One more Alberta deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, bringing the province’s total to nine positive cases in the wild, said Alberta government officials.
The latest case was discovered as a result of disease control measures when 1,368 wild deer were shot in the Empress and Acadia Valley area of southeastern Alberta. It’s the same area where four other deer tested positive for the disease in late 2005.
About 300 to 400 heads remain to be tested from the deer shot in the area as part of a monitoring measure.
More deer will be shot in March in areas south of Empress and in the Red Deer River valley south of Acadia Valley, near where the positive cases were found.
The International Expert Scientific Panel on s recommends local deer culls as a way to prevent infection and control of the disease.
CWD is a nervous system disorder that affects the brain and the animal slowly wastes away.
There are more than 400,000 wild deer in the province.
