of deer harvested outside the zone may be brought in.
• Rehabilitation ban: The rehabilitation of deer is prohibited within the surveillance zone.
• Baiting restrictions: Baiting is allowed in all counties within the CWD Surveillance Zone provided it is not distributed through contact feeders (e.g., troughs, funnels, and gravity feeders without spreading capabilities). A statewide prohibition of feeding is still effective from March 1 through July 31. Also, feeding and baiting is illegal on all Wildlife Management Areas. While permitted with limitations, baiting promotes unnatural congregation of deer, increasing the risk of CWD transmission through saliva, urine and feces from infected animals. Hunters should weigh this risk before choosing to bait.

Since 2002, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has CWD-tested more than 70,000 deer and elk from across the state. Hunters all across the state are encouraged to submit samples through CWD Sample Drop-Off sites or CWD Sample Mail-in Kits at any time during the hunting season. The test comes at no monetary cost to the hunter, and results are typically returned within 4-6 weeks.

At this time, the disease is not known to be transmissible to people, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends not consuming meat from deer that test positive for the disease. Additionally, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife always recommends not consuming meat taken from animals that appear to be sick or in poor condition.

More information about CWD, the surveillance zone and the agency’s response plan can be found at fw.ky.gov/cwd. For questions, or to report sick or dead deer, the public may contact the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Information Center at 800-858-1549 or at info.center@ky.gov, weekdays 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Eastern), excluding holidays, or use the Sick or Dead Deer Online Reporting Form on the department’s website.​