FWC and FDACS to conduct public meeting about chronic wasting disease

Following confirmation of Florida’s first known case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in June 2023, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) are hosting the following public meeting in Bonifay:

Thursday, April 11
6-8 p.m. (CDT)
Bonifay K-8 School Auditorium
140 Blue Devil Drive
Bonifay, FL 32425

This meeting will provide information about CWD, updates on the unified agency and partner response, new hunting regulations for the area, and sampling and testing procedures. Attendees will also be given an opportunity to ask questions about CWD and CWD management strategies.

The Florida Channel will live stream this meeting at TheFloridaChannel.org. Questions can be asked in advance by emailing CWD@MyFWC.com.

The FWC and its agency partners take CWD very seriously and have implemented a comprehensive response plan. As part of the plan, the FWC and FDACS have been collecting samples from established zones to further assess any spread of the disease. As of March 28, no additional positive cases have been detected.

The FWC is asking anyone who sees a sick, abnormally thin deer or finds a deer dead from unknown causes to call the CWD hotline, 866-CWD-WATCH (866-293-9282) and report the animal’s location.

For more information, visit MyFWC.com/CWD.