2017 North American Deer Summit: CWD Is Worse Than We Thought
BY JOSH HONEYCUTT AUTHOR OF BROW TINES AND BACKSTRAP
JUNE 9, 2017
The Chronic Wasting Disease Situation Is a Serious Threat
Despite those who foolishly brush CWD under the rug and claim it should be of no concern to you, it is a problem. Above is one of two panels of experts that discussed CWD at the 2017 North American Deer Summit. (Brita Lewis Turbyfill photo) Despite those who foolishly brush CWD under the rug and claim it should be of no concern to you, it is a problem. Above is one of two panels of experts that discussed CWD at the 2017 North American Deer Summit. (Brita Lewis Turbyfill photo)
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) continues to worry deer biologists, managers and hunters across the country. It isn’t going away. It’s only getting worse.
Many people aren’t aware of CWD, or simply don’t understand the full breadth of the threat it poses. CWD is caused by an abnormal protein referred to as a prion. Prions are neither alive nor dead. You can’t kill it with heat or chemicals.
Once contracted, it is an always-fatal disease that thrives in the nervous system of cervids (deer, elk, reindeer and moose). It can be passed on through saliva, urine, feces, spinal and brain fluids, etc. Similar diseases affect other animals such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) which is also referred to as Mad Cow Disease. It’s also found in sheep, known as Scrapie. Interestingly enough, we already know that Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) — a sister disease to BSE and CWD — is capable of infecting humans.
The Issues We Face Several challenges arise with the big issue of CWD. First, we’re met with the challenge of detecting it. We don’t fully understand how it mutates (and science has proven that it can mutate). We have no cure. It’s killing deer throughout half the country and rapidly spreading. Managing it has been near to impossible. Too many people are brushing it under the rug. And funding we currently have for research, testing and management are pennies in comparison to what’s needed to defeat this disease.
“There are lots of hypotheses but very few facts we know about CWD,” said Dr. Grant Woods of Growing Deer TV. “There are some seemingly wild stories being spread such as ‘CWD is not a disease.’ It is a disease that as far as researchers know is 100 percent fatal to members of the deer family. There certainly seems to be a link between transporting deer and the spread of CWD. There are cases that have documented CWD-positive deer being moved and then new cases of CWD being detected at the destination. My message is that CWD is a very legitimate concern and that researchers, agencies, and sportsmen need valid information. Detailed research is needed hence funding is needed to protect deer species. They are certainly a national treasure.”
It’s Spreading to Places It’s Never Been
Ralph Meeker of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is on the front lines of the CWD battle. And Arkansas — a once declared CWD-free state little more than a year ago — is a prime example of just how fast things can change. According to Meeker, CWD was first detected there last February in a hunter-harvested elk. He said it was detected in a whitetail two weeks later. It’s already up to a 23 percent prevalence rate in the focal area. Approximately 20 percent of females and 32 percent of males have the disease where it’s prevailing most.
“I think Arkansas’s approach to managing CWD has been viewed by some people and organizations as being aggressive,” said Meeker. “However, our agency has spent a great deal of time with several different researchers, managers, and veterinarians from around the nation who are very familiar with CWD. And, I think that our agency has done a great job to ensure that we are asking the right questions in order to figure out what has and what hasn’t worked. Managing CWD is an example of adaptive management, adjusting deer management efforts on the ground to our every-changing knowledge of CWD.”
False Information
Spread by the Captive Cervid Industry According to Lou Cornicelli of the Minnesota DNR and Clayton Wolf of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, many of those who have stock in the captive cervid industry will tell you high-fenced animals pose no threat to wild deer. They’ll say that CWD isn’t a serious disease and that it isn’t a significant threat to whitetails. Instead, they’ll claim it’s a political disease dreamed up to end high-fenced hunting. Some are even brave enough to say that EHD (a disease that is not always-fatal and entire populations of deer have grown resistant to) is more of a threat. So let’s put ethics and perceptions (of both hunters and non-hunters) of the high-fenced industry aside for a moment and only look at the health risks they pose to wild deer.
“Misinformation campaigns [spread] belief that CWD won’t impact hunting,” said Cornicelli. “First, the attempt by the farmed cervid industry to cast significant doubt about CWD, including bringing in paid consultants to cast that doubt. Second, some hunters are repeating much of the same information, I think to the detriment of long-term deer health. In some respects, there is a lack of desire to look past the immediate. Given deer are a public resource and agencies are charged with managing populations for the benefit of future generations, I think this is a real problem. A good discussion of how wildlife fits into the concept of Public Trust is important.”
It’s becoming a problem in states that allows captive breeding and hunting operations.
*** This issue is especially growing in the likes of Texas and other key deer hunting states.
*** “While the disease appears to be off the radars of most hunters in Texas, except in areas where we have mandatory check stations, the majority of those who have been impacted have been cooperative and receptive to information that helps them make educated decisions regarding CWD,” said Wolf.
***“One of our greatest challenges, and an area we continue to struggle, is trying to debunk and correct the misinformation that’s out there about CWD. The majority of resistance and misinformation has originated from within the captive deer breeding community and its supporters. These folks are convinced the disease is political in nature, blown out of proportion by the government and those who are opposed to captive deer, and that CWD poses no real risk to the resource.
***Also, because 95 percent of Texas land falls under private ownership, we face an additional challenge from ranchers who fear the detection of CWD on their ranch could result in negative impacts to property values and revenue streams associated with hunting access.”
Is It True Humans Can’t Get It?
It’s always been assumed that CWD cannot be transferred to humans. They also thought the same thing about Mad Cow Disease, until it happened, as well as hundreds of other diseases that can infect the human body. Interestingly enough, 70 percent of all human diseases originated from animals. At some point in history, each of those diseases — including some of the largest epidemics and pandemics — jumped the barrier and began to infect the human species. Can and/or will CWD do the same? We don’t yet know. But the latest research suggests it is much more likely than originally thought...
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https://www.realtree.com/brow-tines-and-...than-we-thoughtSUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2018
TEXAS SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE 400th COMMISSION MEETING CWD TSE PRION TAHC April 17, 2018
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/06/texas-summary-minutes-of-400th.htmlLISTEN TO THIS NICE LITTLE CWD BLUES DIDDY BY TAMI ABOUT WISCONSIN CWD TSE PRION. WOW, ANNUAL UPDATES NOW, FROM HERE ON OUT, ABOUT CWD...200,000 CWD TESTS, WITH OVER 3500 CWD POSITIVE CASES, SEEING INCREASING TRENDS IN PREVALENCE AND DISTRIBUTION...CARCASS DISPOSAL SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE...CWD SAMPLING EFFORTS GONE DONE, WHILE CWD POSITIVES HAVE GONE UP...ALSO, 40 SELF SERVING KIOSKS ACROSS STATE AND FREE HUNTER SERVICE CWD TESTING AND SICK DEER POLICY REPORTING AND TESTING ACROSS STATE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DHindrC1x0MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018
Wisconsin DATCP Confirms CWD-Positive Deer in Marinette County farm has been quarantined
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/06/wisconsin-datcp-confirms-cwd-positive.htmlWEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
Wisconsin DATCP NVSL confirmed 21 WTD from a deer farm Iowa County tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD)
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/06/wisconsin-datcp-nvsl-confirmed-21-wtd.htmlMONDAY, JUNE 25, 2018
Wisconsin DATCP Confirms CWD-Positive Elk in Sauk County Breeding Farm
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/06/wisconsin-datcp-confirms-cwd-positive_25.htmlWEDNESDAY, MARCH 07, 2018
***> Michigan DNR CWD National Perspective: Captive Herd Certification Program - Dr. Tracy Nichols
***> CURRENT STATUS OF CWD IN CAPTIVE CERVID HERDS IN 16 STATES AS OF MAY 2017
see video...
43 ELK HERDS
37 WTD HERDS
1 RED DEER HERD
6 MIX SPECIES HERDS
85 CWD-POSITIVE CAPTIVE HERDS
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http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/03/michigan-dnr-cwd-national-perspective.htmlPLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, AND BE SURE TO SEE AROUND THE 8 MINUTE MARK, VERY, VERY, DISTURBING...terry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrzPAMfSp1UTUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018
***> Chronic wasting disease: Bambi vs. the prion
Research Project: Immunodiagnostics to Detect Prions and Other Important Animal Pathogens
Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/04/chronic-wasting-disease-bambi-vs-prion.htmlCWD TSE Prion Zoonosis to squirrel monkey and macaque
https://www.cste2.org/Webinars/files/CWD_Slides_FINAL.pdfADOPTED: 6 December 2017doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5132Scientific opinion on chronic wasting disease (II
8) Even though human TSE-exposure risk through consumption of game from Europeancervids can be assumed to be minor, if at all existing, nofinal conclusion can be drawn dueto the overall lack of scientific data. In particular the US data do not clearly exclude thepossibility of human (sporadic or familial) TSE development due to consumption of venison.The Working Group thus recognizes a potential risk to consumers if a TSE would be presentin European cervids. It might be prudent considering appropriate measures to reduce such arisk, e.g. excluding tissues such as CNS and lymphoid tissues from the human food chain,which would greatly reduce any potential risk for consumers. However, it is stressed thatcurrently, no data regarding a risk of TSE infections from cervid products are available.
The tissue distribution of infectivity in CWD-infected cervids is now known to extend beyondCNS and lymphoid tissues. While the removal of these specific tissues from the food chainwould reduce human dietary exposure to infectivity, exclusion from the food chain of the wholecarcass of any infected animal would be required to eliminate human dietary exposure.
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5132THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2018
Missouri Hunters For Fair Chase Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011 (APHIS) Notice: Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/06/missouri-hunters-for-fair-chase-docket.htmlTEXAS DETECTS IT'S 101 CASE of CWD TSE PRION Breeder White-tailed Deer with no end in sight
2018 03/27/18 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #3 White-tailed Deer M 2.5
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/03/texas-detects-its-101-case-of-cwd-tse.htmlTHURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018
TEXAS CWD TSE PRION JUMP TO 100 POSITIVE, NEW CASES 17 BREEDER, 1 BREEDER RELEASE, AND 1 WILD SINCE JAN 31, 2018
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/03/texas-cwd-tse-prion-jump-to-100.htmlWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018
TEXAS TPWD CWD TSE PRION 2 MORE FROM BREEDER RELEASE SITE TOTALS 81 CASES TO DATE
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/02/texas-tpwd-cwd-tse-prion-2-more-from.htmlWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018
TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION MOUNTING, JUMPS TO 79 CASES TO DATE
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/01/texas-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse.htmlFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018
***> Texas Deer Breeders Continue fight against the state’s wildlife agency and its regulations trying to contain CWD TSE Prion
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/02/texas-deer-breeders-continue-fight.htmlkind regards, terry
