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White-tailed deer facts and figures
Chewable nuggets on ruminant often seen from North Jersey.
Philip DeVenceentis, NorthJersey.com
An outbreak of disease affecting the deer population may be the reason New Jersey motorists see more carcasses on New Jersey roadsides ahead of the annual migration season.
State officials say epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreaks are common, but Morris County officials say the company responsible for removing roadside deer carcasses has “never seen so many calls of service in more than 20 years in the company “.
“The seller has confirmed that the EHD outbreak in the county has had an impact on the deer population in recent weeks,” Morris County spokesman Brian Murray said Friday. “Normally the seller has to remove about a dozen carcasses per week. Yesterday they removed 40 carcasses from Morris County and they scheduled 50 pickups in Morris County for today.”
Recent flood rains may also have played a role, pushing deer away from the swampy lowlands to higher elevations more likely to be populated by humans, wildlife experts say.
State officials did not have New Jersey-wide statistics, but North Haledon Mayor Randy George said his town in Passaic County was experiencing the same problem.
“We have collected 55 deer in the last 10 days, and this will continue until the first frost,” said George. “There are going to be a lot of dead deer. If this disease kills them, it will get worse.”
George said residents can contact the city for the removal of the carcasses from their property.
In Morris Township, Police Chief Mark DiCarlo sent an email notice to residents on Thursday noting “an increase in deer carcasses on our streets” and “a possible explanation.”
“The Department of Environmental Protection’s Fish and Wildlife Division has confirmed an epizootic hemorrhagic disease in a recently sampled deer in Burlington County,” he wrote. “The sample was also tested for bluetongue, another virus that can cause bleeding disease in deer, and it was negative.”
None of these diseases pose a threat to public health, officials said. But officials advise against “consuming meat from any game that appears sick,” DeCarlo wrote.
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Seasonal model
EHD and bluetongue are contracted by the bite of midges and cannot be transmitted to humans, officials say. Humans are not at risk from handling infected deer, being bitten by infected midges, or eating infected deer meat.
Epidemics of EHD usually begin in late summer. Symptoms may include difficulty standing, drooling, or foaming through the mouth or nose. Because the disease causes a fever, sick or dead deer are often seen in or near water. The transmission of the disease ends when the first hard frost kills the population of midges.
The Morris County seller “has stepped up operations with additional crews and is working on other fronts to dispose of carcasses more quickly once they are picked up,” Murray said.
According to a North Haledon police report dated September 3, an official with the State Fisheries and Wildlife Division advised North Haledon officials to “take the animals to a landfill or bury them in a landfill. grave, ”according to a North Haledon police report dated September 3. two separate employees through two separate phone calls. “
Morris Township Mayor Jeffrey Grayzel said, “The disease in the deer population is another natural disaster that we as a community face.
“Owners can bring deer carcasses to the curb and call our police department to schedule a pickup from our animal control department,” he said on Friday.
There have been several outbreaks of EHD in New Jersey deer since 1955. Bluetongue virus has been isolated from one dead deer at Basking Ridge in Somerset County and from one dead in Stirling in 2014.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @wwesthoven
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