Dead Deer Caused by Disease, Not Transmittable to Humans or Other Animals
Posted May 16, 2021 at 5:00 am by Hayley Day
From San Juan County Sheriff’s Office
Over the last few weeks, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has been getting increasingly more reports of dead deer that show no real signs of trauma but have foaming mouths.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife now believes the cause of the deaths is Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease. AHD is deadly to deer but not transmittable to humans or other animals.
WDFW recommends to not feed or water the deer to help stop or slow the spread. Feeding and watering the deer will concentrate them and spread the disease faster.
If you see a deceased deer, don’t move the remains, but bury them near where the animal died to help prevent the spread of the disease further.
On May 5, a deputy on Orcas Island responded to a report of several deceased deer in the area of Spring Point Road.
It was reported that there had been approximately 10 deceased deer in the area over the last week. No obvious injuries were observed on the deer, but a white froth was seen on the nose and mouth of some of the deer.
Washington State Fish and Wildlife was contacted, they explained that it was likely that the deer were exposed to common fertilizers or other yard care sprays. This occurs after citizens apply the fertilizer or spray to their yard and the deer ingest the chemicals. There have been similar cases of this around the state and seems to come up around this time of year according to WDFW.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone to use care and apply chemicals as directed if they need to administer them on their property. This is to help ensure the safety of our local wildlife along with our children and domestic animals.
We encourage the public to report incidents of multiple cases of deceased wildlife to the Sheriff’s Office at 360-378-4151.
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Categories: Wildlife
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