MudderChuck

You kind of have a point, it is in mans nature to meddle.

I really can't tell you about mother natures efficiency. To many animals have gone extinct for it to be counted on.

It seems like after a hundred years, the tendency to run away from headlights would be instinctive in Deer, it isn't. Off topic, but Hedgehogs now run away from cars, they didn't used to. Evolution can be sort of be a hit or miss thing.

The Deer herds diminish too much and it is going to have a domino effect, which nobody can predict. Nature has it's feast and famine cycles, there is IMO no magic balance like the Greenies envision. The long term consequences of mans meddling, good intentioned or poorly executed, is a total unknown.

The Ranchers killed off most of the Deer in the south west Savanna country and the Condor went nearly extinct. Etc. The greenies had off-road traffic forbidden in/near the Condor preserve to protect the Condor, the brush closed the roads, a fire came along, the fire department couldn't get to the preserve to try and fight the fire, the few remaining Condors burnt to death. The law of unintended consequences.

You are right in one aspect, mans meddling, more often than not, doesn't turn out like planned or envisioned.

Man and Hogs (to name a couple) seem to have some sort of genetic resistance, they call it a species barrier. Which kind of indicates it has been around for a long time or maybe it's just luck?

rockport

I wasn't really basing my point on mother natures track record as much as common sense on this specific case.


no action VS extended hunting season to decrease population

IF some deer have a genetic resistance it makes more sense to me to let nature select than unknowing man as far as decreasing the population unless there is substantial evidence that suggest otherwise.

It just makes more sense to me that way.

For example if you have 40 acres with 10 deer and 1 CWD positive deer it makes more sense to me to just let it run its course than to randomly select and kill 5 of the deer.

You may very well kill your resistant deer and virtually destroy them all.

The more deer you have the more resistant deer you have, the more resistant deer you have the better.

MudderChuck

I get where you are coming from, but maybe instead of extended season, maybe a targeted thinning of the herd. Just an idea.

Just a off the cuff idea would be to harvest heavily in the yearling category. Relieving some of the population and culling the adult herd if needed. The Prion disease seems to be largely latent, often with a long gestation period or it takes a long time for the prion load to multiply to the point it actually causes issues.

Sounds reasonable, but many hunters would have to rethink their entire strategy. Instead of hunting for that trophy and bragging rights,hunt for the younger, often better tasting Deer. Culled Deer (obvious defects) and sick Deer would have to become the new trophy. Competition to be the first, the biggest or the best, would have to be replaced by good judgement and what is good for the herd. Hunt more like natural predators, the young, the slow, the stupid, the weak or feeble and let the the best and healthiest animals go. Pretty much the way I've been hunting for decades. I read somewhere, that few Deer under around 18 months, show any detectable prion load (I may be a bit off here but close).

Just a side note, I haven't shot anything with more than spikes or yearling Doe in many years. They are better eating and you can let more Deer mature to see what they will turn into without over populating. In nature most of the attrition is in the younger animals anyway. If I scope it I own it, I don't have to kill it. My trophy is the memory of that trophy Buck in my scope.

Just a pipe dream, can you imagine trying to tell Oldtmer or Topgun that they may be doing it wrong?

The DNR paints with a broad brush and still has trouble policing that. Changing someones outlook on the way they hunt is going to be difficult if not impossible.

gunnysack2

More regs for the deer farmers ,a double fence should be mandatory. I know some have it already,in my opinion it would be in there best interest.

BigTime1

Lets say all deer farms and ranches are double fenced...To go along with the 100% testing that they already do...What is your opinion that should be done with all other vectors out there spreading the same prion?

gunnysack2

Good question big time ,was not aware of of others besides deer/elk farmers.

BigTime1

Yes and this is a big problem in this world. Deer farms are the only ones testing for it so they of course find it first. Deer farms are hand feeding CWD right along with every person that baits deer in the wild with corn and alfalfa. There will never be an end to cwd when farmers in cwd positive states can sell their products and those products being sold on shelves all across the country.

Deer farms are the only vector of the long list of vectors that are tested .Everything else is just free wheeling across the country!

WV Hunter

I believe CWD is just another disease that has been around forever. Its only in the recent 10-15yrs that its been "focused" on, and I believe because deer hunting - more specifically "big buck hunting" has become a huge industry. The over reaction to CWD in some areas is no doubt politically driven, at least it appears that way to me.

In WV & VA where I am, we've dealt with this for a long time with no issues at all. I'd be willing to bet 20-30yrs ago the same amount of cases would have been found had they been testing for it. Its nothing new, just another disease and part of God's way of controlling the herds.

olsaltydog

While we understand what you are saying, there are other vectors to spreading CWD, but a states Game Commission only has control of Urine scents, and Deer baiting. Where the States Agriculture department has the other controls that may include depending on state Deer Farms. We cannot ask the Game Commission to regulate something not under their control. We can petition the Agriculture Dept. but we are all pretty sure how that will go. Heck you will probably have more support getting subsidies stopped, but I doubt it will happen.

olsaltydog

All the data I read from most biologist believe with CWD that it is not that it will be a quick killer, killing off herds of deer at a single point in time. It is proposed to be a long over drawn out process and yes all biologist agree it is fatal. The biggest issue which resides with CWD's incubation periods of weeks to years is it's over lasting affects on a herds age structure. You will start to see the age structure will be truncated. I believe it could have been natural or a mutation from the Scrape that sheep deal with but you would think there would be more reports of emaciated deer throughout the nation then what has been noticed over the last few decades. I disagree with the killing off of deer as a precautionary step though as with most viruses and diseases it only takes one animal to be genetically indifferent to the prion to save the rest of the deer. That trait would then naturally be passed on to other deer and spread from there. The lottery killing of randomly found deer prevents this portion of nature from taking its course.