CWD Detected in Hill Country Deer Breeding Facility

HONDO, TX — Texas Parks and Wildlife Department received confirmation of one case of Chronic Wasting Disease in a Medina County deer breeding facility, TPWD announced Friday, Aug. 2.

This is the fifth facility where CWD has been detected in the Hill Country county, where Hondo is the county seat.

A two-year-old male white-tailed deer tested positive using postmortem testing conducted to meet CWD surveillance requirements for the facility. Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory initially analyzed the samples, and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa confirmed the CWD detection. 

CWD has an incubation period that can span years, so the first indication of the disease in a herd is often found through routine surveillance testing rather than observed clinical signs. Proactive monitoring improves the state’s response time to the detection of CWD and can greatly reduce the risk of further disease spread. TPWD reminds all deer breeders of requirements to report mortalities within seven days of detection and submit CWD test samples within seven days of collection.   

CWD is a fatal neurological disease found in certain cervids including deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family. This slow, progressive disease may not produce visible signs in susceptible species for several years after infection. As the disease progresses, infected deer may show changes in behavior and appearance. Clinical signs may include weight loss, stumbling or tremors with a lack of coordination, loss of appetite, teeth grinding, abnormal head posture and/or drooping ears, and excessive thirst, salivation or urination.

In Texas, the disease was first discovered in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer along a remote area of the Hueco Mountains near the Texas-New Mexico border. CWD has since been detected in Texas captive and free-ranging cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer and elk.

For more information on previous detections in Texas, surveillance and containment zones, movement restrictions, and CWD best management practices for hunters and landowners, visit TPWD’s CWD page.