CWD Again

[white eagle]

For the second year in a row the deer I shot has tested positive for CWD.
I am beginning to wonder if it even worth hunting anymore for whitetails in my area.
My land is private and second positive deer in as many years make me wonder if the whole darn herd is heading the way of the doe-doe,
now I know it has never crossed species from deer to human but tell that to my wife there is no way to change her mind when the Wis. DNR says to dispose of the meat, just heart breaking is what it is. :cry:

[BLAHUT]

[ the whole darn herd is heading the way of the doe-doe, ] Could be ?? People quite feeding deer, might help ? Nature will take it's cores ?

[kerplode]

Yeah, your heard will probably end up wiped out. From what I hear, it's quite contagious and it spreads between animals pretty easily.

Even though there are no known cases of it jumping to humans, I definitely wouldn't want to be the first. Prion diseases are no joke...Untreatable, fatal, and an all around terrible way to die.

I agree with your wife and the DNR...Definitely dispose of the meat. In the future, I'd probably also wear gloves when processing or otherwise handling untested animals.

[MUSTANG]

Have watched the Up and Down curve of CWD for over 6 decades. Same applies for Rabbits and Coyotes (Coyotes curve trails the rabbit curve). I believe the old saying applies: "This too will Pass".

[megasupermagnum]

I feel bad for you, but it's not going away anytime soon. Especially not in Wisconsin, the CWD deer farm capital of the world. Maple Hill's AGAIN sent CWD positive deer to a bunch of states, and hopefully they have been shut down for good this time. The state killed all their deer finally. The crazy thing is they got a government check for all that, plus they still have a chance of reopening in 5 years!

There's not much you can do. CWD has been around for a long time, and it has never wiped out any significant population yet. The peak CWD states such as Wisconin and Colorado still have good whitetail numbers. Because CWD takes so long to become fatal, deer breed just fine. So far nothing seems to help populations other than having good diverse habitat so there aren't a bunch of animals close together. Minnesota is taking a super aggressive approach, but they never had it that bad to begin with, and deer are still positive at similar rates so far. Michigan hasn't done hardly anything, and they are doing about as well as MN.

[HWooldridge]

It's all over the place - we have it in Texas, too.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Just made it to NC via Virginia. Where we hunt is one county away from the “watch zone”. It’ll probably be in it next year.

[Smoke4320]

Just started to show up in Northern NC counties

[MaryB]

I feel bad for you, but it's not going away anytime soon. Especially not in Wisconsin, the CWD deer farm capital of the world. Maple Hill's AGAIN sent CWD positive deer to a bunch of states, and hopefully they have been shut down for good this time. The state killed all their deer finally. The crazy thing is they got a government check for all that, plus they still have a chance of reopening in 5 years!

There's not much you can do. CWD has been around for a long time, and it has never wiped out any significant population yet. The peak CWD states such as Wisconin and Colorado still have good whitetail numbers. Because CWD takes so long to become fatal, deer breed just fine. So far nothing seems to help populations other than having good diverse habitat so there aren't a bunch of animals close together. Minnesota is taking a super aggressive approach, but they never had it that bad to begin with, and deer are still positive at similar rates so far. Michigan hasn't done hardly anything, and they are doing about as well as MN.

MN is mainly counties along the WI border in the SE corner, and a few scattered counties where captive deer herds came down with it.

https://img.apmcdn.org/f7c9abe6ea1345eef463f6fafcf93022a68b1a3d/normal/921038-20221102-cwd-zone-map-2022--1400.jpg

[Reg]

I feel bad for you, but it's not going away anytime soon. Especially not in Wisconsin, the CWD deer farm capital of the world. Maple Hill's AGAIN sent CWD positive deer to a bunch of states, and hopefully they have been shut down for good this time. The state killed all their deer finally. The crazy thing is they got a government check for all that, plus they still have a chance of reopening in 5 years!

There's not much you can do. CWD has been around for a long time, and it has never wiped out any significant population yet. The peak CWD states such as Wisconin and Colorado still have good whitetail numbers. Because CWD takes so long to become fatal, deer breed just fine. So far nothing seems to help populations other than having good diverse habitat so there aren't a bunch of animals close together. Minnesota is taking a super aggressive approach, but they never had it that bad to begin with, and deer are still positive at similar rates so far. Michigan hasn't done hardly anything, and they are doing about as well as MN.

I think basically you are spot on. No I don't think it’s ever going to go way but the real question is , where did it come from. Close to me here in Colorado is where it was first noticed and we have several big feedlots in the area. If you know anything about feedlot operations you know that a lot of supplements are added to the feed ration every day. The idea is to put the required weight on the animal as quickly as possible among other things. In its most basic form these chemicals alter the natural process. Also if you have seen the feeding process in feedlots you know that a small amount of this feed is lost outside the feed bunk and it attracts others critters including the local deer population looking for a free handout. In short , if you want to know where to go to get a deer , not too far from a feedlot is a good place to start. Could these chemicals have anything to do with CWD? I would say it would be hard to tell because most cattle are slaughtered before the third year and CWD doesn't show up until after five or six years. You can’t make a comparison like this.
Let’s carry this one step further.
Also in our area are a very large number of center pivot irrigation systems. Center pivots they are called. The deer love them. Perfect shelter in the corn once it gets so high. Plenty of water and all the food they want right at hand. There is no reason to leave until the combine shows up in the fall. All summer long any nutrients the plants need , any insecticide any chemicals are injected into the water system which also carry’s them to the deer.
In the last few years especially we have noticed an increasing number of what are called non typical bucks. Some are getting so nontypical you would almost call them grotesque. Some are getting such a huge crown of misshapen horns on their head one has to wonder how do they hold their heads up!
To keep this short I guess what I am trying to say is are we the source of CWD through the use of chemicals and are we creating our own monsters in the corn fields ? I don’t want to sound like a bunny bugger, I am far from it but I will say I don’t want to put any deer meat on my dinner plate until we know more about what is going on.

[MUSTANG]

CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) I remember in the 1960's discussions in the Barber Shop about CWD being in the Panhandle of Texas. Here's a piece out of Texas A&M on CWD:


https://wildlife.tamu.edu/cwdhistory/

History of Chronic Wasting Disease
Origins
The precise location and mode of CWD development is not known. The condition was first noted in 1967 in research mule deer herds in Colorado, but not confirmed as a TSE until the 1970s. By the late 1970s, CWD was recognized in captive facilities in Colorado and Wyoming in mule deer, black-tailed deer, and elk. In 1981, the disease was identified first in the wild in elk in Colorado, followed shortly by mule deer in 1985 in both Colorado and Wyoming. At that time, an endemic zone for the disease was established in those states. CWD, however, spread to captive herds in Saskatchewan, Canada in the mid-1990s, and to Oklahoma and Nebraska, and wild cervids in Saskatchewan by the year 2000.

It was not until 2001 that CWD was identified in white-tailed deer, in South Dakota wild herds, and in a captive herd in Nebraska. In the following years, CWD spread to Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Utah, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia, North Dakota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas in 2012, and finally Ohio in 2014. In 2015, Michigan confirmed the first case of CWD in wild white-tailed deer. Currently 21 states and 2 Canadian provinces have CWD.

While CWD was first detected in captive mule deer, it has long-since spread to other cervids. Early reports indicated that transmission outside of mule deer was not possible, followed shortly by infection detected in elk. Eventually, infections in white-tailed deer, moose, and black-tailed deer (sub-species of mule deer) were detected. More recently, red deer were determined susceptible to infection in a research facility.

[megasupermagnum]

The fact is nobody knows where CWD came from. It's not even settled science what causes CWD to spread. Ultimately it is a prion which causes brain damage.

I'm not going to say you are wrong, but Colorado, Wyoming are possibly the origin areas, and they aren't really big farming states, not like the midwest is. Wisconsin is basically corn and soybeans top to bottom, true, but so is Minnesota and Michigan. South Dakota eastern half is all farm, and CWD is pretty much non existent here. Western South Dakota is mostly open grassland, and that's where the CWD is heavy. You don't see foodlots around everywhere like you used to. Cows are mostly free range now.

Yes there have been CWD positive deer in many states. Texas for example has them, but it wasn't even detected until 2012 in a wild deer. As far as I can tell, TX has only found 17 wild deer positive for CWD so far in 2022. Compare that to Wisconsin, which has so far found 689 deer, I'm sure that number will rise as the results from regular firearms season come in, and the interesting thing is that almost all of them are 4 or 5 counties.

CWD is a localized problem.

[10x]

The fact is nobody knows where CWD came from. It's not even settled science what causes CWD to spread. Ultimately it is a prion which causes brain damage.

snip.

Some research shows it is transmitted in scrapes through urine
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/debbie_mckenzie_-_cwd_strains.pdf

[HWooldridge]

I would agree it is localized but one issue is that many folks don't want to test or report findings so there is no good way to know how many deer have it.

One of our sons worked on a ranch some years ago where one deer was found with CWD. The landowner was running a breeding program when the infected deer was detected; the state came in immediately and wanted to slaughter his entire herd - to the tune of about $250,000 in losses, not including all the infrastructure he put in. He resisted and fought them in court for a couple years, in which time they continued to test and found no other deer with CWD. Ultimately, the rancher lost the fight - TPWD destroyed all the deer and tested the carcasses but none were found with the disease. FWIW, the original breeder buck was brought in from Missouri, but had died before CWD was found.

Both my son and I have seen a few wasted deer walking in pastures over the past 20 years or so - they look like zombies on four feet, and it's really obvious when they are seen near a healthy herd. It's obvious they simply go off and die, and nobody is the wiser after the carrion eaters are done.

[white eagle]

The fact is nobody knows where CWD came from. It's not even settled science what causes CWD to spread. Ultimately it is a prion which causes brain damage.

I'm not going to say you are wrong, but Colorado, Wyoming are possibly the origin areas, and they aren't really big farming states, not like the midwest is. Wisconsin is basically corn and soybeans top to bottom, true, but so is Minnesota and Michigan. South Dakota eastern half is all farm, and CWD is pretty much non existent here. Western South Dakota is mostly open grassland, and that's where the CWD is heavy. You don't see foodlots around everywhere like you used to. Cows are mostly free range now.

Yes there have been CWD positive deer in many states. Texas for example has them, but it wasn't even detected until 2012 in a wild deer. As far as I can tell, TX has only found 17 wild deer positive for CWD so far in 2022. Compare that to Wisconsin, which has so far found 689 deer, I'm sure that number will rise as the results from regular firearms season come in, and the interesting thing is that almost all of them are 4 or 5 counties.

CWD is a localized problem.


If you consider the southern 1/2 of the state localized
its heartbreaking my entire being is deer hunting almost every aspect of my life
is centered around the hunt
spring, summer, fall, and winter

[dverna]

I live in a county that has CWD deer. Not a lot of deer with it but enough to make me question why I would take the risk for 30-35 lbs of venison. The only way to know is to have your deer tested.

Cost is $45 and can take up to two weeks.

I know one guy who will only shoot "trophy" bucks and gives the meat away.

Due to CWD and TB, baiting is not permitted in most of the state. But many people bait anyway. This year the DNR instituted a program that requires hunters to submit information on where their deer was shot within three days.
The DNR may arrive to inspect the gut pile. I have heard of two reports of hunters (one a youth hunter) that had had their meat, and guns confiscated as well as a fine when the DNR found bait near the kill.

Here is info from the DNR website WRT reporting "The potential penalty for failure to comply with harvest reporting is a 90-day misdemeanor. The fines and costs for such a violation can range from $50-$500. While the regulation is written in our Wildlife Conservation Order, which is where all of our deer regulations reside and allows conservation officers to enforce violations, this first year we will emphasize an educational approach to hunters rather than enforcement in most circumstances."

And baiting. "Unlawful Feeding Deer [ C3. 100a ] – misdemeanor offense with a maximum of 90 days in jail, a minimum fine of at least $50 to a maximum fine of $500, Court costs and State fees, and the loss of hunting privileges at the discretion of the Court pursuant to MCL 324.43559."

Looks like a really good way to reduce hunting activity.

The "good news" is fewer kills means more infected deer and more CWD infected deer down the road. Love a well thought out plan.

Sure is curious to see bags of corn, deer attractants, lick blocks, "deer carrots", apples etc at many of the gas stations around here.

[MUSTANG]

I would agree it is localized but one issue is that many folks don't want to test or report findings so there is no good way to know how many deer have it.

One of our sons worked on a ranch some years ago where one deer was found with CWD. The landowner was running a breeding program when the infected deer was detected; the state came in immediately and wanted to slaughter his entire herd - to the tune of about $250,000 in losses, not including all the infrastructure he put in. He resisted and fought them in court for a couple years, in which time they continued to test and found no other deer with CWD. Ultimately, the rancher lost the fight - TPWD destroyed all the deer and tested the carcasses but none were found with the disease. FWIW, the original breeder buck was brought in from Missouri, but had died before CWD was found.

Both my son and I have seen a few wasted deer walking in pastures over the past 20 years or so - they look like zombies on four feet, and it's really obvious when they are seen near a healthy herd. It's obvious they simply go off and die, and nobody is the wiser after the carrion eaters are done.


A Bison/Elk ranch (raised for sales to Chain Stores) down the road from us was forced to Kill off the Elk they had because of a positive CWD test. What a shame.

[725]

Western Maryland has had a couple incidents of CWD.

[white eagle]

Wisconsin had a no baiting rule (not sure if it applies yet) and when CWD was just getting a grip in the state the DNR had what they called an eradication zone where their intent was to kill most of all the deer in that area. SO they set up bait piles on public land, hired sharp shooters and killed all the deer that came into the bait. Do as I say not as I do. Well their plan failed and here we are today. It will never be gone and after all do we really know when it actually came here and that it hasn't been here forever?

[Reg]

I think it can be considered as isolated in the respect it is not in a particular area I think the facts prove it is communicable and has spread. Slowly but it without a doubt is spreading.

[megasupermagnum]

What I mean is CWD is only bad in certain areas. Southern Wisconsin for example. Why it hasn't spread more to MN and MI is hard to say. It obviously has spread to those states, but not in very big numbers. Minnesota still has more pending results, but so far they have only found 8 positive tests, 9 suspect (unclear what that means) in the state out of thousands. MN had mandatory testing in certain areas, and you could have yours tested for free no matter where you were. I hunted 273 for example, which was not a mandatory testing area, but I dropped the head off anyway. I'm not going to add them all up, but it appears MN did over 10,000 tests this year, and found 8 positive. They don't even say if those are wild deer, or farm deer.

Will CWD grow in MN? Probably, but it sure isn't spreading fast. It seems the same story in most places. It is a 100% lethal disease, but it also takes years to take a toll so it isn't harming population size. So far there is very little us as hunters can do other than having deer tested. I'm not aware of any test that is accurate on live deer. There's all kinds of studies that say it's spread one way or another. None of it is concrete evidence. Common sense says the more deer in a small area will spread diseases faster. I understand why people would want to ban baiting, but at the same time most people still have food plots. Ethics aside, I fail to see how a corn pile is much different from a 1/4 acre food plot as far as congregating deer. Minnesota did ban deer urine and other scents or baits with deer fluids in a big portion of the state, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. It would make more sense to require removal of carcasses and gut piles, which is not a practical idea at all.

https://www.bowhunting.com/blog/2018/12/14/can-bottled-deer-urine-spread-cwd/

[Thundarstick]

We have it rite here in West Tennessee as well! It really appears population density is a huge factor in the spread. I raised my kids on deer, but think it very unwise to consume untested whitetail deer meat. I have stopped hunting them and for all the damage they cause to crops and automobiles wish something would wipe them all out! Then we could go back to small game management in the time before everyone had a deer lease, an ATV on a trailer. Best thing they have done here is allow farmers to shoot them all summer long for crop destruction! Deer introduction is the worst thing that's happened to hunting in my life time!

[trebor44]

Sheep to Deer and Elk, gotta luv that "research" facility in Colorado that 'sourced' it for science! Might want to check on it prevalence in the human population even though it goes by a less fearful name.

[MaryB]

What I mean is CWD is only bad in certain areas. Southern Wisconsin for example. Why it hasn't spread more to MN and MI is hard to say. It obviously has spread to those states, but not in very big numbers. Minnesota still has more pending results, but so far they have only found 8 positive tests, 9 suspect (unclear what that means) in the state out of thousands. MN had mandatory testing in certain areas, and you could have yours tested for free no matter where you were. I hunted 273 for example, which was not a mandatory testing area, but I dropped the head off anyway. I'm not going to add them all up, but it appears MN did over 10,000 tests this year, and found 8 positive. They don't even say if those are wild deer, or farm deer.

Will CWD grow in MN? Probably, but it sure isn't spreading fast. It seems the same story in most places. It is a 100% lethal disease, but it also takes years to take a toll so it isn't harming population size. So far there is very little us as hunters can do other than having deer tested. I'm not aware of any test that is accurate on live deer. There's all kinds of studies that say it's spread one way or another. None of it is concrete evidence. Common sense says the more deer in a small area will spread diseases faster. I understand why people would want to ban baiting, but at the same time most people still have food plots. Ethics aside, I fail to see how a corn pile is much different from a 1/4 acre food plot as far as congregating deer. Minnesota did ban deer urine and other scents or baits with deer fluids in a big portion of the state, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. It would make more sense to require removal of carcasses and gut piles, which is not a practical idea at all.

https://www.bowhunting.com/blog/2018/12/14/can-bottled-deer-urine-spread-cwd/

The MN map I posted has one thing in common for the CWD areas... they are forested for the most part! Only the occasional farm carved out... SE MN where the bulk of the CWD has been is all hills and trees, impossible to farm but LOTS of dairy/beef cattle grazing the clearings. Get out on the flat prairie and no CWD... deer out here are VERY spread out most of the year and only herd up once heavy snow hits. When I deer hunted we hunted a 100 square mile area of abandoned farm sites, drainage ditches, creek and river bottoms. We did pretty well but had hunted that area for many years and knew where the deer would be plus we had exclusive access to a lot of the spots.