DEC Wants Rare 'Exotic' Deer Spotted Upstate Targeted, Killed As Precaution

Conservation officials in New York are encouraging hunters to target and kill an “exotic” non-native species of deer that has been spotted in the state and may potentially infect native animals in the area with a deadly disease.

The New York State Department of Conservation has received several trail photos of a male sika deer, according to a report from New York Upstate . The small elk is native to Japan and eastern Asia, and at least two sources have sent photos to environmental officials.

According to the report, Jerry Grigonis, of Fulton, said he first noticed the deer on his trail camera in Granby, a small town in Oswego County, in November. The sika deer has not been found in New York outside of some sightings on Long Island more than a decade ago.

Officials are concerned the sika deer could carry chronic wasting disease, “a fatal, neurological illness occurring in North American members of the deer family, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey. If it does, there is potential that this species could spread the illness to the local white-tailed deer population.

Read more: https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/yonkers/news/dec-wants-rare-exotic-deer-spotted-upstate-targeted-killed-as-precaution/746754/