deer

A bill in the Kansas Legislature that would cut millions from the state’s wildlife department comes after a lawmaker threatened to defund the state agency for considering deer-baiting restrictions.

Parks and Wildlife officials were trying to stop chronic wasting disease from spreading out of the Kerr Wildlife Management Area.

The Kerr Wildlife Management Area has hosted deer research for decades.

Chronic wasting disease — which affects deer, elk and moose — continues to spread throughout the Great Plains and Midwest. Just this year, authorities in western Oklahoma detected the state’s first case in a free-ranging deer.

A Republican lawmaker sparked ethics concerns after he threatened to cut at least a million dollars from the agency if it bans deer baiting. And he said another lawmaker that owns a hunting lodge would help him.

Feeding deer ensures strong numbers of the animals at hunting lodges, but state wildlife officials are worried about diseases and other unintended effects

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation confirmed a second white-tailed deer has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

A deadly disease found in wild deer has been discovered for the first time in Oklahoma.

Cases of chronic wasting disease have been found at several deer-breeding facilities.

Agencies across Kansas are warning drivers to take additional caution as deer mating season begins, bringing higher levels of deer activity. Sedgwick...