CWD found in Ramsey county deer

[hockeybc69]

Wonderful.....

Chronic wasting disease found in deer from Ramsey County herd

By Dennis Lien

[email protected]

Posted: 05/25/2012 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/25/2012 06:54:46 PM CDT

A farmed red deer from a large northern Ramsey County herd has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health said the two-year-old female deer died on the farm May 10, and a required examination of its brain stem tested positive for the fatal brain and nervous system disease affecting elk and deer.

The 500-head North Oaks herd remains under quarantine and officials are now trying to figure out how the disease got there and what to do with the rest of the red deer, a large species native to Europe and Asia.

It marks the fifth case of farmed cervids testing positive in Minnesota for chronic wasting disease, according to Dr. Paul Anderson, a board veterinarian. Three of those cases involved elk and the fourth white-tailed deer.

In those instances, including the most recent one in Olmsted County in 2009, all other herd members were slaughtered and tested for the disease.

"It's way too early to tell (in this case),'' said Anderson, noting the investigation will take weeks.

"The one thing I will say, this particular operation has had absolutely perfect surveillance for CWD,'' he added. "They have never missed an animal they needed to test and all the animals have tested negative. This farm is one of the best run in the state, and it's going to take some work to see if we can figure out where this came from.''

A man answering the telephone for northoaksfarms.com declined comment.

"I

would refer you to the Board of Animal Health. We're working closely with them. Goodbye,'' he said and hung up.

That herd of red deer has been registered with the Board of Animal Health since 2000.

Chronic wasting disease, which is found in elk and deer in parts of North America, is caused by an abnormally shaped protein called a prion, which can damage brain and nerve tissue. Infected animals show progressive loss of body weight with accompanying behavioral changes, including staggering, consuming large amounts of water, excessive urinating and drooling.

There is no evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans or other animals such as cattle or sheep, according to federal and state health experts. Authorities believe it most likely is transmitted by animal-to-animal contact or exposure to contaminated habitat.

The disease can have a long incubation period, making it difficult to figure out how animals became infected.

In the North Oaks case, the brain stem from the red deer was submitted to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, where preliminary results were positive. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa confirmed the positive test Friday, May 25.

The deer was tested as part of the state's mandatory CWD surveillance program.

Since 2003, Minnesota has required registration and chronic wasting disease surveillance programs for farmed cervid herds. When animals 16 months or older die or are slaughtered, herd owners must submit brain samples for testing.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources plans to meet with the board soon and likely will test wild white-tailed deer in the area.

"We haven't had any reports of sick deer in the area,'' said Lou Cornicelli, DNR wildlife research manager.

While the other farmed herds have been destroyed, Anderson said decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

"Whenever something like this happens, we do what is best for the herd and figure out a way to make sure this disease is eradicated,'' Anderson said.

[harvey lee]

The deer farms may be as careful as possible but it always ends up with some getting lose and then in the end, it will spread.

The DNR or State needs to stop these game farms as most all states have the sime issues.

[Musky Buck]

Time to set up a 20 mile perimeter and start blasting.

[Jameson]

Last year there was a discussion on here about a proposed North Dakota law outlawing deer farms. Those against's main point was it was private land and they should be able to do what they want. I mentioned that they should probably be banned to help stop the spread of CWD, which will affect neighboring land owners and even those who don't own land. Will this stay inside the fence? Is it already out of the fence? Suppose in time we will know.

[matchset]

Good ole North Oaks

[TonkaBass]

If they made farms build double fences spaced 12" apart wouldn't that stop the spread outside the farm?

[harvey lee]

Want to stop the spread of CWD, close up ther Game farms and that will do it.

Or we can go the route of AIS and regret we did nothing in time.

[Abndoc]

Want to stop the spread of CWD, close up ther Game farms

But then we wouldn't have any hunting shows to watch.

[FBMH]

x2 close the farms. Who cares about them hunting shows where they shoot a 200" buck and say "theres bigger ones out there". It used to entertain me, now it just bugs me. Id rather watch someone kill a doe on their private farm.

[Finlander]

Game farms and fish farms are nothing but time bombs! All intended to be good, but end up costing the public in trying to clean up their messes!

[Jameson]

If they made farms build double fences spaced 12" apart wouldn't that stop the spread outside the farm?

Until some kid decides to poach a buck inside the fence and than cuts a hole in it. See SE MN this past fall.

Or until a big old tree decides to fall onto the fence and crushes it.

Or until some human walks into the fence and tracks mud on their boots with CWD in it outside the fence.

[BLACKJACK]

Or we can go the route of AIS and regret we did nothing in time.

You nailed it right there Harvey!!

I think that they should be required to double fence, but make it 10 feet apart - it would take a big tree to take out both of them.

[Musky Buck]

I was told you couldn't have wild animals as pets or whatever so they say well there's really no money in it really well then there shouldn't be an issue if the state grows a pair and puts an end to this, put cattle in those fences people, beef prices were good for awhile.

[archerystud]

Yeah that stinks. The buck in my avitar was shot close to North Oaks. I suppose next year we will be told to shoot everything/anything in that area.

[dogs]

THE FOLOWING IS JUST MY PERONAL SPECULATION The year before they put that red deer farm in at the Hill Farm when i would come home from work that winter you would see all the culled wild deer going out by pick up loads. they had a practice for many years of shooting a 100 in some of the winters there; in north oaks. But that one winter in particular they really tuned them up. I live 4 miles north of the Hill farm and North oaks was a wintering/yarding area. I could not figure out for the longest time why they were waging such a war on them there deers. In hind sight I apologize to the insurance lobby I thought they were behind the carnage. The deer numbers have never come back around here or they have continued heavy culling for the sake of the red deer herd. Sure was nice to have that red deer farm put a genocide on the public deer herd for the sake of what is really nothing more than a tax dodge for them. I heard that the Tria restraunt was having a burger special you can get a burger and a glas of chablios(ssp) for 42.95 now.

[LightningBG]

Is this a "game" farm or just a farm raising deer?

Dosn't seem all the big to be doing any hunting.

I guess my question isn't "what if it gets out", it's "how did it get in?" Are they breeding the deer there or shipping them in from somewhere?

[Jameson]

The first priority is definitely 'lets keep it in.' But ya the most important question is 'how did it get in?' With the reputation of this facility being top notch and being CWD free for so long it doesn't seem likely that it came in via imported deer/elk. Did it come from the surrounding deer? Did it come in from mud on someone's shoes from a different facility? Not sure if we'll ever know for sure.

[dogs]

They ship deer out to game farms and must butcher some for the restraunt. It my understanding that this one of at least 2 farm this Corp. has. the other is in canada. They breed deer there and to my knowledge they only have red deer, at least thats all the said they raised there when I was privy to a tour.

[slimngrizzly]

Want to stop the spread of CWD, close up ther Game farms and that will do it.

Or we can go the route of AIS and regret we did nothing in time.

In the last 35 years of CWDs presence, NO scientist or biologist has pinpointed how CWD is spread! How can anyone one this site think they have a clue of how to stop or prevent it? Closing game farms maybe wont hurt anything... but you cant possibly say that closing game farms will "do it". They thought killing every deer within 100 miles of a CWD case would "do it" and all it DID was wasted a bunch of deer. Theyve nearly wiped out entire gene pools of world class mule deer in central Saskatchewan by doing this and they still have CWD!

Why get trigger happy and add MORE regulations when we dont even know if theyre nessecary.

I say LEARN more about the disease and how it spreads, then take action.