Help DNR track hemorrhagic disease
Hemorrhagic disease, commonly referred to as EHD or Bluetongue, has been impacting deer in Iowa for over a decade, with severe outbreaks occurring in 2012, 2013, 2019 and 2023. As a way to better understand disease impacts, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has created an online tool where hunters and landowners can report dead deer resulting from hemorrhagic disease outbreaks.
According to Catherine Cummings, who serves as the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Outreach Specialist in a joint role with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 13 deer carcasses have already been reported for the area.
Hunters and landowners who suspect hemorrhagic disease-related deer mortalities are encouraged to report their observations, including the number of deer carcasses found, using the new EHD/Bluetongue reporting tool that can be found on the deer hunting and deer health webpages.
“By hunters and landowners reporting suspected hemorrhagic disease-related deer mortalities, we are able to have a better understanding of where and how these diseases are affecting Iowa’s deer population, which can lead to more informed deer management decisions,” Cummings said.
The new reporting tool, plus an annual dashboard, is linked off the deer hunting and deer health webpage at www.iowadnr.gov/deer. Hemorrhagic disease has previously gone underreported and this new tool will help simplify the process, as well as improve the accuracy of the number of deer and local areas impacted. Submitting these reports assists the DNR in understanding and managing Iowa’s deer populations.
With hemorrhagic disease, deer mortalities generally occur between July and September, but occasionally later during unseasonably warm weather. Other characteristics include finding more than one deer carcass and discovering carcasses near a water source
Outbreak severity has varied from year to year and there is no effective treatment or known prevention for wild deer.
“I want to note that it’s important to keep in mind that hemorrhagic diseases don’t impact county deer populations uniformly, meaning that one property may experience a severe or devastating outbreak while neighboring properties do not,” Cummings said.
Since the first major outbreak in 2012, the majority of counties that faced severe hemorrhagic disease activity saw deer populations return to normal within two to three years without management intervention. However, counties with low or declining deer populations that experience an outbreak may need additional help to facilitate recovery.
