Any hunters that harvested a deer in southwest Audubon County are highly recommended to bring it in for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing. Shelby County Conservation Board has reported increased CWD surveillance ranging from county road F32 in Audubon, extending south just north of Lewis in Cass County, and covering areas west of Highway 71 to Highway 191 in Pottawattamie County. This increase in surveillance is due to a confirmed positive test of a deer in Shelby County back in November. CWD is a fatal disease caused by a protein accumulating in the brain, causing neurological damage. The disease is transported from deer to deer through direct contact or exposure to bodily fluids, like saliva, urine, blood, and feces. It is recommended that anyone who harvests a deer in an area where a positive test has been confirmed should have the deer tested, especially before preparing the meat for consumption. Eating the meat of a deer that has tested positive is not recommended. If anyone has a deer for testing, a garbage can is placed in front of the Nishna Bend shop in Harlan to put the head of the deer. Anyone with additional questions is asked to contact Shelby County Conservation at 712-744-3403.
