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Chronic Wasting Disease
by Dr. Dave Samuel
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By now you've all heard about the outbreak of chronic wasting disease
(CWD) in Wisconsin. The heart of the matter is that this little-understood
disease always kills the deer and elk that get infected. In addition,
it is closely related to "mad cow disease" and this has hunters
nervous about eating the meat, even though there are no documented cases
of CWD spreading to humans.
An article published last year in the Journal of Wildlife Management
showed that killing a large number of animals in and around the area where
CWD infected deer have been found, will slow or may even stop the spread
of CWD. In the past, states haven't reacted quickly enough by killing
large numbers of animals near infected areas. However, we're learning,
and in Wisconsin the DNR is taking major steps to stop the spread of CWD
there. They've
proposed several strategies, including unlimited landowner permits, to literally
wipe out the 15,000 deer that live in and around the hot zone in western
Dane County and eastern Iowa County in Wisconsin. That's all the
deer in a 287-square-mile area. And around that zone they also want
to lower deer numbers to 10-15 per square mile. They expect to be
hammering deer there for at least five years. Now, based on science, Wisconsin
is doing exactly what they need to do to protect the future of deer
hunting. Enter those opposed. One woman in the area
said . . . "a panic mentality is going on."
I hope so, CWD is serious stuff. She added, "we have
decided to slaughter based on hysteria." "In Colorado,
slaughter didn't stop it."
Well, first off, the "slaughter" (which is really what it is)
is not based on hysteria, it is based on what little we know about CWD.
The modeling study done in Colorado showed that the more deer you take
out of a CWD positive area, the better your chances of stopping the spread
of CWD. Second, relative to the comment that slaughtering animals
in Colorado didn't stop it, the reason might be that they didn't slaughter
animals. Now today in Colorado, when CWD is found, they go after
the deer and elk big time. But in years past, that hasn't happened.
Maybe that is part of the reason CWD is spreading in that part of the
country? It would be wonderful to have more data on how to stop
the spread of CWD, but right now, that modeling paper is all we have.
A veterinarian in the area said that if they start shooting all the deer,
the survivors will leave the area and if one is infected, this will help
spread the disease. Sounds logical, but it isn't what happens.
A number of telemetry studies show that adult deer do not leave their
home ranges, no matter how much they are disturbed. Course,
hunters will also complain about these radical steps to stop CWD, but
the Wisconsin DNR has no real alternative. The potential for CWD
become a major deer problem is very scary. Lowering deer numbers
to near zero is the best way to stop CWD. Want to think about something
that is really a concern? What if this doesn't work?
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| Be sure to visit Dr. Dave Samuel's
Website - Dr. Dave Samuel is widely considered an authority on
wildlife mgt. as well as the social and cultural influences of hunting.
Dr. Dave spent 30 years as a wildlife professor and served as the
conservation editor for Bowhunter Magazine since 1971. He is an author
and much sought-after speaker in the topic of wildlife mgt. and hunting. |
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