Bill Yox

Hedhuntr, no ripping from me! You are right to be concerned, especially with your states track record in the past as a guide. No, I sure dont want folks going off half-cocked on such an important issue, thats true. But, you have to know that Im very involved in this, not at the "what I read" sense though. I spent a day in the capital with a group that included Gary Nelson, the pres of NEDeFA, the largest deer farming group. Gary is from Wisconsin. I could go on and on about how CWD REALLY got to Wisconsin. It wasnt you as a hunter or me as a deerfarmer either. The NY outbreak has been very contained, not by us, but by the deer and the disease itself. Thats the point. To kill off deer in hopes of finding more seems ludicrous. The DEC here has done a pretty good job, but the regs are going to get tight and stupid, Im afraid. Add to that the many uninformed nobodies with a pen and a column in some hunting rag, and you get the hype that too many folks read and think is real or accurate. I LIVE this stuff. Its not heresay. Ive known the guy where it was found for twenty years. The story you read is NOT how its happened. There are authors who wrote stuff that was just plain wrong, and even lied. I know, as I know who they are. We watched as misquotes were rewritten time after time by people little more then parrots. No brains, just copying abilities. Now THATS serious stuff.

So, Im far from reserved, just holding my tongue in certain instances. Plus I dont care to be referred to as a know-it-all, as I have in other posts in the past. As for the cow dung, etc, let me help you out a bit. CWD is very species-specific. Cervidae only. Not bovine, and theres no cross contamination. Also, its law that theres no animal by-products in feed intended for any ruminants, cervids or bovine. Also, scrapies is a related wasting type disease, found in sheep. You mentioned EHD, or epizooic hemeraggic disease (bluetongue) earlier. EHD has killed more deer each year then CWD has all total, easily. Also, after Wisconsin had their CWD fling, did you know that last year they enjoyed their second highest hunter harvest in history? Didnt catch these facts in the local rag mags, did ya? Hahaha, because nobody wants to say so. Its way easier to holler that the sky is falling. You also mentioned baiting. I could never figure out how deer, or diseases, could decipher between illegal or artificial baiting, like food plots, bait piles, feeders...and the "legal" ways of concentrating deer, such as overpopulation, leaving crops over-winter, etc. I know, Im being sarcastic, but facts are facts. The facts are that nobody knows if deer need to rub there noses or their asses to spread this stuff.

Heres another. They are now proposing that deerfarmers need 10 ft fences. Hmmm, major airports put up fence surrounding all airport runways to keep deer away from planes, to protect human life. And they use 6 or 8 ft fence. Hmmm...See what I mean?

Hedhuntr, forge ahead and ask questions, and be concerned. I wouldnt take my "trying to sound cool" approach as cavelier or not concerned. Im trying to put out some inaccuracies fires and keep a level, albeit bald, head.