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Should I be worried about CWD?

Shawnba67

I live in Indiana and as of yet, it isnt here. We just in last couple of years got to rifle hunt!
Man that changes the game. First rifle deer was a neck shot and man I like seeing them go down twitchless!
But CWD is a darn Prion desease, which watching the vids of people passing from "Mad Cow" is nearly enoughto turn a fellow Vegan. Whats the new thoughts on all this?
Am I just a worrier or should I be taking some other precations beyond not shooting obviously sick deer?
 
I would not worry about it, for the reason you stated, it is not in your state yet and the fact that you are more likely to get hurt or killed driving you motor vehicle, then you ever would come down with DWD from eating a game animal.
 
We cut 98 heads off for testing this year on our “damage permit”, all does, but the little bucks just left laying..

cwd testing
 
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Should you worry about CWD? Yes, you should. Not to worry so much about CWD affecting humans but about the decline of deer populations due to the disease. Alabama Wildlife officials are watching it close and, as yet, no diagnosed CWD in Alabama yet. Honestly, vehicles and coyotes are a bigger threat to our deer.
I have hunted the same land for well over 30 years. 7 years ago it was nothing to see 10-20 deer during a morning or evening hunt but now I don't see 20 a year. Same with turkey. I've counted over 35 on fields at one time. Now, it's rare to see even one or two. The past few years I've shot way more coyotes than deer. In fact, I'm at a time when I'd rather smack coyotes.
 
I concur, and get any and all beef tested as well. As you know the usda only test a very, very small percentage of beef entering the food chain. And probably only the healthiest looking one's. After the testing, the inspector's go golfing with the plant managers. They are best buddies I'll bet.
 
Contact your local game warden , most are very nice and are willing to educate on any wildlife subject.... If anybody knows the answer , they do and they can give you all the information you could want.... Just FYI if your local warden isn't one of the good ones , seek one out...There's alot more good ones in my experience than bad ones.....
 
We have it here in PA and in my area so I'm concerned about it. I love deer meat and I really like eating what I kill but this has given me some pause but at my age I'm not so worried about it - just cautious if I happen to get a deer and will observe the guidelines published by the game commission here in PA with regards to field processing the animal.

In your case, it hasn't been detected in your State yet so I wouldn't too be worried. However if you're worried, I'd use rubber gloves field dressing the deer and avoid cutting into the brain, spine and organs to prevent any contamination of the meat in case the animal is infected.
 
I think it is going to be a real problem. Here in Colorado it is already, in my opinion, out of control. It appears the state is trying to minimize the existence and prevalence of it. If it gets bad, and I suspect it will, there will be decreased herds, and much decreased revenue from tags. The tag revenue is what supports the game management. They used to refund your license fee if the animal tested positive, last year they stopped doing that because it was too expensive.

I think at some point it will be shown to have some effect on humans, maybe not the same was as deer, but somehow.
 
The trick is to avoid contacting spinal fluids. That is where the issue is for humans. Meat that has not been in contact with the spinal fluid is fine for consumption. So if you hit the spine anywhere on the animal stay well away from that area when dressing out. By all means have the meat tested and use gloves when dressing out.
 
As long as you don't have deer and elk farms you should be OK. You need to be worried because it can reduce a wild deer population and harm hunting for the regular guy. I hunt in both of our CWD zones here in Minnesota and both situations were caused by cervid farmers. Of course the people in Minnesota that say "don't worry about it", "its here to stay so get used to it", and "there's no risk to anyone's health" are connected with high fence operations and cervid farms. You should contact your state representatives to pass a law banning such operations in Indiana if you have concern for it entering your state. This goes beyond the anti hunting crowd and impact our hunting community directly and negatively. New hunter recruitment is a huge issue for us and this does not help to motivate younger people to hunt IMHO.
 
I get every deer tested in my area and last year shot a 3 yo buck that looked 'run down'. It was fairly gaunt and as the rut was full on we attributed it to that. Well it tested positive for CWD (SW WI). I cut up my own venison so it was already boned out and made into sausage when I got the results back, but it still makes you a little hesitant. This was one of 7 deer that tested positive out of 700+ that were tested in the county I shot it in. The season before there were only 1 or 2 positive results... We'll see what this year brings. There are a lot of deer, and maybe they should be thinned a bit, I don't know. I'll still be hunting though, and will wait to eat until I get the results back. I was issued a replacement tag for this year and can shoot an additional buck, so that's kind of nice too.
 
I harvested 2 deer in Montana that are in the middle of the CWD zones. I haven’t met a farmer yet that seems concerned about eating the meat. I did not get either deer tested and plan to eat them. There has been no evidence that this can be spread to humans but the CDC “recommends” not eating contaminated meat. Knowing our government and the CDC that’s what they have to say. They want to cover their ass so they tell you not to eat it. If it was truly dangerous to humans we would know about it. The biggest concern I have is similar to what others have indicated. This is going to hurt the deer population and there doesn’t seem to be any way to stop it. It’s been in Canada for years (at least 15) and is slowly making its way down. I think this going to become an even bigger problem than it is now.
 
We stumbled across a dead buck on the opening day of pheasant season. No visible signs of being shot(only bow season at this point), but he was starting to bloat and stink. That was on a Saturday and somehow nobody at the KDWP answered the phone, I tried again on Sunday just for fun and then again on Monday. Oops, it was Veteran's Day, so no answer again. Finally on Tuesday morning someone answered and put me through to a Biologist. As soon as I relayed that the deer had started to bloat, the guy was finished with me and said that it was too late to test the deer. I'm no biologist but that didn't sound right.

Edit: The kicker to this is that it was 15 yards from a tree stand and corn feeder.
 
A protein cannot replicate itself in nature, so until this disease is understood use common sense. Wear gloves when handling ANY fluids from wild animals. Wash asap. Report unusual animal activity or signs of disease. Brain issues almost always prohibit "normal" activities,feeding,drinking, avoiding predators(humans). If you are in a cwd confirmed area the state will have instructions governing transportation and handling/testing of cervids. There is some research that disputes the prion theory and is said to be working on a vaccine.
 
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