WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
State wildlife officials say testing has turned up a second case of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Friday a 2-year-old male found near Lansing in Meridian Township tested positive for the contagious, fatal disease that attacks the brains of infected deer and elk. It was less than a mile from the first case — a female deer that tested positive in May.
Genetic testing is determining if they are related. Officials say confirming the second case is disappointing but not surprising.
The state says about 300 deer have been tested for the disease in the surrounding area.
Until May, chronic wasting disease hadn’t appeared in Michigan since 2008, when an infected white-tailed deer was detected at a Kent County breeding farm. (AP)
