downtoearth-subscribe

Deer disease

hundreds of deer were shot down in Colorado to stop the spread of the chronic wasting disease similar to the mad cow.

Many of these deer were found to have contracted a brain-rotting ailment. Earlier, Colorado officials had announced that the disease had crossed the Continental Divide for the first time, endangering the state's multimillion-dollar big game hunting industry. Nobody knows how the disease occurred. But it caused deer and elk to become emaciated and die.Only one per cent of the wild deer herd was found infected with the disease.

However, fearing its spread, state wildlife agents with the help of volunteers are stalking and killing the deer and elk wandering within a five-mile radius of where the diseased animals roamed.

Related Content