Not too far from my stomping grounds which was already in DMA 3 but...
Excerpt from the press release:
CWD FOUND IN THE WILD IN CLEARFIELD COUNTY
HARRISBURG, PA - Chronic wasting disease has spread to free-ranging deer in an area of the state where it previously had been detected only in captive deer.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced a free-ranging whitetail buck in Bell Township, Clearfield County, has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).
A news conference about the new CWD-positive deer and the Game Commission’s response will be held on Thursday, July 13, at noon at the Game Commission’s Harrisburg headquarters. The news conference will be available to view on the Game Commission’s social media pages.
The CWD-positive buck was shot by a wildlife conservation officer June 7 on State Game Lands 87 because it showed signs of being diseased. Preliminary tests indicated the buck was CWD-positive, and the final results confirm the buck was infected with CWD, which always is fatal to deer and elk.
The buck was within Disease Management Area 3 (DMA 3), which was established in 2014 after surveillance by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture detected CWD at two captive deer facilities in Jefferson County.
Because this buck was located near the center of the 350-square-mile DMA 3, the DMA will not need to expand.
It's all over Texas too... best chance to end the disease is to shoot them all!
Sorry- but that's NOT the answer. Not from jwall but Colorado, & Arkansas. The prions are IN the ground already ! scavengers, coyotes, coons (RAcoons that is), buzzards, et.al. pick up, excrete, transmit however and the BEAT goes on.
The best plan is 'attempt' to confine... but some critters can not be contained.
Extermination of 'cervids' will not solve the problem.
banning wildlife feeding would help. these people who pile up corn and feed/salt blocks are the ones causing the spread. too much concentration in a small spot.
banning wildlife feeding would help. these people who pile up corn and feed/salt blocks are the ones causing the spread. too much concentration in a small spot.
Did you ever look at the tracks under a good acorn tree in the early fall? miles
Deer are pretty communal animals, any good food/ water spot will concentrate them especially within the higher density areas like the Texas hill country Tons of browse and not nearly enough hunting pressure more get killed by bumpers than bullets I bet in some areas.
Some people want to place the blame for everything on bait piles, but the truth is, they don't know what to do about CWD. In fact they know very little about it. They have some theories that may be correct but they are still unproven. I hear that the brains in Colorado turned it loose in the wild to see what it did, way back. When we got Elk from them is probably where it came from in Arkansas. Could be from tame deer that people had before that became illegal, but most likely from the elk. miles
I'm in Arkansas and everyone wants to think it came from the elk. It may have.but the states to the North of us already had CWD in their wild deer herds. Crows and buzzards hit every dead deer that hits the ground. And they move the prions around. I don't think there is any realistic way to contain it, as long as migrating scavengers can spread it. It will spread south eventually all the way to the coast. I've read a bit about the disease when it was documented in AR. The Prions are very resilient and can survive time and burning. My guess is it is here to stay.
As mentioned many times, Pa at one time had an overpopulated Deer herd, and the county in question was one of them. Fields of 200 Deer could be spotted and the Deer were concentrated. When winters were bad some individuals did extensive feeding that concentrated them further. CWD wasn't a problem. So how did it get here? My mind says it was introduced. If so the question is who, why and how?
Those who implicate bait piles are ignoring or don't know the history of Deer populations in Pa.
One would be inclined to believe that it either showed up via brought in, fenced animals, reintroduction critters or it's one of those naturally occurring things.
I also have to question birds. I figure that birds will eventually be the death of us.
Can birds, say crows or buzzards, 'carry it', have the spores in their crap from eating infected critters, drop turd in a next door state and now the disease is there?
I have no idea about that, but one would think it's possible, but again I have now idea about CWD.
I think it is possible. Lots of fish disease in fish farms comes from birds, and some have to pass through a bird before it will get in the fish. Lots of fish raised for bait here, and birds are a big problem for them. miles
CWD transmission, via the intrastate shipments of "farmed" deer and elk, is certainly somewhat responsible for much of the spread of CWD.
When CWD was first documented in PA, it was found at several "deer farms" in York and Adams counties (both near the MD border). Try as they might, never did sort out where all of those captive deer from those affected areas, actually wound up. Fair to figure that many of those deer were scattered about the country, before anyone knew for sure there were CWD concerns? Much of that is due to lax oversight of the PA Dept. of Agriculture's poor management of deer farm operations.
Game Commission long had jurisdiction over farmed cervids in PA. That ended years ago, when the legislature gave jurisdiction to AG, mostly because cervid farmers complained about too much oversight and too many inspections. Draw your own conclusions.
I also have to question birds. I figure that birds will eventually be the death of us.
Can birds, say crows or buzzards, 'carry it', have the spores in their crap from eating infected critters, drop turd in a next door state and now the disease is there?
I have no idea about that, but one would think it's possible, but again I have now idea about CWD.
Steely, the prions that cause the disease are not a living organism (spore, bacteria, or virus). The prions are a form of abnormally folded proteins that cause the disease in the brain. These proteins are stable and can be transmitted from carrion or can remain unchanged on fodder or on the ground.
While not the sole reason for its spread, the farming of deer to feed the "genetic monster trophy whitetail" mania has certainly contributed to the spread.
Feeding in an of itself doesn't seem to be the cause. However, extremely high protein feeding that contains certain animals proteins may be the cause. However, it's here and it doesn't look like you can kill it out.
I also have to question birds. I figure that birds will eventually be the death of us.
Can birds, say crows or buzzards, 'carry it', have the spores in their crap from eating infected critters, drop turd in a next door state and now the disease is there?
I have no idea about that, but one would think it's possible, but again I have now idea about CWD.
Steely, the prions that cause the disease are not a living organism (spore, bacteria, or virus). The prions are a form of abnormally folded proteins that cause the disease in the brain. These proteins are stable and can be transmitted from carrion or can remain unchanged on fodder or on the ground.
Yes, Mtnsnake we've known that for a while. Not being critical. CWD is/was in other States BEFORE it was identified here LAST yr. 2016.
Coincidence or not, OUR core area of CWD is focused EXACTLY where Elk FROM Co. were imported and released.
Originally Posted by milespatton
I hear that the brains in Colorado turned it loose in the wild to see what it did, way back. When we got Elk from them is probably where it came from in Arkansas. Could be from tame deer that people had before that became illegal, but most likely from the elk. miles
Again I'm not being critical NOR blaming Co. for CWD in Ark but it could be that's how it got here.
Also Missouri had CWD before Ark and it COULD have been transplanted here by scavengers??
Oddly again, it's central location is IN the area Elk were imported here from Co.
I remain convinced that most of the CWD that has cropped up anywhere but in northeastern Colorado or southeastern Wyoming has resulted from the transport and relocation of captive deer and (to a lesser extent) elk.
I appreciate your participation in this subject. You have posted reports and findings that helped me/us a lot. There are 2-3 in the past yr. in other threads. They are worth the effort to SEARCH and then follow up.
One I know is CWD Arkansas' First Case, DEER hunting forum, @ March or April 2016 Reference -- mudhen or jwall
Gophergunner's camp is outside the Disease Management Area. Not by much but it is outside. And the infected deer that have been found are quite a ways away. For now, it's not an issue at camp.
I happened to run into this thread after spending a day last week in Harrisburg learning about Chronic Wasting Disease. It was a long, but worthwhile day. I published my latest newspaper column on what hunters need to learn about CWD, how serious it is, and how they can help combat it. It began in Wyoming back in the 1960s and is spreading across the country in "cervids"—antlered animals including whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose and caribou. It likely came about first in captive deer facilities, but in a way it's too late to blame them because blame can do nothing to rid the landscape of the mischievous prion that causes CWD.
If interested, check out this week's column, "News about CWD—Mostly Bad, Some Good." That link takes you to my blog, and you can click through to the column in the Jamestown (NY) Gazette.
My next column will be sort of a Part 2 on CWD, and I'll write about what could happen if hunters don't work with wildlife managers to combat the disease. If I can remember to do it, I'll post a link to that one too.
Last season I hunted in a containment area in VA. Since the law forbids moving whole deer from there to my home about 8 miles away in WV, I used a processor in the "zone". They map the kills and send all the heads for testing. They do a good job at a good price and it saves me hunting time, and I don't have to worry (much) about the little nasties being in my burger. The state also has dumpsters for the carcasses of roadkill and home-butchered deer.
I agree with the notion that the spread of CWD was aided by moving game around from place to place and maybe by the use of urine-based scents. Whatever it was, the cat's outa the bag and we've got to deal with it.
Funny this thread popped back up today. There was an opinion piece in today's Johnstown paper that basically blamed CWD in Pa. deer farms on CWD in Maryland wild deer and the lack of control efforts by the Pa. Game Commission Excerpt:
Regardless of all the efforts by Pennsylvania deer farmers and the Department of Agriculture to monitor and control CWD in private deer herds, the disease continues to spread in our wild herd, compromising the existence of many private herds in its path.
Only when you get to the end of the piece does the author identify himself as the vice president of the Pa. Deer Farmers Assoc. Oh and he conveniently left out two facts 1) Deer farms used to be regulated by the Game Commission but the farmers got it switched to the Ag Dept. because the Game Commission was proposing much more restrictive fencing and 2) the first Pa case of CWD was in a captive herd.
I remain convinced that most of the CWD that has cropped up anywhere but in northeastern Colorado or southeastern Wyoming has resulted from the transport and relocation of captive deer and (to a lesser extent) elk.
I have NOT checked stats for Ar lately but SO FAR our CWD has remained in a reasonable locale.
The last I knew we have FAR more Deer identified w/CWD than Elk. That's good ONLY because we have FAR moe deer than elk.
