CWD...are we over-reacting?

[delcecchi]

My neighbor died of Crietzfeld-whatever. Not very pretty to get holes in your brain.

Not saying thats how he got it, but they did have raw game feeds including Elk from out west. My understanding was 2 out of 3 hunting partners got Creuztfeld-Jacob, not what you would figure with 0.8 in a million odds.

The Scientists promise the raw meat eating was just a coincedence. Ask the British what they think of that!

Here is a link to a fact sheet. It says they aren't positive that the mad cow thing is really the cause of what happened in England, although that is their best guess or theory.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cjd/detail_cjd.htm

[delcecchi]

+1 on the sarcasm.

We may not see a dramatic decrease in deer population due to CWD because the deer are more than likely able to reproduce after they've been infected. With many deer producing twins and triplets, it still helps maintain a population, although it could be sick animals. How long should we wait before it finally takes the dramatic turn for the worse......if it isn't bad enough the way it is.

Enough of my soapbox.....Time to go hug a Redwood.

[Spike76]

I also thought they were overreacting, but now realize it could be a serious problem. Hopefully, we can all work together to get this resolved.

[HandGunner]

some ppl still think CWD is supose to kill deer right away, thats not the case its basickly a deformaty almost. hard to explain, a deer can be born with CWD but will not die it will basickly carry CWD and pass it on, CWD is a virus pretty much. we can basickly have CWD deer for the rest of our lives and still hunt them like normal but we rather not thats the point the DNR is trying to get across IMO

[DonBo]

Here's the latest, NO CWD found in any of the deer tested:

PINE ISLAND — Sharpshooters shooting deer in the Pine Island area will complete their work Friday night.

The state Department of Natural Resources brought the sharpshooters in to shoot deer so they can be tested for chronic wasting disease, and to lower numbers of deer to decrease chances of the disease spreading.

As of Monday, 716 deer a year old or older have been shot by local people, sharpshooters or found killed along roads. All were tested and all have been negative, said Lou Cornicelli, head of the Department of Natural Resources big-game coordinator and CWD response team incident commander.

In addition, nearly 400 younger deer were tested and all were negative, but they won't count in the final sample.

Final sample results should be known April 6.

The shoot began in late January after a deer shot by a bow hunter last fall near Pine Island was found positive for CWD, a disease that is fatal to deer but one that experts say has never hurt humans or cattle. The positive test was done in January and the DNR immediately put its CWD surveillance plan into action.

The department wants to get at least 900 adult deer for sampling, Cornicelli said. If it gets that many and all prove negative, statistically it means there's 99 percent probability that CWD is in less than 0.05 percent of the population, he said. The DNR estimated about 6,500 deer were within 10 miles of where the infected deer was shot.

If that's true, there's a good chance CWD was found very early and maybe can be stopped, he said. Wisconsin and other states weren't as lucky and have a much bigger problem.

Even if all are negative, the DNR has said it plans to have a special zone during this fall's hunting season that will allow more deer to be shot. There could also be restrictions on where deer can be taken before they're tested.

[Bear55]

I think the DNR is staying pretty level headed about this whole thing, at least for now. Shoot some deer and test them shoot some more and test them. Then keep a very very close eye on the area.

I am sure there will be some screaming blood murder and complain that the local herd has been decimated, but they probably still have more deer per square mile then most or all of the lotto areas in the state.