A state veterinarian and the commissioner of agriculture briefed the Louisiana Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force on Thursday about the department’s response to the first confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) detection in a captive white‑tailed deer herd and on continuing efforts to encourage testing, trace exposed animals and prevent spread.

Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain opened the program overview and the department’s role in the captive deer industry, saying the agency oversees animal health and farmed white‑tailed deer programs. “I’m doctor Mike Strain, Louisiana commissioner of agriculture and forestry, in the captive deer industry,” he told the task force.

The state veterinarian, Dr. Daniel Myrick, delivered the technical update and summarized authorities, current herd numbers and options for farms with animals traced to a positive case. “My name is Daniel Myrick. I’m a veterinarian for Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry,” he said before walking the task force through enrollment in the USDA CWD herd certification program, the department’s testing rules and the three formal responses available to quarantined breeder operations: depopulation, a five‑year quarantine with testing of every animal that dies, or a shorter (about three‑year) quarantine that combines post‑mortem testing with repeated rectal biopsies of live animals.

Why it matters

The department confirmed that a single captive white‑tailed deer tested positive for CWD on Nov. 7, 2024 (sample confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory), which triggered immediate quarantine and contact tracing. That index detection prompted movement restrictions, at least one depopulation in June 2025 and testing at multiple facilities that had received animals traced from the index herd. Officials emphasized the disease’s long incubation period and the consequential need for multi‑year testing and record retention to be able to trace contacts.

Program details and numbers

- The department said there are around 240 licensed breeder operations (farms under 250 acres) and 101 licensed hunting preserves (enclosures over 250 acres that allow commercial hunting). Twenty‑one breeder operations were enrolled in the USDA CWD herd certification program at the time of the presentation (about 10 percent of breeding operations).
- When a herd has a confirmed positive, regulators trace animal movements back five years; in the instant case the department reported 33 white‑tailed deer were moved to 11 quarantine facilities across nine parishes. Subsequent positive tests were reported in Tangipahoa, St. Landry and Concordia parishes, while Jackson Parish was tested and found negative.
- Options for exposed breeder facilities are: depopulation; a five‑year quarantine with testing of every animal that dies; or a roughly three‑year program combining testing of deaths plus rectal biopsies of live animals (biopsy testing reduces the quarantine timeframe by roughly 1½ years but requires testing every live animal in the herd).
- Costs and funding: LDAF described two rounds of federal pass‑through funding that paid for genetic testing to produce a genomic breeding value (GEBV) score for deer. The department received $52,500 in 2024 and $52,500 in 2025; the grant pays about $75 per genetic test and was passed through directly to enrolled farmers. Rectal biopsy testing for live animals was estimated at roughly $75–$100 per animal; USDA‑program requirements and other sampling costs were described as owner expenses except where federal indemnity or cost‑share applied for depopulation events.
- Regulatory and identification requirements in effect: farm‑raised white‑tailed deer must be microchipped at the base of the left ear (law from 1995), licensed annually ($250), and maintain five years of movement records so tracebacks can be performed if needed.

Testing, genetics and tools

Officials described three pillars of the department’s approach: surveillance (testing animals that die, targeted live biopsies), trace‑forward/trace‑back investigation rules and voluntary enrollment in USDA’s herd certification program, which takes five years of testing to earn. Myrick and other speakers discussed genetic estimated breeding values (GEBV) research intended to breed deer that are less likely to develop CWD. That work is modeled on scrapie resistance selection in sheep, but deer resistance appears to be multigenic (hundreds of loci) rather than the single‑codon effect seen in sheep. The department said the main codon studied in deer (codon 96) accounts for about 5 percent of GEBV, and that animals with more negative GEBV scores have lower modeled risk of becoming positive over a given time.

Disease control and enforcement

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Captain John Valentine reviewed carcass importation and interstate transport laws, which prohibit bringing whole carcasses or high‑risk parts into the state from out of state except as allowed (boned meat, capes, clean skulls, finished mounts and similar low‑risk parts). He cited Louisiana authority and two state statutes staff referenced during the meeting (noted in the authorities section below) and reminded hunters that state law and LDWF rules vary by state and by county/parish in states with CWD detections. “I’m Captain John Valentine. I work for Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Law Enforcement Division,” he said.

LDWF discussed enforcement practice: agents do not routinely stop all out‑of‑state vehicles on highways but will investigate leads, make targeted stops where officers have reasonable suspicion and work with counterpart agencies in other states on cross‑jurisdictional cases. The agency highlighted the CWD control‑area map and the online “Louisiana Outdoor Explorer” mapping tool created to help landowners and hunters determine whether a property lies inside a CWD enhanced mitigation zone or buffer zone, and to find local testing drop‑off locations and participating processors.

Public comment and stakeholder concerns

Farm groups, hunting organizations and individual landowners gave public comment. Speakers reiterated both the need for testing and the economic impacts of restrictions. Andy Brown of Louisiana Farm Bureau urged voluntary, incentive‑based approaches and research funding rather than added regulation. A representative of deer farmers (Whitetails Louisiana) said many farms already follow stringent rules and are investing in genetic testing. A feed‑store owner in Jonesville reported large declines in sales of corn and rice‑bran feed since mitigation measures were announced; the owner presented month‑by‑month pallet counts and asked officials to consider ways to incentivize data collection and testing so sampling could be used to re‑examine buffer sizes over time.

What the task force did and did not decide

The meeting produced information, public comments and discussion; no new statewide rulemaking was adopted during the session. The task force recorded two routine procedural votes early in the meeting: adoption of the agenda (motion by Representative Andy Brister) and approval of prior minutes (motion by Chad Kerrville); both passed without objection. The technical and enforcement briefings were informational; officials described how existing statutes, program enrollment and quarantine options will be applied to positive herds.

Next steps and forward look

Officials recommended expanding voluntary USDA herd certification participation, adding testing capacity for animal owners and hunters, and examining potential incentive programs (for example, cost‑share for perimeter or hot fencing and for testing costs) to encourage enrollment in certification. The Louisiana Outdoor Explorer mapping tool and LDWF carcass‑transport guidance were highlighted as immediate tools for hunters and landowners to understand what is allowed and where.

The task force scheduled its next meeting for Nov. 5, 2025 at 1 p.m.; no binding new regulatory changes were adopted at this session.

Ending

Officials urged hunters and landowners to use the department webpages and the Outdoor Explorer map to determine whether particular properties lie inside control areas, to follow carcass transport rules, and to bring suspect carcasses or animals that die under unexplained circumstances to local testing drop‑off points so surveillance can be expanded and data improved.