WOOSTER, Ohio — Captive whitetail deer operations contribute more than $3 billion nationwide to the economy, a fraction of business from other types of livestock. Still, farm-raised deer have a significant impact on jobs in the community and income for producers, according to Curt Waldvogel, president of the Whitetail Deer Farmers of Ohio. Waldvogel has raised deer for 27 years and has about 100 head in his operation.

Two years ago, Ohio enacted the captive whitetail deer licensing program under the state Department of Agriculture (ODA) in order to monitor the health of captive deer populations, to manage the spread of and exposure to diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The move made sense, according to Waldvogel, given the ODA’s staff of veterinarians and testing programs.

According to Erica Hawkins, director of communications for the ODA, Ohio has 539 licensed captive deer operations that fall under the category of breeding operations or hunting preserves. Ohio ranks third behind Pennsylvania and Texas for the number of farm-raised whitetail deer, with 23,000 in breeding operations alone. Waldvogel said his association doesn’t have an effective method to monitor the number of deer on hunting preserves in the state.

Because of the industry’s economic impact, state officials stepped up their efforts to monitor Ohio’s whitetail herds when a sample from a buck on private hunting preserve in Holmes County tested positive for CWD. So far, officials have not seen any evidence CWD has affected Ohio’s wild deer population.

According to Scott Peters, wildlife management supervisor with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Wildlife for District 3, the buck was traced to a herd in Pennsylvania that tested positive for the disease earlier this year. “When the herd in Holmes County was quarantined, we looked at the whole family tree,” Peters said.

“We looked at where the animal had been and what contact it had with other animals. By the time this animal was sold, it had been in contact with a number of animals. We had to find every deer that had been in contact with that animal and quarantine those animals.”

CWD was first discovered in captive mule deer in Colorado in 1967 and belongs to a group of related diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), thought to be caused by abnormal proteins called prions in the brain. It is a degenerative, fatal disease of the brain affecting elk, mule deer, whitetail deer and moose, attacking the brain and producing small lesions that eventually result in death.

Peters said animals may not show symptoms of the disease until they are older. “We have done a lot of research and it can show up in fawns,” he said. “But it takes several months for the symptoms to show up, that is why we ask that deer be at least 18 months of age when they are submitted for testing.”

He said CWD transmitted by direct animal-to-animal contact. “We know that it can be transmitted nose-to-nose or through saliva, feces and urine.”

He said there is also some concern CWD can be transmitted through food and soil contaminated with bodily excretions, including saliva. CWD-contaminated carcasses parts such as the brain, spinal cord or lymph nodes may also spread disease indirectly through environmental contamination.

Signs of the disease include weight loss, excessive salivation, increased drinking and urination and abnormal behavior like stumbling, trembling and depression. Infected deer and elk may also allow unusually close approach by humans or natural predators.

Challenges do exist for health officials, according to Peters, as there is no live test for the disease and no treatment or vaccine are available at the present time. He added there is no evidence CWD is transmissible to humans, but he also recommends only consuming meat from healthy animals.

“CWD has not jumped species,” Peters said. “But it is just common sense that if the deer is acting strangely, don’t consume the meat, regardless of whether or not it has been tested for CWD.

“We want hunters to contact the ODNR’s Division of Wildlife if they see an animal that is sick or acting strangely.”

Since 2002, Ohio has been conducting surveillance for the disease. Waldvogel said since the testing program began thousands of deer have been tested. He said at least 30 percent of the deer taken from hunting preserves are sent to the state for testing. But the percentage of wild deer isn’t as high, and that is a concern to Waldvogel. “A lot of states claim to be free from the disease, but I am not sure they are getting enough samples to make that claim,” he explained. “It may be more prevalent than we think.”

Peters said regular sampling and testing will continue through the hunting season to monitor the health of the state’s wild deer population. Officials collected tissue samples from deer killed on Ohio’s roads as well as samples from mature deer harvested by hunters and deer exhibiting symptoms consistent with CWD. All of the test results came back negative, according to Peters.

Still, the Division of Wildlife made the decision to increase sampling efforts in the wild deer population within six miles of the hunting preserve from which the CWD-positive deer came, as well as near the other captive operations under quarantine. Those samples include high-risk animals like killed on roads or exhibiting neurological symptoms, and hunter-harvested deer in the area.

Testing is done on the lymph nodes located at the top of the neck where the neck meets the skull, and the brain stem, or obex, according to Peters. The head should be cut to include 5 inches of the neck where the lymph nodes are located. Peters said it is not a problem if hunters want to field-dress the deer or cut up the meat, as DNR is asking for cooperation only on the head and lymph nodes.

“We appreciate hunters voluntarily allowing us to test the deer they harvest,” he added.

He said the Division has built a network of taxidermists and processors who are working to help obtain samples for testing. “Chronic Wasting Disease is present in the wild herds in some states; our goal is to keep it out of the wild herd in Ohio.”