Chronic Wasting Disease: three questions

[jdubya (Guest)]

Thanks for you input before, but I've three more questions.

First, would you eat a deer or elk that was diagnosed with CWD?

Second, if you take an animal from a sector with confirmed CWD, will you eat it before getting lab tests back? Will you even want to do lab tests?

As corny as this sounds, I'm trying to get legit info on the attitudes of deer/elk hunters in this area as we see the disease begin to move deeply into the state.

Finally, third, is the DWR doing a good or bad job of educating everyone about CWD? Do you know risks, etc. concerned with the disease? Did you learn them from the DWR?? Does it matter to you?? Thanks.

 

[MartinHunter]

I hunt in an area with confirmed cases of CWD, but have only seen 2 animals that might have had it. One of them was a 2 point buck that my cousin shot. I do not believe that he got it tested and I know that he ate it. His mom makes some good jerky so I know I have probably ate it as well. I have given the heads of some of my animals to the processor but have never got any results. Does it matter to me? If I thought the animal might, yes. Normal conditions, no. I here the G 7 F here in Wyo has a quicker method of testing in the field, so if the opportunity arises I would just out of curiosity. I think that the Wyo G & F puts out a flier on CWD at processing plants and sporting goods store and they also keep us up to date on their web page. I give them kudos for that. I already no a pretty fare amount about disease caused by prions, so it is fairly interesting to me to read up on the subject and here opinions as well.
Michael

 

[builtcj5 (Guest)]

check out the colorado dow web page, they have pretty good up to date info.

i have hunted CWD area and have always been coutious on eating it till the results come back. some say that the desiese is in the bone and brain tissue, and since the processor doesn't cut bones any more i have nothing to fear. still am cautios.

 

[jdubya (Guest)]

Being cautious is a good thing. The highest concentrations of the infectious protein concentrate in lymphatics, spleen, bone marrow, and any nervous tissue. But virtually all cells of the animal can become infected and can possess some of the disease. So just eating meat is no absolute.

 

[steelie]

1- no I would not eat it. Just ain't worth it.
2- wait for test.
3- I think the DWR (utah) has done a good job of educating the public that has access to the internet. I have read many good things on-line about it. As far as the less computer able public, I haven't seen much. I niether live in an area with CWD nor hunt in one though, so I can't really say what they have done locally. I did have a friend that hunted Diamond Mountain last year, the DWR was very prompt about getting him a testing kit (with easy to follow instructions) before the hunt started.

Are you working on CWD? Measures to fight it? Test for it?

 

[searcher]

Here's my 2-cents worth
1) No I would not eat a sick deer. Everything I have seen and read for years says not to.
2) I would attempt to get my deer tested if it was shot in a confirmed CWD unit.
3) I am a non-resident with a Wyoming Region J deer license. Today, I got a nice flyer in the mail from the Wyoming Game and Fish that has a lot of info about CWD so I would say Wyoming is making an attempt to educate hunters (at least non-residents like me.) This is the first year I have recieved such a flyer in the mail. I would say that CWD is a legimate concern. I know people where I live who say they would never go mule deer hunting because of CWD but then they go elk hunting in a CWD area.

Good huntin'

Searchin' for a 4 X 4

 

[saminwy]

personally, i dont worry about it too much. it has been in this area (SE wyoming) for years. i cant imagine the number of infected deer that have been eaten over the years, if its as common in deer herds around here as they say it is, odds are i've eaten a good share of it myself. truth is, in the CWD "core" area here, (where the disease started if i recall) is actually the area where i see more deer than anywhere else in SE wyoming. in fact, i saw 2 bucks just south of the sybille GF research center that are close to 30" just this morning. in a way, for the non res, it has created a good hunt here, J is always undersubscribed, its pretty much a hundred percent draw. theres some really good hunting, especially since much of the region open later (oct 15th) than other areas around here(most of D opens the 1st)i always have out of state friends put in for it as a second choice, then they know they'll draw it if they dont get whatever alse they want. we took a couple good ones off the peak last year. anyway, if it makes you feel better, or if the animal looks like it may be sick, get it tested, a warden friend of mine said they are going to try to do alot of the "field tests" this year, partly to try to make people more confident about hunting CWD areas. thats basically their game plan for cwd, try to hunt the numbers way down. i dont really agree with this, i think its a knee jerk reaction that will more than likely hurt mule deer even worse than they already are. CWD is the least of mule deers problems. like i said, that country that is supposedly where the thickest concentration of the disease, has a very stable deer herd, fairing far better than the herds on the snowy or sierra madre ranges, which have been pounded by drought. strange thing is, the moisure in the laramie range has been as bad or worse than the other two i mentioned. oh well, have a good hunt.

sam

 

[jdubya (Guest)]

Steelie,

I work on some basic research areas that might be pertinent to CWD. Mostly I am interested in how the infection enters the animal, and ways it could spread into those that eat the animals. The jump of mad cow disease to humans makes a mad deer disease jump to humans very likely. So if that is not happening at the rate of mad cow to human infections, why not? Answering that question may be interesting. jw