Overview
- The new detection came from a young white-tailed doe struck by a vehicle in Holmes County close to Alabama, about a mile from the 2023 case.
- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission created a special management zone spanning Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties with intensified monitoring.
- Roughly 90 deer are undergoing testing under the emergency response, with additional results pending.
- All harvested deer from the zone must be checked or submitted for testing during the upcoming hunting season as hunters serve as the primary surveillance partners.
- Chronic wasting disease has no cure, spreads through animal contact and contaminated environments, is not known to infect humans, and could reduce hunting participation and wildlife funding, experts say.