Introduction to CWD; Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of the Cervidae family (Hamir, et.al., 2006 ). The Cervidae family includes the mule deer, Odocolileus hemionus, the white-tailed deer, Odocolileus virginianus, the Rocky Mountain elk, Cervus elaphus nelsoni, and the moose, Alces alces shirasi, among others (Sigurdon & Aguzzi, 2007) . CWD is a prion disease, meaning it is an infection caused by proteins, which occurs naturally in the deer family (Song & Lawson, 2009). This protein is suspected to be an abnormal isoform (PrPSc) of the natural host prion protein (PrPC) (Blanchong, et. Al., 2009). Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the mad cow disease, affects cattle with a prion effect similar to that of CWD which affects cervids. Although scientists are unsure of the route of transmission, CWD is suspected to be transmissible and infectious through direct contact with infected individuals or through environmental contamination (Song & Lawson, 2009). Tests have been performed that have demonstrated the susceptibility of altered mice to oral transmission, mimicking the suspected route of entry, and incubation appears slower but lasts longer with oral infection (Trifilo, et.al., 2007) . The approximate time from initial infection to death is three years. History of CWD; The origin of CWD has yet to be determined (Sigurdson & Aguzzi, 2007). The infection was first noted in 1967 in a captive mule deer research facility. In 1978 pathologists recognized TSE-type brain lesions, as well as CWD which presented as a prion disease caused by neuronal perikaryonic vacuoles, accumulation of aggregated prion proteins, and prion infectivity in the brain. In the late 1970s and early 1980s infection occurred from mid-paper to 225SF (Sigurdson & Aguzzi, 2007). It was observed that elk expressing codons 132MM and 132ML represent a high percentage of those infected while elk expressing 132LL showed resistance to CWD infection for at least four years. In Wisconsin, white-tailed deer showed reduced susceptibility with expression of codons G966S and Q95H. Bottom line: White-tailed deer, along with the rest of the Cervidae family, are facing a possible epidemic. Although the disease has not spread across the range, CWD is transmitted efficiently between individuals. As far as we know, CWD is 100% fetal and incubation can take a few years allowing for many possible transmissions. Additionally, there is currently no form of vaccine or treatment for infected cervids. Despite efforts to control CWD, being a family of free-range animals shows that control is extremely difficult.