Deer Killed by Cody Police Had Chronic Wasting Disease

CODY, Wyo. (AP) — A deer killed by police officers who were culling a herd in Cody has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, a contagious neurological disease.

Game and Fish regional wildlife supervisor Alan Osterlund says the last time a dead mule deer from the Cody herd tested positive for CWD was April 2015. He says the positive test wasn't a surprise.

Cody officials obtained a permit from Game and Fish to kill 50 urban deer in January and February as part of a deer management plan adopted by the city council last fall.

CWD in deer is similar to scrapie in domestic sheep and goats and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle, also known as mad cow disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no evidence that CWD poses a health risk to humans.