Interesting that is much different that what I have heard from several different sources all said that it was a 2 yr old buck. Also from same sources was that it ran into fence and died from broken neck. I also understand they are still waiting on DNA confirmation on the deer(which they may have by now).
" All animal breeders use the animals for income, but some cut corners and eventually you'll get caught." I have been on 5 ranches at a minimum that have breeder pens and not one is selling or has ever sold a deer from their pens as far I could tell. They are stocking their ranches with those deer and allowing them to mature into the breeding population. Notice I said stocking. Heaven forbid that some ranches would try to remain profitable if they choose.
"Plus their off-label use of and unregulated drugs on animals to keep them alive. That's another ball of wax for deer breeders." Another lump them all together and not state the real facts, that some do not do what you are saying "they all do since they are deer breeders".
"Don't blame breeders about MD CWD in w Texas. That was inevitable." Interesting choice of words...so while wild deer would inevitable then I guess with deer breeders it was expected in that context?
I agree that some things that you stated about a few of the breeders are going to be true, but the continual lumping all breeders together in statements like this is getting a bit old. Grandstanding to gain popularity for the impending firestorm does not look good to those who understand the real underlying agenda.

And then again, if nsmike's article is valid, the deer might have contracted it from alfalfa or grass based feed shipped in from a western or northern state. Pretty much all breeders use alfalfa based protein and baled alfalfa as feed in their pens.

And, if this buck or doe really did break it's neck, I wonder about the validity of the individual test. False positives are not unheard of in the med testing field.

CWD has been confirmed in this case by 2 different labs.

This is a very serious problem. 40 animal transfers have been made in Texas from what is now an identified CWD infected site. It is unclear as to whether any of those 40 locations made any animal transfers afterwards. Given the persistance of CWD in the environment (outside the host), and considering the large number of now suspected locations, it is likely that CWD will have a continuing presence in Texas. The ramifications of this would be quite extensive. Millions of dollars of deer will probably be killed, and if any evidence that the disease has spread beyond high fenced ranches in the whitetail population is found, then it is likely that we may see a ban on any kind of baiting for whitetail hunting in those regions (as is the case with Wisconsin).Not to mention the loss of whitetail deer as a food source in those areas.

First, two labs can make the same mistake. Highly unlikely, but it happens. Was proper chain of custody followed?

Second, what Wisconsin did might be considered bench mark for a "what NOT to do" but you won't ever see another state worrying about killing off wild deer pops. or banning feeders. Wisconsin proved those measures to be worthless.

Third, eating deer has never proven to transmit the disease to humans. Nothing has. I doubt tpwd would be so foolish as to suggest a ban on the consumption of deer.

Would you knowingly consume an animal that had CWD? Considering all the folks in the UK that contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease linked to beef cattle that had bovine equivalent to CWD. Thanks, but no thanks.

Those 5 Ranches and all brreeders statewide have to get their deer from somewhere/someone they could not have caught them on the ranch that would be illegal.....it takes one breeder/one deer, the wrong thing then pandora's box is open, all deer are suspect. Look at those pedigrees, oh but wait we can trust what the breeder puts on a piece of paper. Maybe stocking a ranch to improve genetics is great but we all know deer-proof fences work escapes are going to happen. Then what about that trophy shot in wherever (S. Texas) the carcass/meat/cape shedding a litany of it's potential diseases transported across the state. Dispose of it anywhere, that rib cage, spine, head in the ditch at home in Houston, prions cannot be killed, then that doe decides it needs some calcium....it has happened in other CWD states. Some people fail to realize the custody of after harvest effects of those decisions.

Currently there are NO pharmaceuticals labeled for deer, it costs to much to do the testing. Even the arcano vaccine developed for deer does not contain the label for deer use. The drugs are for livestock use. It's a free for all when it comes to drug therapy in breeding facilities, case in point even in livestock operations how many ranches give an antibiotic when handling cattle or moving them even when they show no signs of disease. I come from experience seen it happen many times at feedlots/deer pens, pastures blah blah.

Natural movement of a disease in a population it just that natural. Throw man in, the movement of the disease is magnified, 20 plus stains of EHD used to be mainly localized in certain areas of the country now nationwide , fever ticks, TB, brucellosis, bison ... I can go on but wont. It takes of movement of animals, especially bad ones increase the rate of spread. The areas of MD CWD is geographically isolated. I would not say foolproof to slow the movement down but it has be without the aid of human transportation.

I am not grandstanding just bringing to light the sorrowful state we have become for a passion. Now even more to worry about because some idiot has to grow bigger deer and see how much he can be proud of his accomplishment. What ever happened to just enjoying a day in the woods and eating your kill, not worrying if it's safe to feed to your kids. And I mean that how many of those breeders eat the deer that died in the pen, or matter of that how could they send it down the road and feel good about. Most are donated to the needy.....

We've lost that vast majority of our herd in Missouri to EHD at least three times in the last twenty years. Why aren't the science geeks freaking out about that disease?

Simply and solely because there is MUCH less power/$ to be gained in working on a "naturally occurring" disease, while conversely, there is immense power and capital to be gained in "protecting the public" from a controversial "man caused" disease.

The "scientific" community has prostituted itself in many areas. Biologists and state "fish cops" are no different now than the climatologists lying about global warming.

CJD and CWD are different diseases. CWD has never been found in a human. You'd probably be more apt to get it from alfalfa sprouts if nsmike's linked article is true.

And "loss of deer as a food source" has nothing to do with "would I consume a deer I knew had CWD".

Talk about far fetched... You've jumped from one isolated case, to banning a food source in one step. To he// with science!! Let's go with emotion.

TPWD already has advised that no deer suspected of CWD infection should be consumed by humans. Understanding of CWD prions is still relatively new. They dont want to make the same mistake as was made with mad cow disease, which is a closely related prion. It was thought that mad cow disease could not infect humans, but it did.

Any place that deer congregate becomes an accelerant in the spread of the disease. So eliminating feeders is a logical step in slowing the progression of the disease. Killing the wild deer population will not happen. But all of the deer on the high fenced ranches in question will be killed.

EHD is a terrible virus to be certain. But it is still a virus, and therefore easier to control in terms of spreading. And as a virus, deer will eventually develop immunity to it. CWD however, cannot even be recognized by an immune system and therefore there is little hope of any kind of resistance developing. Likewise it's ability to persist outside the body in the environment is a particular concern because it may completely halt and change the distribution of agricultural goods.

Pulling stuff right out of your nether regions illustrates your lack of knowledge. Feeding deer has never been scientifically proven to significantly enhance the the transmission of CWD, and banning feeders has proven worthless as a control measure.

Tpwd will not ban feeders and no way will all the deer on 40 ranches be killed. Pretty silly statements. But it will be fun watching it play out and reminding you of them.

Tell me you're not implying they have "control" of EHD... And have ever been successful in preventing it's spread.

Incredible.

Pulling stuff right out of your nether regions illustrates your lack of knowledge. Feeding deer has never been scientifically proven to significantly enhance the the transmission of CWD, and banning feeders has proven worthless as a control measure.

Tpwd will not ban feeders and no way will all the deer on 40 ranches be killed. Pretty silly statements. But it will be fun watching it play out and reminding you of them. [/quote]

I suggest you do some research into the basic premises of epidemiology before you start criticizing other people. It has absolutely been proven that prions are deposited from feces and urine into soil, and are then taken up into plants, where they reside until eaten at which point they infect another animal. Because feeders represent a point at which numerous animals concentrate, so too does it represent a point at which their urine and feces are concentrated. Hence the increased transmission of prions in that area.

The only way to test the deer on those ranches is by first killing them. CWD will be taken very seriously by TPWD (hopefully) and therefore they will need to test all of those deer that came into contact with other potentially infected deer.

What I implied was that all bacteria and viruses have a natural limit to their transmission once certain population densities are met. By comparison, CWD has an increased ability to persist. It also has more reservoirs, meaning it infects more species than EHD.

CJD and CWD are different diseases. CWD has never been found in a human. You'd probably be more apt to get it from alfalfa sprouts if nsmike's linked article is true.

And "loss of deer as a food source" has nothing to do with "would I consume a deer I knew had CWD".

Talk about far fetched... You've jumped from one isolated case, to banning a food source in one step. To he// with science!! Let's go with emotion. [/quote]

CJD,CWD are two very similar diseases, each acts like the other except the amount of consumption. How many pounds of beef are eaten in 1 year compared to venison. Comparisons not even in the ballpark, that's why CWD has not shown up in the human population. Added that active testing is not required at time of death for dementia, alzheimer's or any wasting disease and CWD. Please if you have a loved one that has died of dementia or alzheimer's get them tested. That way we will know, epidemiologists have followed people around that consume venison but the sample size is extremely small.
" CWD has never been found in a human." that statement is all the answers the industry tries to spin answer the question... My question is- Would you knowingly feed CWD positive WTD,MD,Elk,Sitka and Red Deer to your family,kids,grandkids? Like putting a bullet in a revolver and spinning the cylinder and putting it to their heads.

Here's a report on why CWD is unlikely to affect humans http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-small-loop-human-prion-protein.html

Here's an article that may explain why CWD tends to be endemic in some areas and not others http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-environment-neutralize-lethal-proteins.html#inlRlv

That suggests us pine tree folks and our low protein browse are sitting pretty...up until hi-protein food plots go in.

The news is not all doom and gloom http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-successful-vaccination-mad-cow-like-disease.html

That was a very interesting article. Immune systems cannot recognize prions normally, so whoever thought of that mechanism of action was very clever.

I think it's funny that they created a placebo group in deer. I think an untreated group would have sufficed.

This is good news for people and livestock. However I dont think anyone will be innoculating the wild population of deer.

Read the article again the vaccine is administered orally. It would be a fairly simple thing to make a vaccine inoculated feed. They estimate that only 10% of a given herd will need to successfully inoculated to break the infectious cycle.

Not necessarily. A vaccine isn't a drug, it's a living thing (in most cases including this one). You have to be able to keep the bacteria alive so they can do their job. Getting wild deer to find and eat the vaccine before the bacteria die from exposure to the elements may be difficult.

I suggest you do some research into the basic premises of epidemiology before you start criticizing other people. It has absolutely been proven that prions are deposited from feces and urine into soil, and are then taken up into plants, where they reside until eaten at which point they infect another animal. Because feeders represent a point at which numerous animals concentrate, so too does it represent a point at which their urine and feces are concentrated. Hence the increased transmission of prions in that area.

The only way to test the deer on those ranches is by first killing them. CWD will be taken very seriously by TPWD (hopefully) and therefore they will need to test all of those deer that came into contact with other potentially infected deer. [/quote]

You need to do your own research. I've done mine. And it shows that Wisconsin wildlife biologists' collective butts have been thoroughly kicked by using your quoted epidemiological premises. They've had absolutely NO effect on CWD by banning baiting. And have in fact reduced their banned areas. And while there are prions in feces and saliva and urine, they've never proven in any area other than where deer are stacked on top of each other, that there's been any significant increase in infection.

CWD is proving to be a relatively hard to transmit disease, affects no where near the number of wild or penned deer that ehd or anthrax do. And has quite possibly been in natural cycles long before we were able to even diagnose it.

I can guarantee you that they won't kill all the deer on all those ranches. No way they are gonna get that done. They will quarantine and test sample populations at the most.

Sorry to bust your bubble.