The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has confirmed the first cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Grant and Sevier counties after three hunter-harvested deer tested positive through the state’s surveillance program and follow-up confirmation by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Two bucks from Grant County—a 2½-year-old deer taken southwest of Sheridan and a 3½-year-old buck harvested near Grapevine—tested positive during the modern gun portion of the 2025–26 deer season. In Sevier County, a 4½-year-old buck harvested on the north side of De Queen Lake within De Queen Lake WMA also tested positive.
These cases mark the first detections of CWD in either county. The nearest previously known case in Arkansas is more than 80 miles away, and the source of the new infections remains unknown.
AGFC wildlife health biologist AJ Riggs reported that hunters had submitted 470 CWD samples in Grant County and 403 samples in Sevier County prior to these first detections…