LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Three cases of Chronic-Wasting Disease have been detected in parts of Arkansas where they never have been before. Now the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is urging hunters to be on the lookout for this disease, which affects white-tailed deer and elk.

Chronic-Wasting Disease (CWD), also known as zombie deer disease, has been prevalent in portions of North Central and South Arkansas since 2016. But now for the first time, the disease is in Grant and Sevier counties, which is concerning to Arkansas Game and Fish.

In Grant County, one deer was taken southwest of Sheridan, and the other was killed by a hunter near Grapevine. Just 4 miles from the Oklahoma-Arkansas border in Sevier County at the De Queen Lake Wildlife Management Area, the third deer was harvested by a hunter.

The previous nearest-known case of CWB in Arkansas to these areas was 80 miles away.

“It’s difficult to tell where it came from, how it got there, if it came from another state, it’s just basically impossible to tell that,” says Keith Stephens, the commission’s chief of communications.

CWD has been in the United States since 1967, affecting deer, elk, moose, antelope, and caribou populations.

The disease is caused by abnormal prion proteins, which are found in the central and peripheral nervous systems. It can cause a damaging chain reaction, spreading to the brain, which can lead to neurodegeneration.

The disease takes nearly 2 years to present symptoms, but once they begin to show, those symptoms are easy to spot.

“They just don’t act normal. If they are just standing there, they typically stand like a tripod, their legs are spread apart real wide. They salivate, excessively,” explains Stephens.

He continues, “they drink excessively, they use the bathroom excessively, walk in circles.”

Stephens also says that these deer no longer have a fear of humans, and they do not run away if a person approaches one.

This disease is deadly for these creatures.

“Eventually it does kill the deer. They get very sick. They have some really erratic behavior, and as the name implies, they just basically waste away,” Stephens says.

There is one question experts are still trying to answer: can humans contract this disease?

“There’s been a lot of testing done around the country, and so far, we haven’t found the link,” states Stephens.

Though there has not been a case where a human has contracted CWD, the American Academy of Neurology reported that in 2022, there were two hunters who died after developing Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, a central nervous system disorder caused by misfolded prion proteins, after eating CWD-infected venison.

Stephens urges Arkansans to report deer with this disease to the Game and Fish Commission.

“We always tell people if their deer does test positive for CWD not to eat it. Let us know, and we’ll come get it.”

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has freezers in every county in the state where anyone can drop off their deer so it can be tested for CWD. The entire list of locations is here.

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders doubled down on her decision to issue a proclamation shuttering state government offices on Friday, December 26, in celebration of Christmas after receiving a complaint from a legal group which advocates for the separation of church and state.

About a week ago, Sanders issued a notice alerting the public of her decision to close government offices the day after Christmas. In her proclamation, Sanders shared the story of Jesus, “the Son of God” who was born in a manger in the city of Bethlehem.

“We give thanks for the arrival of Christ the Savior, who will come again in glory and whose kingdom will have no end, by celebrating His birth each year on Christmas Day,” Sanders wrote, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.

Freedom from Religion Foundation wrote a letter rebuking Sanders of her proclamation, claiming that the governor used her “official capacity” to “advance a specific religious viewpoint, in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.” The group claimed Sanders’ proclamation was therefore unconstitutional.

But in a letter penned to Freedom from Religion Foundation’s legal counsel Christopher Line, Sanders pushed back, saying it would be “impossible” for her to keep religion out of an acknowledgement of Christmas.

“You say that my communications as Governor must be neutral on matters of religion,” Sanders wrote.

“I say that, even if I wanted to do that, it would be impossible. Christmas is not simply an ‘end-of-the-year holiday’ with ‘broadly observed secular cultural aspects,’ as your letter states. It’s not gifts, trees, and stockings that make this holiday special. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and if we are to honor Him properly, we should tell His miraculous, world-changing story properly, too.”

Sanders wrote that she found it ironic that she received the foundation’s letter which claimed that she was “alienating” non-Christian constituents as she left a Menorah lighting celebration with people from all across Arkansas.

“I doubt they would say that my administration alienates non-Christians,” Sanders wrote. “In fact, many would say the opposite: that only by voicing our own faith and celebrating other faiths can we make our state’s diverse religious communities feel seen and heard.”

Sanders ended the letter by saying her proclamation wasn’t about pushing Christian doctrine on people but to celebrate the humble beginnings of Jesus Christ.

“Though you may enter this season with bitterness, know that Christ is with you, that He loves you, and that He died for your sins just the same as He did for mine and everyone else’s,” the letter concluded.

Michael R. Wickline

mwickline@adgnewsroom.com

Mike Wickline covers state politics, and he has covered the state Legislature for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since November 2000. He previously spent several years covering the Idaho Legislature for the Lewiston Morning Tribune.