Guys, Im going to say something for all of you. You guys know very little about this subject in general, and this case specifically. You are NOT to blame, though, so please dont feel as though Im criticizing you. In turn, as much as you guys might be misinformed, I on the other hand, have become too defensive over all this. This is serious stuff, and the info isnt getting out there accurately. But the publics lack of info hurts me financially. Ill explain.

Most of you use deer recreationally. You hunt them, collect sheds, eat them, etc. I make my living putting them back together as a taxidermist as well as raising them for sale to other breeders. Without deer, Im sunk. I cannot risk having deer be sick, wild or captive. Please keep that in mind when someone comes in here and says Im just in it for the money, etc. I hope you see my point.

CWD is NOT the result of captive deer movement. CWD started in the mid-sixties in Colorado and Wyoming during scrapies research with sheep. They were looking at maganese replacement of copper for prion and protien function and proteinase resistance. Deer and elk later contracted a wasting disease from those areas. Elk were moved to Saskatchewan before this disease was known. Restocking elk, not farming. Wisconsin got theirs from Mule deer. I know, theres no mule deer in Wisconsin. Heck, theres no captive cervid program in Wyoming either, but those who blame deerfarms dont care. One of the universities in Wis. had test stations where they operated a program on wasting diseases in deer. The papers are public record. Later those facilities werent kept up and deer could freely move in and out of the test stations. Mt. Horeb is just one example.

Here in NY state, the culprit looks like contamination from taxidermy waste. Before anyone wants this guys head, he just did what so many others did. Animals came to him still on the carcass long before any of us knew anything about transmissable spongiform encephalapathies. The area he often processed those animals later became part of his deer facilities. Facilities the state licensed him to operate to rehab wildlife, including deer. He, like the state, or anyone for that matter, had no idea that rogue prions could store dorminantly in the ground to somehow be passed on later. So, you can say it was the deer industry, but I think an intelligent observer can deduce that even without any deer farm that this was going to happen.

Now, I wont lie to you guys and say that sloppy deer farming practices and illegal movement wont excellerate the process, but Im not taking the blame for this, either. Illegally moving live animals across state lines is in violation of the Lacy Act, besides all our new emergency regs on CWD. Most states require that cervids cant be moved into the state until the herd has been in the CWD monitoring or surveillance program for 3 to 5 years, depending on the state.

Many of the above comments/questions have already been answered in my first post. No live test available, wish there was one! No, NY does not allow deer into the state without the CWD monitoring program. NY doesnt allow hunter killed animals to come in either, without first being processed, but, its still happening. Lack of education is the culprit here.

Charlie, no, there has not been any more positives from approximately 120 deer tested this past week, from the wild in an area near the infected herds. No, the farmer in question had not imported anything from out of state since the early '90s. I know him personally. Without our captive deer program, no, we sure wouldnt have deer to test. But, you wouldnt see CWD until it infected your wild deer, either. Like I believe I convincingly pointed out, the disease wasnt a result of deerfarming.

Adam, they have been trying to develop a live test. Tonsil swabs, saliva, blood work, but nothing. There are theories out there that this is based on some spiroplasma, maybe its related to Alshiemers disease, all kinds of stuff. When they take a sample from deer, its dead deer, of course. They take the brain stem, and also the lymph node and tonsils, just for a comparative test. Theyre trying, believe me.

Ruffed grouse, another thing to remember. Many states, like PA, believe that because theyre CWD free, that instate movement is harmless. There are a helluva lot more guys dumping butchered carcasses of cervids out in fields that could have come from edemic areas then there are deerfarmers bringing in potential sick deer. We ALL know deer processors and taxidermists and private individuals who have for years dumped carcass parts in a hole out in the back forty. Im not familiar with PAs regs, because I havent needed to buy any deer. But Im willing to bet that theyll soon adopt the federal regs in whole or at least in part. You make a good point though.

Guys, I know you all wont agree with all of what I say here. Thats ok. But trust me when I say that Im involved, and Im not lying to you. Theres also things Im just not at liberty to say. Thats just part of being involved. I just hoped that I could share at least some info on this with guys like you, who I banter back and forth with on so many other topics. You are of course entitled to your own opinions, and I respect that. I hope youll give me that same courtesy...