Kentucky Fish and Wildlife asking hunters to report two diseases impacting deer and elk

Officials with the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife are asking hunters to be on the lookout for two diseases impacting deer and elk herds across the country.

State officials say that with the emergence of both Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and Hemorrhagic Disease, confusion has spread regarding the health of the state's deer populations.

Chronic Wasting Disease

According to the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, CWD is a neurological disease impacting cervids, a classification of animals that includes deer, elk, and moose. The disease is always fatal once contracted, and has been discovered in 36 states. It was first documented in Kentucky from a wild deer harvested in Ballard County in 2023. That remains the only documented CWD case in a wild deer in the state, though nine captive