Kentucky Fish and Wildlife to hold public meeting about Chronic Wasting Disease

​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 12, 2025) — Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources have scheduled a public meeting in Pulaski County to discuss Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This meeting comes in response to the recent confirmation of CWD in a hunter-harvested deer in the county earlier this deer season, making this the second detection in a wild deer in Kentucky since first being detected in a wild deer in Ballard County in 2023.

The public meeting will be from 6 – 8 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at The Center for Rural Development, 2292 South Highway 27, Somerset, KY 42501. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife staff will share insights on CWD, including updates on the collaborative agency and partner response, available CWD testing options and any potential hunting regulation changes. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions from agency experts after the main discussion.

CWD is caused by abnormal proteins called prions and it affects white-tailed deer, elk, and other animals in the deer family. There is no known cure or vaccine, and the disease is always fatal in infected animals. The disease is not known to be transmissible to people, but as a precaution the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not eating the meat from deer that test positive for the disease. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife always recommends not consuming meat taken from animals that appear to be sick or in poor condition.

Hunters can aid Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s statewide monitoring efforts by dropping off the heads of legally harvested and telechecked deer for CWD testing and aging at self-serve CWD Sample Drop-off sites or via sample mail-in kits. This service is provided at no cost to hunters. Detailed location information, instructions and additional resources may be found at the CWD Sample Drop-Off Sites and CWD Sample Mail-in Kit webpages on the department’s website (fw.ky.gov). Hunters will be promptly notified if a deer they harvested tests positive for CWD.

Deer that appear to be sick but do not have an obvious injury can be reported using the department’s sick deer online reporting form; reports will be reviewed by the agency’s wildlife health program staff, who may contact the person submitting the report if additional information is needed.

For more information on CWD, please visit the department's Chronic Wasting Disease webpage and follow its social media channels. More information about CWD is available through the CDC and cwd-info.org websites. For questions, contact the department’s Information Center at 800-858-1549, or at info.center@ky.gov, weekdays 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (EST), except holidays.