The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has confirmed the first cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Grant and Sevier counties after three hunter-harvested deer tested positive through the state’s surveillance program and follow-up confirmation by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Two bucks from Grant County—a 2½-year-old deer taken southwest of Sheridan and a 3½-year-old buck harvested near Grapevine—tested positive during the modern gun portion of the 2025–26 deer season. In Sevier County, a 4½-year-old buck harvested on the north side of De Queen Lake within De Queen Lake WMA also tested positive.
These cases mark the first detections of CWD in either county. The nearest previously known case in Arkansas is more than 80 miles away, and the source of the new infections remains unknown.
AGFC wildlife health biologist AJ Riggs reported that hunters had submitted 470 CWD samples in Grant County and 403 samples in Sevier County prior to these first detections.
AGFC Research Division Chief Cory Gray said hunters who harvested the infected deer have been notified and that the agency is arranging proper meat disposal.
“We are stepping up surveillance efforts in these two counties and are asking for hunters’ help by submitting any harvested deer to one of our testing locations,” Gray said. “In keeping with AGFC’s CWD Management and Response Plan, we will not change any regulations before the end of the 2025–26 season.”
AGFC Director Doug Schoenrock said officials will evaluate whether to expand the CWD Management Zone after the current season concludes.
“The best way hunters can help is to get their deer tested each time they are successful in the woods,” Schoenrock said, emphasizing the free and voluntary process.
Hunters can bring a deer head—with roughly six inches of neck attached—to any AGFC testing site, label it, bag it, and place it in the designated cooler. A list of CWD testing facilities is available at www.agfc.com/hunting/deer/chronic-wasting-disease/cwd-testing-options
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CWD is a fatal neurological disease affecting deer, elk, caribou, and moose. Since Arkansas’ first confirmed case in 2016, more than 68,293 deer and elk have been tested statewide, with 2,218 deer and 60 elk testing positive. The disease is caused by prions—misfolded proteins that spread through saliva, urine, feces, and contaminated environments.
For more information on CWD in Arkansas, visit www.agfc.com/cwd
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