white-tailed deer called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). In Pennsylvania, CWD has been found in deer in 2012 and 2013 in Lancaster County. In New York, CWD was observed in Oneida County in 2005. In New Jersey in 2015, there were over one-hundred thousand deer and the number has increased to between 125,000 and 150,000 since then, or more than 17 deer per every square mile of the garden state.
Due to feeding by residents and a lack of hunting, the deer population in Cedar Grove is extremely dense and the damage that they cause to gardens, decorative plants, trees, and shrubs is severe. Motor vehicle accidents with deer are common and dangerous.
At this time, there have been no recorded cases of Chronic Wasting Disease in New Jersey, though data sample are limited.
The New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife maintains a webpage with more information:
https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/cwdinfo.htm
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
