Washington County hears detailed briefing after CWD found in captive deer herd; 31% positive in sampled adults

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Texas — County commissioners on Oct. 28 received a detailed briefing from Texas Parks and Wildlife on a chronic wasting disease (CWD) detection at a captive deer breeding facility and on statewide surveillance.

Bobby Eichler, district leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife, told the court the initial live (ante‑mortem) detection at the facility occurred Feb. 8, 2023. Under an agreement reached this year that accepted USDA indemnity funds, the facility owner voluntarily allowed depopulation. "The euthanasia of the deer was completed by 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 5," Eichler said, and staff departed the site in the early hours of Aug. 6 after carcasses were processed and buried on site.

Eichler and regional health specialist Megan Holland described the scope of the depopulation and laboratory results: "A total of 158 adult deer and 63 fawns were collected from the facility. All 158 adults were sampled," Eichler said. Holland said test results returned from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, showed 50 of the 158 sampled adults were positive for CWD, representing 31 percent of the sampled adult herd.

Officials told the court the facility inventory also showed 72 deer missing and presumed dead at the time of depopulation. The commissioners asked whether the facility could reintroduce susceptible species in the future; Holland said that USDA herd plans commonly require a minimum 60‑month (five‑year) quarantine period before discussing adding CWD‑susceptible animals to those pens.

County surveillance numbers were presented: since the initial detection, Texas Parks and Wildlife reported 361 roadkill samples, 96 hunter‑harvested samples and 12 dispatched (ill or injured) animals tested in Washington County — 469 samples in roughly two and a half years. "To date, no CWD positive detections have been found in Washington County outside of the facility," Eichler said, and officials encouraged hunters to use the voluntary check station in the fairgrounds parking lot.

On testing limitations, presenters emphasized that live (ante‑mortem) tests are less sensitive than post‑mortem assays. "Live testing has its issues. It's not definitely not 100%. It's probably more in the range of 50 percent detection," Eichler said; Holland added that CWD is a focal disease and that detection depends on timing and tissue sampled.

Statewide context was provided: Holland said Texas has recorded just over 1,100 positive detections statewide, with about 140 in free‑ranging (nonfenced) deer; most free‑ranging positives have been in the Panhandle and Trans‑Pecos regions. The agency continues surveillance and testing, the presenters said, and stressed that carcass disposal and decontamination of equipment are components of facility herd plans.

Commissioners and county residents asked technical questions about whether prions survive in soil and whether live‑testing equipment could spread disease between facilities. Holland explained prions are misfolded proteins that can persist in the environment and can be spread by saliva, feces or urine; she said epidemiological assessments aim to trace introduction routes but sometimes cannot identify a definitive source.

The briefing also included an introduction of the county's new game warden, who told the court he recently transferred from Houston and asked the public to contact him with wildlife or enforcement concerns.

The presentation was informational; the court took no regulatory action at the meeting but voted earlier in the agenda on unrelated items. County and state officials reiterated recommendations for continued surveillance, voluntary hunter sampling and use of the local check station.