Deer Farm Herd Killed to Stem Spread of ‘Zombie’ Deer Disease in Kentucky. Now What?

A disease outbreak on a Kentucky deer farm is renewing questions about whether stronger rules are needed for the more than 100 “captive cervid facilities” the state has permitted.

State and federal agencies recently confirmed eight cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) at a deer farm in Breckinridge County where the illness had first been detected in a single deer in October 2024.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal prion disorder similar to mad cow disease. Only 10 cases have been confirmed in Kentucky — nine of them on the Breckinridge County farm — out of 40,000 tests since 2002. But the disease’s spread in other states has made preventing it a priority for wildlife managers nationwide because it causes population declines in deer and elk when prevalent.

Much about the neurological condition — dubbed “zombie deer disease” — is unknown. In deer, it causes significant weight loss, listlessness and death. A deer can appear healthy and have CWD for months or years before symptoms appear. Research has produced conflicting conclusions on the risk of it spreading to humans.