18 to 24 months
Response plan actions are listed here
Probably not, although there may be permits issued to increase sampling effort.
We will work with hunters whose deer test positive to ensure proper disposal of the carcass and restore any tags for deer that test positive for CWD.
No, testing every deer killed in Georgia is neither necessary for managing CWD nor financially prudent or feasible. We direct our funds for testing to the most efficient areas for early detection or detection in new areas once found. If we ever find CWD we are hoping to achieve all CWD sampling goals in CWD management zones through voluntary means and hope to avoid any mandatory testing.
We have been routinely testing deer in every county of Georgia since 2002 and have substantially increased sampling effort and efficiency in the last 5 years.
The state will continue to pay for the testing necessary to monitor and manage CWD if/when we find it. We will strive to provide free sampling in CWD endemic zones if/when they occur in Georgia. We will always provide a way for any hunter to test any deer they choose to test, but fees may apply outside our CWD management priorities.
No
While diseases like CWD will continue to spread through natural mechanisms, we can help reduce our impacts by not providing concentrated food sources that may facilitate disease transmission. There are no current proposals to completely ban the use of feed, but some restrictions like seasonal limitations and feeder types may help reduce our impacts on disease transmission. We have active research going on to help determine the best approach to this issue.
While there are some projects looking at vaccines in captive animals, there are no feasible options at this point. Even if we had a vaccine, distributing and and reducing disease in wild animals is extremely difficult and expensive.
Ditto.
Landfills are appropriate for disposing of carcass parts.
Once CWD gets established in an area you've got it forever. With that said, it doesn't transmit from contaminated soil anywhere near as easily as it does from live deer to live deer. The environment contamination isn't a huge source of infection until the disease reaches high prevalence rates. A high prevalence rate would be say 15% or more, which basically means 15% of the deer you test in an area will test positive.
Depending on the lab and the number of samples being submitted at once the test results may be ready in a week or two or it could be several months.
