A deer next to the Bill Riley Trail in Des Moines on Dec. 28, 2024. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Since 2013, chronic wasting disease has been detected in more than 500 deer across 31 Iowa counties.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has launched an updated response plan to the disease that includes collaboration with the hunting community, researchers and landowners. The plan was introduced ahead of the start to Iowa’s gun season for deer hunting, which begins Saturday.

The plan , which is written for 2025 through 2030, said the state is shifting focus from eradicating the disease to instead “mitigating its spread and managing its impacts.”

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease impacting cervids – elk, moose, caribou and most importantly t

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