CWD conversations that are worth the time to watch

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Here is where I stand. "Pissed off" I'll get into that later.

Let me start with, sometime in the late 90's or very very early 2000's when we still got deer hunting magazines in the mail I read a dooms day article about WI having discovered CWD and how it could eventually wipe out all deer in the country. 25 plus years later every state with deer still has deer including WI.

Now that you ask me the direct question "Am I a proponent of doing nothing" and I honestly consider that question, the answer is yes I am. Because doing something is not just doing anything. It's sending snipers out to eliminate a herd. I am against the kill them to save them idea.

Here is what we've been told.

All deer can get CWD (no resistance to it in any deer)
CWD kills all infected deer.
It's caused by a bent something called a prion.
A prion is not alive but lives forever in the soil and is taken up in virtually everything the deer eat, drink or sniff.
A prion can't be killed and remains viable to spread the disease virtually forever.
Prions are spread by deer, hunters moving carcasses, deer farms moving deer etc. so containment is not possible.

If all those things are true at once, what's the point, it's going to eventually kill all the deer.

But are all those things true? Are there any deer that may have some resistance?
NDA wrote an article on why releasing captive CWD resistant deer wouldn't work. Granted one of the biologist quoted in the article said the deer are not resistant they just live longer with CWD. But even that is resistance on some level. What happened to there is no resistant deer? Why would NDA publish an article saying it wouldn't work? I can give one reason but won't.

Is it possible there are wild deer out there with resistance or immunity. Experts say no. I have no idea. But I don't believe anyone else Knows for sure either, even the experts.

All that to say I don't like the snipers and I don't think the experts know anything for sure.


Now for the why I'm pissed.
My farm is on the MO/IA border. Iowa had a case about 10 miles north of us. No cases in MO. Yet MO decided to establish a CWD hot zone (with no positive deer on our side of the line). Mandatory testing the first 2 days of rifle had been in effect for years, Mandatory testing to donate to share the harvest also.

MO wanted to snipe on our farms. Close neighbors said no but I'm certain some in the zone said yes. The first year we got hit hard with EHD. No change to the kill them all cure. MO gave out 10 free any deer tags to anyone with 5 acres in the zone and even contributed to the cost of butchering. Mandatory testing on those also. This past year 5 free extra tags for everyone willing to use them. Mandatory testing.

Guess what ended in our county this year? Mandatory testing during the first 2 days of rifle season. Guess why, No positive cases in the county. All that killing and all that testing and no CWD +. yet they still gave out 5 extra tags in the hot zone (that's actually cold)

It's going to take a few years for us to get out herd back because of EHD yet they are handing tags out like crazy to kill them to cure them in a zone with no positive cases.

And I'm supposed to trust the experts....No thanks. As far as I'm concerned the experts handled our "hot" zone as well the experts handled
covid.

Good response. And that’s why I say do nothing as well. Or at least until the time comes we have an answer to what would work. The effects of being wrong are too detrimental to just indiscriminately kill.

Your story is one I’ve heard similar to in the past. Even @Mortenson has a similar story. Killing off a perfectly fine herd just in case thy end up dying…ive heard more real world impacts from government than from the actual disease. I’ve heard experts tell me it’s bad but I’ve yet to hear any single story from anyone I have a contact with where that’s reality. Maybe I don’t cast a wide enough net? I’ve got a buddy in the original cwd hot zone in wisc. Been in his family for generations. Hunting is as good as ever.

 

[swat1018]

Here is where I stand. "Pissed off" I'll get into that later.

Let me start with, sometime in the late 90's or very very early 2000's when we still got deer hunting magazines in the mail I read a dooms day article about WI having discovered CWD and how it could eventually wipe out all deer in the country. 25 plus years later every state with deer still has deer including WI.

Now that you ask me the direct question "Am I a proponent of doing nothing" and I honestly consider that question, the answer is yes I am. Because doing something is not just doing anything. It's sending snipers out to eliminate a herd. I am against the kill them to save them idea.

Here is what we've been told.

All deer can get CWD (no resistance to it in any deer)
CWD kills all infected deer.
It's caused by a bent something called a prion.
A prion is not alive but lives forever in the soil and is taken up in virtually everything the deer eat, drink or sniff.
A prion can't be killed and remains viable to spread the disease virtually forever.
Prions are spread by deer, hunters moving carcasses, deer farms moving deer etc. so containment is not possible.

If all those things are true at once, what's the point, it's going to eventually kill all the deer.

But are all those things true? Are there any deer that may have some resistance?
NDA wrote an article on why releasing captive CWD resistant deer wouldn't work. Granted one of the biologist quoted in the article said the deer are not resistant they just live longer with CWD. But even that is resistance on some level. What happened to there is no resistant deer? Why would NDA publish an article saying it wouldn't work? I can give one reason but won't.

Is it possible there are wild deer out there with resistance or immunity. Experts say no. I have no idea. But I don't believe anyone else Knows for sure either, even the experts.

All that to say I don't like the snipers and I don't think the experts know anything for sure.


Now for the why I'm pissed.
My farm is on the MO/IA border. Iowa had a case about 10 miles north of us. No cases in MO. Yet MO decided to establish a CWD hot zone (with no positive deer on our side of the line). Mandatory testing the first 2 days of rifle had been in effect for years, Mandatory testing to donate to share the harvest also.

MO wanted to snipe on our farms. Close neighbors said no but I'm certain some in the zone said yes. The first year we got hit hard with EHD. No change to the kill them all cure. MO gave out 10 free any deer tags to anyone with 5 acres in the zone and even contributed to the cost of butchering. Mandatory testing on those also. This past year 5 free extra tags for everyone willing to use them. Mandatory testing.

Guess what ended in our county this year? Mandatory testing during the first 2 days of rifle season. Guess why, No positive cases in the county. All that killing and all that testing and no CWD +. yet they still gave out 5 extra tags in the hot zone (that's actually cold)

It's going to take a few years for us to get out herd back because of EHD yet they are handing tags out like crazy to kill them to cure them in a zone with no positive cases.

And I'm supposed to trust the experts....No thanks. As far as I'm concerned the experts handled our "hot" zone as well the experts handled
covid.

My thoughts exactly. How many times have humans, usually the government, thought they knew better than mother nature and in the end figured out their actions only made the situation worse. Sometimes these scenarios can't be undone.

Here in Florida they decided to straighten out the Kissimmee River between Lake Kissimmee and Lake Okeechobee. After 30-40 years they realized the created a huge disaster by channelizing the river. They have tried to fill it in, tear out locks, reopen the original channel, etc. The damage was done and it can never be completely like God meant it to be. And the billions and billions spent on the "cure" and now just trying to get back where they came from.