Chronic wasting disease public meeting brings more than 400 North Florida residents together

Over 400 North Florida residents attend public meeting to discuss chronic wasting disease

BONIFAY – Following confirmation of a positive test for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a white-tailed deer in Holmes County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) conducted a public meeting in Bonifay. The meeting provided information about CWD and an opportunity for area residents to ask questions about CWD and CWD management strategies.

More than 400 members of the public attended the meeting, crowding the auditorium at the Bonifay K-8 school. Hunters, farmers, private landowners, taxidermists, meat processors, wildlife rehabilitators and other interested parties were included in the audience. Wildlife health experts and agency leaders answered questions about CWD, potential hunting regulations within the CWD Management Zone, CWD management strategies and sampling of harvested deer.

“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are doing an outstanding job keeping the public informed,” said Congressman Neal Dunn, M.D. “Florida’s Second Congressional District knows the key to success is working together, just as we always do when faced with adversity. I encourage our communities to join me in supporting FWC and FDACS in their efforts to protect the public.”

“As a hunter, I know how important it is to stay ahead of the spread of CWD and how vital community support is going to be for our success,” said Senator Jay Trumbull. “We need hunters now more than ever to work with FWC and FDACS staff, continue to hunt and submit samples for testing.”

“We really appreciate so many community members coming out to ask questions and learn about our unified efforts to respond to this serious issue,” said FWC Executive Director Roger Young. “It’s going to take all of us working together to be successful.”

“It will take an all hands on deck approach to safeguard Florida’s deer population and our world-renowned natural resources from this animal disease,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson. “The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will continue to work diligently with our state, federal and community partners to respond.”

The FWC and its agency partners take CWD very seriously and have implemented a comprehensive response plan. As part of the plan, the FWC will collect samples from specific established zones to further assess any spread of the disease. The results from this increased sampling effort will inform resource managers so they can respond with appropriate management strategies.

The FWC has increased CWD monitoring and surveillance in the area and FDACS is prioritizing CWD testing from all samples collected from the tri-county area.

The FWC is asking anyone who sees a sick, abnormally thin deer or finds a deer dead from unknown causes to call the CWD hotline, 866-CWD-WATCH (866-293-9282) and report the animal’s location.

To receive updates about Florida’s CWD response, visit our subscription page at MyFWC.com, “About Us” and “Sign up for News Releases” to sign up for a free information subscription service and choose “Chronic Wasting Disease Updates (CWD).”

A recording of the meeting can be found at The Florida Channel.