Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

(midges) are highest.
To date there is no
evidence that HD is a
density dependent
disease. Overpopulated
herds may show
more evidence of HD
simply because there
are more animals in
the herd to be affected.
A typical symptom of chronic hemorrhagic
disease is interrupted hoof growth and sloughing
hoof walls. Photo courtesy of the Southeastern
Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study.
Diseases
other than HD can
have more long-term
effects on whitetailed
deer populations. Diseases such as bovine tuberculosis have the
potential to infect domestic livestock, as well as free-ranging deer.
Chronic wasting disease also has the potential to infect free-ranging
wildlife and is a real threat to local deer populations once introduced.
So far, neither of these diseases has been reported in Alabama, but both
have been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer in other areas of the
United States. The risk of introducing these and other diseases into
deer and other animal populations, both wild and domestic, is one of
the primary reasons for Alabama’s long-standing law banning the importation
of wildlife from other states.
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