mounting man

We have it here in Pa and it is spreading !!!!!!!!
Is it in your state yet ?
If so,is it under control or spreading?
Will it kill off our deer population ?

Champlain Islander

Not in Vermont yet but has shown in the mid state of NY. Vermont has eliminated any captive hunting preserves and prohibited unprocessed dead game from being brought into Vt from areas where CWD is present. In addition it enacted a ban on feeding wild deer which can lessen the chance of CWD from spreading if it does show in the state. IMO all states that don't have CWD should start a similar program.

TN Lone Wolf

It's not in Tennessee yet, but it has been detected in two border states: Missouri and Virginia. Fortunately for us, we've got several things in our favor that will help prevent CWD spreading into our state. First, our terrain would make it difficult for infected deer to spread it naturally. To the west, we have the mighty Mississippi River that few deer could swim across. To the east, we have the Appalachians, Cumberland Plateau, and their sparse deer populations. As a legislative protection, deer farms aren't legal in Tennessee, for fenced hunting or otherwise. Such farms are notorious for being pathways by which CWD can enter a state's population by spreading from infected captive deer to the wild population.

I don't think CWD will be the extinction of our deer population. Some states like Colorado have had it for decades in places, yet they still have healthy deer, elk, and even moose populations.

Topgun 3006

IMHO it's being way overblown as far as the notion that it will wipe out our deer herds. It was first found way back in the 1960s in Colorado and there are as many deer in that northern part of the state now than back when it was first identified. It is a slow killer and once an animal has it there is no cure. However, it takes a long time to progress to the point where an animal actually dies from it and I'd bet that most animals either die of other natural causes or are taken during a hunting season before they show any signs of illness. There is no way to kill the prion and no way to determine in a live animal if the disease is present. This "kill them all" in an area like Wisconsin did where it was found has not worked and neither has trying to eliminate the prions from an area once animals have been found carrying it. The prions literally live forever no matter what is attempted to eliminate them. Yes, it can probably be slowed a lot if every state eliminated "farming" of wild animals and turning them into an agricultural product and I wish that every state would shut them down and none allowed to be started. However, for the most part that isn't going to happen because it's a multi million dollar business and money talks. Ask Oldtimr how PA caved and turned the "farms" over to their Department of Ag just like Michigan caved and did the same thing years ago when I was still working for the state.

flags

CWD is only a threat to localized populations where the deer are present in mass. It was discovered in a CO DOW pensite where they were studying mulies and whitetails. In free ranging deer it isn't such a threat. Not saying it doesn't occur but the deer are spread out enough to minimize it. This is one reason many states don't want deer farms or pen raised game. Too much risk since the animals are kept in close proximity to each other.

For what it is worth, back about 1999 or so I was in my native CO on a tour of recruiting duty for the Navy and the state wanted to decrease the deer herd north of Ft Collins to try and stop the spread. They issued unlimited doe tags for a special 3 month season and even opened the state parks in a couple selected game management units around Ft Collins. Any deer taken had to have the heads submitted for testing. I shot 11 does in that season and not one of the does I shot tested positive. I know several other guys that took similar numbers and none of their's were positive either and this was in the middle of "ground zero". I fed a lot of people with venison that year.

Based on that experience, I don't think it is a serious as many make it out to be. Feel free to disagree is you want to.

TN Lone Wolf

You know, I once encountered someone on Facebook that seemed to adamantly believe that CWD stood for Cars With Damage and was a big conspiracy by auto insurance agencies to get state departments to drastically reduce their deer herds. And people wonder why I'm not on Facebook anymore.

super_hunt54

Uhh Lone wolf, Sparse whitetail population on the Plateau? Have they all died off? Been hunted out? That's where I was hatched and raised and I grew up seeing 20 to 50 deer any time I went out to a LOT of places. It's only been 3 or 4 years since I hunted that area and I saw the usual many numbers of deer and they were pretty much all fat and sassy. Our property straddled Roane and Cumberland counties. Deer up in the mountains are anything but sparse! Ask any of the soy bean farmers if they are sparse!

As far as the CWD, like Flags, I am not as worried as SOME people BUT it is a very devastating disease with the high probability of mutation so it should be a concern for whitetail biologists to concentrate their efforts on eliminating. Key concerns should be focused on deer in limited habitats where they congregate in close proximity at feeding and watering sites like suburban deer. Young bucks in these areas are a concern as well since they could very well contract the disease and then get chased off and end up infecting another herd. While it's not quite yet a "chicken little" the sky is falling problem, we may want to start getting the helmets out.

Topgun 3006

The problem is that there has been extensive work going on now for 50 years since CWD was first found in Colorado and they aren't any closer to solving how to eliminate it than when they started! They actually are even still arguing how it spreads with the one theory that when animals are in close proximity it ups the chance of spreading if there are any animals in the area that are carrying it. There is so much money involved now in "farming" animals for hunting and even farmers growing crops strictly for hunters to use as bait that brings animals into close contact with each other that I don't think it will ever been stopped or possibly even slowed in some states. IMHO as long as the various game departments allow baiting they look very "iffy" when on one hand they say animals should not be in close proximity but then allow baiting to any extent. One thing is for sure and that is that they have proved that there is no way the prion can be killed and once it is in the ground or on vegetation in an area the animals that inhabit that area are susceptible to picking it up.

Champlain Islander

All good posts. The common denominator for spreading this disease are captive deer/ elk herds. Many of the initial exposure from state to state came via those canned hunting facilities and on many occasions spread to the wild herd through either a break in the fence or bad management practices. As pointed out deer in close proximity to each other allow the spread of an infected animal more easily. No baiting or supplemental feeding here in VT. Sooner or later it will come here since that disease like has been said doesn't go away or lessen. It just spreads. It doesn't eliminate the deer herd but will bankrupt a small state's Fish and Wildlife Department which uses license sales to pay for the expenses. Big money in canned hunting but the states that go up against the owners to protect the public doctrine are leap years ahead.

Oldtimr

What concerns me the most about CWD is the fact that diseases caused by prions have a nasty habit of mutating to cross species boundaries. The disease is in the same family as Mad Cow disease which does affect humans and it is always fatal and an ugly death. We won't know if the disease has mutated and crossed the species boundary until someone contracts the disease and dies. We in PA have areas where CWD has been found where there are special regulations concerning removing deer from these areas as well as bringing a deer carcass back from another state that has CWD. Right now there are 24 states and two Canadian Provinces, that have known cases of CWD. 24 states is almost half the United States. As for me, I will not hunt deer in an area of my state or any other state that has been shown to have CWD because I eat what I shoot, I do not hunt for bone, I hunt for meat and I prefer not to make the history books by being the first person to contract CWD from eating venison. My concern is not the destruction of the deer herds, I think the herds will survive, but the mutation of the disease and having no clear method to know if the deer you killed is infected until symptoms appear. How long will it be before the disease is present in more areas than it is not? At one time, the Mississippi was thought to be a natural barrier to prevent the disease from moving east, however, deer propagators have have opened that Pandora's box by buying and selling brood stock. I am seeing a cavalier attitude here regarding CWD that is surprising and concerning. Each of us, from all 50 states should be demanding that our respective states immediately shut down all captive breeding of ruminants and shut down moving said ruminants both in state and out of state. Unless we have our voices be heard, the money involved in deer breeding programs for obscenely big racks will prevail and CWD will continue to march across this country. What will happen when no one wants to hunt them anymore because of the chance of getting a terminal illness? In my state, it is deer that creat the license sales and are the sole support of the PA Game Commission that is in charge of all wildlife. Some food for thought!