None of two dozen deer killed in Meridian Twp. have CWD

MERIDIAN TWP. – About two dozen deer were collected in the first week of a targeted deer kill in Meridian Township but none showed any signs of chronic wasting disease, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources representative told the town ship board Tuesday.

Chad Stewart, an MDNR deer management biologist, said the count is up-to-date as of June 11. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had submitted that many for testing.

"There's a long road ahead as far as testing goes," he said.

The initial DNR permit allows for the killing of up to 100 deer.

Another 60 deer killed by vehicles in the nine-township area where authorities are looking for evidence that CWD has spread have been picked up by authorities, but none were diseased.

The disease, which is fatal in deer but cannot be transmitted to humans, is caused by a mutated protein called a prion which multiplies in the diseased animal. The prions attack the deer's nervous system, Stewart said.

CWD is transmitted either deer-to-deer or by indirect contact, Stewart said. Deer that are unusually thin or unafraid of people should be reported to the DNR.

The kill is planned to continue for the foreseeable future, as Stewart said CWD is "extremely resistant to destruction. It can persist in the environment for years."

Stewart said USDA staff are also going out several times per week in response to roadkill calls. That pattern is expected to remain in place until hunting season begins Oct. 1.

Board members also heard from Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife professors Joanne Crawford and William Porter, who have been conducting a study on deer in the township since 2013.

Crawford told the board their research has found deer in the urban areas of the township stick together in family groups, which would simplify finding sick animals.

Study material included 1,000 fecal samples collected in the township on both public and private property. Genetic material taken from the samples helped researchers determine an estimate, as of 2013, of 59 deer per square mile in the township. That means there's approximately 1,859 deer in the 31.5 square miles of the township.

Crawford said two areas were targeted, one near the township hall and one just south of Grand River Avenue.