SUSSEX COUNTY Del. – Delaware has confirmed a third case of chronic wasting disease in a white-tailed deer in central Sussex County, prompting an expansion of the state’s Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone
The deer was found just east of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Jones Crossroads Landfill near Georgetown.
The new detection adds Wildlife Management Zone 11 to the management Zone, which already includes zones 14 and 16. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is applying temporary regulations in the newly affected area to help limit the spread of the disease.
CWD is a fatal disease that affects deer and other members of the deer family. The deer was initially investigated as a suspected case of epizootic hemorrhagic disease before testing also confirmed CWD.
DNREC will hold a community meeting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Delaware Technical Community College's Owens Campus in Georgetown to provide an update on the state's CWD response and explain the temporary deer hunting and rehabilitation regulations. The meeting will also be available virtually as well.
The meeting will be informational and is not part of a formal public comment period. Permanent regulatory changes related to CWD could be considered through the state's standard regulatory process later this year.
Delaware became the 37th state to confirm CWD in wild deer this year.
