Chronic wasting disease update

[mudbrook]

Chronic wasting disease updateBy Alan Crossley, CWD Project Leader (608) 266-5463
The discovery of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in southern Wisconsin represents a significant threat to the state's white-tailed deer population and the culture of deer hunting in the state. Wisconsin has more than 700,000 deer hunters who have harvested an average of 460,000 deer annually during the past decade.  Deer hunting contributes more than 7 million days of recreation each year.  Deer hunting annually generates more than $500 million dollars in retail sales and nearly $1 billion in total impact to the state’s economy. 
An extensive CWD surveillance program has been conducted in Wisconsin since 2002. Through June 2007, nearly 130,000 deer have been tested from across the state. Sample intensity has been sufficient in the majority of the state to have a high degree of confidence that CWD would have been detected if it exists at 1 percent prevalence. A total of 856 free-ranging deer have tested positive for CWD.  Of these, 801 were from the Disease Eradication Zones (DEZ) and 55 were from the Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ).  No CWD-positive free-ranging deer have been found outside of the CWD Zones.
Analysis of the sex and age composition of positive deer has shown that disease prevalence increases with age and the rate of increase is faster in males than in females.  Only 2 to 3 percent of yearling females and males from the core area have tested positive for CWD.  This increased to roughly 5 percent of females and 10 percent of males for deer 2 years old and older.  Prevalence in the core among adult does, 2002-2006 and prevalence among adult bucks, 2002-2006 has not changed significantly between years for each sex.
In 2006, in response to hunter concerns, we shortened the early gun season in the DEZ to 9 days and moved the season start date ahead of the rut to mid-October.  We also shortened the late gun season in the DEZ and the HRZ to end on Dec. 10.  And in response to concerns about the earn-a-buck regulation, we went to an either-sex season throughout the fall.   The response to these regulation changes was an increase in the buck harvest of 1,500 over the previous year, and an 8,000 deer decline in the antlerless harvest.  Not surprisingly, our helicopter surveys produced stable to increasing deer population estimates in the Western DEZ, Eastern DEZ, and deer management unit 70A.
Thus, in 2007, we are returning to Earn-a-buck rules throughout all seasons in both the HRZ and DEZ.  The season dates will remain similar to last year.  Zone boundaries remain unchanged.   
•   Archery in both zones: Sept. 15 – Jan. 6
•   DEZ Early Firearm: Oct.  13-21
•   HRZ Early Firearm: Oct.  18-21
•   Late Firearm in both zones: Nov. 17 – Dec. 9
Hunters who shot an antlerless deer last fall in one of the CWD Zones will pre-qualify for a buck sticker and will receive those in the mail, prior to the opening of the bow season. 
Landowners not required to buy deer hunting license
Landowners in the DEZ and hunters they designate will again be able to hunt the DEZ without buying a regular deer hunting license by requesting a DEZ landowner’s permit. These permits will be available from any license vendor before the beginning of the deer season.
Beginning in the summer of 2007, the Department is embarking on an extensive public involvement effort to include the public in helping us establish the next phase of CWD management in Wisconsin. The dialogue will engage the multiple and diverse interests potentially affected by the department’s disease and deer herd management decisions. The goal of the CWD dialogue is for the public and the DNR to reach decisions on how to manage chronic wasting disease to minimize the impact of the disease on Wisconsin’s free-ranging deer population, the habitats and biological systems that include deer, the economy, hunters, landowners and others that benefit from a healthy deer herd.
The goal of the Department’s CWD management strategy is a healthy deer herd.  We recognize that goal is not attainable without the cooperation of landowners and hunters.  We hope we can count on your continued support.
CWD testing for hunter-killed deer
Current legislative budget actions will reduce the department’s 2007 CWD management budget by $1.72 million starting immediately ($1 million in state Joint Finance Committee mandated cuts; $700,000 in federal legislative cuts). 
The magnitude of these reductions require the department to suspend important disease control activities and direct remaining funding into limited testing of hunter-killed deer for disease surveillance.  Even more federal cuts are possible.
Current funding levels will only allow us to test a total of 10,000 deer statewide, less than half of the average number of deer tested in the last 4 years.
Testing will be prioritized to those areas where hunters are most likely to encounter CWD-positive deer.  Additionally, to stay within available budgets, we will have to reduce the number of CWD testing sites and hours of operation.  Details on the location of CWD sampling sites and hours of operation will be available by late August.
We are still working out the details but in short, free testing of hunter-killed deer will be limited to known high disease prevalence areas within the eastern and western disease eradication zones and known or suspected disease ‘sparks’ we’ve discovered around Devil’s Lake State Park and in northern Rock and Walworth counties.
CWD Zone Food Pantry Program: Another result of the budget cuts is the food pantry program within the CWD zones. In a choice between funding this program over testing of hunter killed deer, disease management and hunter confidence won out. More than 2,250 deer were contributed to the CWD zone food pantry in 2006.  However, each deer donated to the food pantry program costs twice the amount of a deer kept by hunters because of the cost of meat processing and storage until the testing results are returned. 
Agency sharpshooting: We will not do any sharpshooting within CWD hotspots and new spark areas this winter unless outside funding is provided.  We will use existing funds to maximize testing of hunter-killed deer.  In winter 2006, DNR personnel removed 978 deer, 26 of which were CWD positive, after the normal hunting seasons were closed.
CWD research: We will not fund any new research efforts this year.
Sick deer: DNR staff will investigate reports of sick deer and, if needed, euthanize and remove the deer.

 

[Rancid Crabtree]

I am working with Alan Crossley on the CWD stakeholders advisory team. If we accomplish anything it will be to refund the food pantry program.

Notes from the 4th CWD meeting...
http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=708.0

[Bukmastr]

I am working with Alan Crossley on the CWD stakeholders advisory team. If we accomplish anything it will be to refund the food pantry program.

  Rancid,
    How about asking Alan a question for me?  I would like to know how he plans on eradicaticating CWD out of our soil. He and the rest of his cronie's seem to skirt that question and avoid it at all costs. I believe Alan is misleadsing the public by not telling us the total truth about CWD and blowing the facts out of proportion...

[Bukmastr]

Here is what Wyoming DNR officials had to say about Wisconsin officials scare tactics about CWD spreading to humans:

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that hunters and others who consume venison containing the proteins that cause the deadly brain ailment chronic wasting disease will get the disease, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department scientists.

Wyoming officials said the risk of death to humans who eat such meat appear nonexistent.

"Nobody has ever died from CWD and people have been eating (deer meat that could contain prions) for 25 years," said Terry Kreeger, Supervisor of the Game and Fish Department's Veterinary Research Services.

 Here is why we cannot "eradicate" CWD from Wisconsin according to UW Scientists:

scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggest that certain soil types serve as natural prion repositories in the wild. As animals regularly consume soil to meet their
mineral needs, it's possible that prion-laden soil particles contribute to the
transmission of prion disease such as CWD among animals.

"Prions most likely enter soil via excretion or from the carcasses of infected
animals,"

"We also wanted to determine how difficult it is to remove prions from clay,"
says senior author Joel Pedersen, a UW-Madison assistant professor of soil
science. "It turned out to be extremely difficult."

In fact, prions could be released from clay only when the scientists boiled the
clay-bound proteins in a detergent solution.

State Representative Garey Bies regarding where CWD came from in Wisconsin.:

Also regarding Chronic Wasting Disease, I was quite shocked to learn that the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in 1988 inoculated live animals with CWD. One type of animal that was inoculated was mule deer. And I find it more than a little suspicious that a mule deer, shot by a hunter in the Mt. Horeb area during that time, was immediately confiscated by the Department of Natural Resources. Why were the Department and the University not forthcoming with this bit of information? Could these mule deer, infected with CWD by the University be the source of the disease in our native whitetail population? I requested the Committee to inquire with the University as to the nature of the CWD experiments and what happened to all of the animals infected. 

Statement by Dan Infalt on Rabies VS CWD

30 years of testing to see if they could infect other animals with CWD has resulted in NO test animals getting the disease other than other deer. I would rather eat raw venison off of an infected deer, than handle a rabid Bat. Why not put a big circle on the freakin map and kill all of the bats?? Probably becuase the govener is not getting a kick back from auto insureance companies to reduce the number of Bat / car accidents. Yes freinds... Rabie's is far more dangerous than CWD, and nobody is doing anything to stop it.

Quotes from MATT VERDON DNR CWD Cordinator, in an email response to Dan Infalt:

Simply put, with the size of the infected area and the factors involved, deer eradication is unrealistic as a means to control the disease.

There has been research done that shows the disease can be obtained from the environment

the highest we have seen is 10-12% of the adult population infected.

Matt
Q Matthew Verdon
Chronic Wasting Disease Data Coordinator
Bureau of Wildlife Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Dan Infalt on safety issues since CWD regulations went into effect:

I assume the two guys who almost shot me in the last two years probably  took a hunter safety coarse. I had one guy draw a bow on me in pitch black darkness as I was heading out of the marsh after tracking a friends wounded deer. I heard the arrow slide back and quickly lit the guy up with my flash light, he was at full draw. He started screaming at me, something about how I am going to get myself shot by walking around at night without a flashlight... Yep, the DNR is right, this guy should have a rifle in his hands and several tags to shoot any deer... After all, he had a hunters Safety coarse right? How about the time I walked out of the marsh and had a bowhunter at full draw aiming at the trail waiting for me to walk out? He just let down his draw and staired at me... Both guys I just walked away, it aint worth it to argue with idiots. Would you take your kid out in the cattail marsh where there are guys jump shooting deer but can't see through the cattails at whats beyond?  It is the DNR's responsability to keep hunting safe! I agree, that individules should be held responsible for not following every safety rule. But allowing people to shoot at any deer they see, and encouraging it,  is going to cause people to get shot. It could be your son or my kid that gets it. Opening rifles in these same areas is insane. They closed rifles becuase it was too dangerous, now that we can shoot any thing we see it suddenly becomes safe?

Quality Deer Management Association on CWD management
Uplands Branch (QDMA)

The QDMA acknowledges that total herd eradication may appear to be the most effective method to contain and control CWD.

At this time, however, the QDMA considers total herd eradication impossible under most circumstances, unacceptable to many segments of society, and impractical as a long-term CWD management strategy.

Aldo Leopold, on wildlife Eradication way back in 1944:
 

. . This episode shows that a scientific bureau, confronted with a question of wildlife eradication, may prefer to lose the wildlife than to lose time in scientific research for alternatives. In one sense this is water over the dam, but in another it carries a lesson for the future. At best, the scientific base in this case was sketchy, and no imagination had been used in searching for less destructive alternatives."
"It is time for us to learn caution and restraint in our power to eradicate wild things." --Aldo Leopold, December 5th, 1944

Attorney David Mandell
A Safe & Sane Alternative to the
Wisconsin DNR Deer Slaughter

The DNR’s rush to kill 100% of the deer population in a 361 square mile area in Southwestern Wisconsin
- as soon as possible - is meeting strong resistance from many hunters and landowners. As outlined here,
CAIDS-Wisconsin and these two groups support a more reasoned, balanced approach to successfully
addressing and containing Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin.
Hunter-sportsmen oppose the kill because it is neither for food nor sport. Ninety-eight percent (98%) of
the deer to be killed and incinerated or dumped in the landfill will be healthy animals. The traditions that
mark the sport of deer hunting are being cast aside. What the DNR has proposed is an all-out “War” against the deer, not a sporting deer hunt.
Area landowners opposed granting the DNR the power to abuse private property rights and view the
plan as a threat to the right to live safely and securely in their communities. Conducting a war-like assault
to search and kill all deer will produce “collateral damage” and materially upset the ecological balance of
the area. The DNR rush to judgement – without adequate research, testing and preparation – simply
adds further insecurity and anxiety that accidents and harm are a certainty.

Dr. James Kroll

“My strong opinion is that CWD and other diseases never will be eradicated from wild deer  herds.  They just become a factor to consider in management.”
Professor James C. Kroll, Founder & Director, Institute for White-tailed Deer Managament & Research

Colorado DNR Scientist speaks about CWD culling

The agency's lead scientist on CWD and an early proponent of culling, Mike Miller, said data collected over the years don't show that thinning herds has had any significant effect on the rate of the disease in the wild.

Colorado Officials comment on there 30+ years of CWD

CWD has never taken down vast numbers of deer as once feared. In fact, in the most infected pockets of the state, the rate of disease among deer is about 10 percent, not much different than it's been for several years.

Professor Charles Southwick comments on culling CWD deer.

One prominent critic of the culling approach has been retired University of Colorado biology professor Charles Southwick, who has argued that culling might actually exacerbate the spread of CWD.

That's based on his view that clearing deer out of a "hot spot" just opens the door for more deer to come in and contract the disease from the environment, where research suggests the agents behind the disease can subsist in soil and feces.

In addition, Southwick has argued, it might be that most deer and elk have a natural resistance to CWD. By killing off mostly healthy populations, the division might be reducing the creatures that have that resistance, under his view.

[Bukmastr]

  I would also like to mention that if the WDNR really wanted to stop CWD, and this really wasn't just an excuse to use there unwanted population control tactics, they would get law passed to double fenceing on Wisconsins deer farms where wild deer and fenced deer have nose to nose contact thru the fence...  They are aware of the problem yet they do nothing...  They would also STOP all sales of game farm deer urine that hunters buy and pour out into the enviroment where CWD can get into the soil in new areas... Maine banned sales.. why not Wisc?  Maybe cause CWD is not the real issue?

[Bukmastr]

You REALLY need to read the meeting notes  :shock:  They admit CWD has probably
been in Wisconsin for over 20 years ( After profiling it would wipe out our entire herd if not stopped within 5 years  :roll:


http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/cwd/doc/Notes08_18_07.pdf

 Its kinda funny they put it in PDF format that keeps us from copieing and pasteing quotes  :wink:   

 The 1st thing they do is "remind the public of there role as observers only"  No cornering questions that can't be weasled out of allowed!!

UW Proffeser Scott Craven said CWD cannot be eradictated from Wisconsin... No duh, its in the soil!

Chad Johnson said that research showed that they actually can infect cattle and sheep with CWD if it is injected directly into the brain. However, it does NOT harm there brain.
  Cattle cannot get CWD through digestion.

 Chad claims he believes CWD can be eradicated by taking DRASTIC measures... Well Chad, I got news for you, even if you kill every freaking deer in the world, CWD will still be here in the soil unless you can come up with some way to boil all the soil in the US & Canada in bleach ( the only known way of deactivating CWD from soil....

Then there is Richard Bishop the babbling fool...  You pretty much gotta read that for yourself. 1st he brags how CWD zone hunters are still spending the same amount of money. But licence sales are down up to 20% in CWD zones since CWD, but that might just be the natural decline... And then after talking about how everybody is still spending the same amount on hunting, we can make another $14 million from hunter money if we eradicate CWD under the current situation.......  Notice how he slipped "under the current situation" in there  :roll:   In other words if the deer herd is where its at now, and they stop CWD.... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!  Note to secratary:  Add Richard to my "Idiot list"

Joel Peterson says that deer can be infected by living where once infected deer lived... Really, maybe its IN THE SOIL JOEL  :roll:
 He goes on to say that 3 out of 12 deer that were put in a pen with CWD positive deer became infected.... Geeeese, the way the DNR has been talking you think they all would of gotten in fected???

  His tests also showed when deer were put in a pen with a diseased carcass, 3 out of 12 got in fected.... ( Please insert my comment from his above test starting with "Geeeese"  :roll: )

  Then he says 1 out of 9 (1 1/2 out of 12,) got infected when exposed to Pee/poop from  infectiods....  But yet they keep letting deer farms fill, tranmsport across the continet, and sell, millions of bottles of pee for hunters to pour into new landscapes
 :shock:

  Joel then says, when CWD prions stick to clay in soil, it actually gets more infective, and gives theories to why....  If it is even more infective by mixing with soil, How do you plan to eradicate it out of the soil Joel???   DON'T YOU JUST L;OVE THE FACT THAT THEY WON'T ANSWER AND JUST AVOID THE QUESTION OF HOW THEY PLAN TO "ERADICATE" CWD OUT OF THE HERD AND THE SOIL...  Whats the plan Guys?  How you gonna possibly do that??


Chad Johnson comes back to say that 28% (total} of Wisconsins deer have genetic resistance to being able to get CWD...  Good thoing there slaughtering those genetic resistant deer  :roll:

 What are other States dfoing about CWD ??  Alan:  Lets postpone that question till some later date...  Yep, you sure don't want us to know that answer do you Alan  :wink:

Next meeting will be Sept 22nd... Convienenetly when most hunters are to busy hunting to interfere, Right Alan???

Alan promisis to discuss any subjects that were missed at the next meeting... Yea right

Alan also asked for copies of ALL press release's prior to release...  You just gotta wonder which ones don't make it to the press....

 Before I hear any biased comments about how all these proffessors agreed with "Alan's" views, please remember, these are not random Proffesors, these are Guys that Alan and his croneys hand picked...  :wink:

[Bukmastr]

I have been doing some background checking on some of these DNR bozo's who are ruining our deer hunting. As I have stated since this all began, I believe that Governor Doyle ( legal head of the WDNR) is behind Wisconsins "WAR ON WHITETAILS".  I sure hope no sportsmen in Wisconsin are responsble for voting that Bozo back in. Seems from what I have heard from DNR staff is you do not want to be caught talking in opistion of the CWD war if you want to keep you DNR job.
  Enough of my rambling.  Here is the point, all the guys leading the WAR ON WHITETAILS are new appointees from Adolf Doyle...

About the Secretary of Natural Resources
Gov. Jim Doyle appointed Madison attorney and outdoor enthusiast P. Scott Hassett as DNR secretary in January 2003.

P. Scott Hassett

P. Scott Hassett, Secretary Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Scott Hassett came to the DNR from a 22-year career practicing law in the private sector, primarily working on employment, criminal and environmental litigation cases.

  Interesting...  No wildlife or bioligy background at all.


  A DNR friend of mine who has been suppling me "inside info",  Sent me some lenthy letters that portray some fustrations with the way Hassett has been treating the rest of the staff. Here are some quotes:

Within 90 days, I will announce a system whereby any citizen can contact my office to complain about a DNR employee’s behavior or attitude.  Before the announcement, I will communicate clearly and firmly to employees about the business-like behavior that will be the norm.  This new norm will help define the culture.  There will be negative consequences for employees who don’t get it; there will benefits for employees who exemplify the new culture.

My employees will be accountable, but I have to say that I will also call out those who tell the unsubstantiated stories about the bad DNR.  If I'm to hold my staff to a higher standard others need to know that I am no longer listening to the anecdotal stories without asking the tough questions.  If you're making it up I'm going to find out.

To make it happen, DNR employees will walk in someone else’s shoes.   If there are workers that fear for their jobs, their families and their future, DNR workers must feel that fear.

As you know, I’m an outsider in DNR.  I did not come up through the ranks.  I have a fresh pair of eyes.  I try to ask probing questions and listen carefully.  That comes from my training as a journalist and attorney.  I also am a results-oriented person, and I have a mandate from the Governor to lead change in the DNR.

I have heard again and again that DNR is insulated from the world that others live in.  As a result, I have heard that our personal contacts appear heartless and our decisions disconnected from real needs.  That perception must change.  If the perception is true, the reality must change as well.

Like any organization, we have to work to maintain good relations with the public, even when we're tired, frustrated or overworked. A few uncooperative staff or isolated sour incidents can kidnap our reputation. We are under a microscope.  We need to help each other.

  Is it just me? Or does this Dude sound a little threatening to unsupportive DNR staff?  I read in the letters that these reports and letters came out just 3 months after Adolf Doyle appointed him Secratary. [/b][/quote]

[Bukmastr]

Also, remember DO NOT support Whitetails UnlimIted...  They are funding the WAR ON WHITETAILS

I am very pleased and excited about the partnership that has been forged with Whitetails Unlimited to bring the reward program into reality this fall. The $400 reward for each positive deer removed during the hunting season recognizes the importance of cooperation between landowners and hunters by giving $200 to the hunter and $200 to landowner on whose land the positive deer was shot.

 I have also heard about them paying for all the printed flyers full of 1/2 truths the DNR has been handing out at deer registrations...

 Here is there contact info if you would like to join me in letting W/U know how you feel about there support of the war on whitetails:

CLICK HERE: http://www.whitetailsunlimited.com/contact_us/session_9cdb815c3d2e/

[Bukmastr]

Looks like at least some Media outlets are finally starting to see what is really going on.

This lack of experience at the top (of the DNR) is a true conservation travesty

  The true "travesty" is that people actually voted for Adolf Doyle :evil:   I really have to wonder if he cheated his way into winning the election? There can't be a sportsman on Earth that would vote for him.

   Here it is in a nut shell....   Our DNR leaders fired and replaced with the Governors clones. Now he can pay back all those campain donations I hear he received from Auto insurance companys.[/quote]

[Bukmastr]

Doyle's new term begins with appointments
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has appointed Sean Dilweg as the state's new commissioner of insurance.

Dilweg will ensure that the insurance industry continues to be a vibrant part of the Wisconsin economy

  And maybe some more cash domations for the ol campain fund, eh Adolf?

Other appointments for Doyle's second term as governor, which began today, include:
- Dan Schooff as deputy secretary of the Department of Administration. Schooff most recently served as campaign manager for Doyle's reelection campaign

Patrick Henderson as the executive assistant at the Department of Administration. Henderson previously was Doyle's legislative director.

[Bukmastr]

http://www.errorandimproprietydoyle.blogspot.com/

MADISON — Gov. Jim Doyle will pay a $300 fine for violating the state’s ethics laws by accepting Packers tickets from a firm engaged in lobbying.

What’s really scary about this,” one business leader told me, “is that we have now have a governor who is willing to use the powers of government to punish political appointees. This time, it’s the Elections Board. Next time, will it be the Department of Revenue? The DNR?”

"There is a clear pattern of campaign donors getting special access and lucrative state contracts from Doyle," Wiley said, "Sadly this is just the latest in a long line of stories of how Jim Doyle has put Wisconsin up for auction."

Gov. Jim Doyle today would not say whether he has spoken with investigators probing possible ties between donations to his re-election campaign and controversial decisions by his administration.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Bukmastr, we face many challenges in the fight against CWD. Our panel is still gathering data and hearing from our technical advisory team. I think everybody involved agrees that CWD can not be eradicated. We know a great deal more about the environmental reservoir and and it's ability to enhance the Prions. Our group meets again this Saturday and it is open to the public so if your interested in getting your views out, we have scheduled time for public comment. I would rather be in the woods with my bow but I signed up to see this through.

[Bukmastr]

Crossly says he aims to "eradicate CWD" BUT HIS PLAN DOESN'T INCLUDE KILLING ALL THE DEER. His plan is too get to the 5 per square mile mark.Right? And he avoids the question about how he plans to get it out of the soil.
It just seems hilarius that all these advisory teams and media personel never ask about those things.
There is NO rational way to remove CWD from the soil. New evidence shows it actually increases potency in soil with time   You could in theory kill every deer to save them from getting CWD, but CWD would still be here in our soil. So what have we really accomplished? At least by keeping a high deer density, the genetically strong have the chance to keep producing more genetically strong deer. In Nature, the strong survive, the week parish. Its natures way of always getting better... The correct and feasable thing to do with a disease like this that can't be stopped and is lowering the population by killing a percentage of the deer is to KILL LESS DEER!!! Not more! It is insane to think we should kill all the deer, to save the deer from being killed.