MINERAL WELLS, W.Va. — The impact of epizootic hemorrhagic disease may be worse than most initially thought in parts of West Virginia. Dead deer started turning up about four or five weeks ago in Wood, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, and other counties in the mid-Ohio Valley. The impact was considerably worse across the Ohio River in Washington and Meigs County, Ohio. There large numbers of deer were being found dead throughout the region.

Shon Butler, owner of Longspur Tracking, said surveys his company conducted in recent weeks both on foot and with a drone revealed even more deer have died than many though. He believed it was probably enough to have an impact on the numbers when the hunting season opens this fall.

“We’ve done some surveys over in Ohio. We saw some alarming rates over the

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