• Posted October 17, 2025

Florida Confirms Second Case of ‘Zombie Deer Disease’

Florida wildlife officials have confirmed the state’s second case of a deadly and highly contagious infection known as “zombie deer disease” in a wild deer.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was detected in a young white-tailed doe found dead after being hit by a vehicle in Holmes County, near the Alabama border, state officials said. 

Florida’s only other case was discovered in June 2023, about a mile away.

CWD is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the brains of deer. While it is not known to infect humans, the illness spreads easily among animals and has no cure or vaccine.

“This disease right now is probably the greatest threat to deer and deer hunting in North America,” wildlife biologist Steven Shea, who manages more than a half-million acres of deer habitat in central Florida, told The Guardian. 

“Based on everything we know, CWD is going to continue to spread," he said. "Every instance where it’s been tried to be contained and eradicated has been unsuccessful. So really what agencies are trying to do is basically slow down the spread, keep it in a relatively small area.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has launched an emergency response plan, creating a special management zone across Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties. 

Officials are conducting enhanced testing and surveillance, with 90 animals now being tested for infection.

In 2023, the FWC began requiring hunters in affected areas to submit deer carcasses for mandatory testing to help monitor potential spread.

James Kelly, the wildlife commission’s CWD surveillance coordinator, told The Guardian that Florida’s early detection program provides "a best-case scenario" for managing CWD.

“Hunters are our first line of defense in managing this disease,” he said.

CWD is often called a “silent killer,” because infected deer can live for years before showing symptoms, which include weight loss, confusion, drooling and loss of coordination. Eventually, the disease causes severe brain damage and death.

Florida’s deer population is estimated at up to 700,000, with about 100,000 hunted each year, making it the state’s most popular game animal.

Shea warned that if hunters stop hunting due to CWD concerns, it could disrupt deer population control and reduce key funding for wildlife programs.

"Hunters are the major way we control deer populations in many areas of the country, and if that goes away you’re still going to have high numbers of deer, [but] there’s going to be bigger impacts on vehicle strikes, and crop depredation," Shea said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on chronic wasting disease.

SOURCE: The Guardian, Oct. 15, 2025