(WTAJ) — The Pennsylvania Game Commission has announced that the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Areas (DMA) have expanded by more 2,300 square miles due to new cases.
Since 2018, 123 more free-ranging deer have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Pennsylvania. After the CWD testing from the 2018 deer season was complete, the Game Commission found that there have been a total of 250 known CWD cases in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania since 2012.
New CWD cases have been found in several of our counties, including Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Juniata, and Somerset.
The Game Commission tested 9,631 free-ranging deer and 122 elk for CWD in the 2018 seasons. Right now, no free-ranging elk have tested positive for CWD.
For up-to-date maps and descriptions of the DMA boundaries, you can visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website. Due to the increased cases of CWD in both free-ranging and captive deer, DMAs 2 and 3 have been expanded. There will not be changes made to DMA 4.
DMA 2 will now cover more than 6,715 square miles and will include all or parts of Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, Somerset and Westmoreland counties.
DMA 3 will now cover more than 1,119 square miles after the discovery of CWD in a captive deer facility in Clearfield County. The facility will be under quarantine for five years from the date the test came back positive. DMA 3 now includes all or parts of Armstrong, Clarion, Clearfield, Jefferson and Indiana counties. The Game Commission has decided to keep DMA 3 south of Interstate 80 and out of the elk range.