Deadly Deer Disease Resurfaces In New York After 21 Years

An Upstate New York deer tested positive for a deadly disease for the first time since 2005.

The discovery triggered a new containment zone covering many towns.

Upstate New York Deer Tests Positive For Chronic Wasting Disease

DEC

An adult female white-tailed deer harvested in Sparta, Livingston County, tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), marking the first case in a wild deer in New York since 2005.

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The deer was taken last month. A regional meat processor sampled it before tests by Cornell University, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the disease.

Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal neurological disease for deer, elk, and moose. There's no current evidence that it transmits to humans or domestic pets, officials say.

Containment Zone Covers Six Towns

DEC

But the CDC strongly advises against humans eating any venison after any animal tests positive.

After the positive test, the DEC established a containment zone covering six towns in Livingston County: Conesus, Groveland, North Dansville, Sparta, Springwater, and West Sparta.

All hunters who harvest a deer within the containment area must submit tissue samples to the DEC.

In 2024, Chronic Wasting Disease was found in a captive red deer farm herd. That didn't spread to wild deer.

This current case marks the first time in 21 years that the disease has managed to breach the state's wild deer population.