weekender21
5 year old buck +
CWD has hit elk just as hard as deer. There are areas out west, NM unit 34 comes to mind, with very high CWD percentage. They were doing mandatory testing in that area at one point, not sure if they still do or not.
That doesn't contradict anything in what you quoted from me.
I didn't say elk are inherently less likely to contract CWD than whitetails. I said I think CWD is easier to control among elk populations, and I stand by that.
You mentioned mandatory reporting, for example. That's a lot easier to do with elk than with whitetails, for the simple fact there are far fewer elk harvested than whitetails.
I can definitely see CWD potentially being easier to control in some ways like you’ve stated. Some of those traits that make them different from deer would also complicate things. The vast home range of elk for example facilitate deposit of infected prion in a much larger area than a similarly infected Whitetail. Of course the herding habits on their winter range would make it easier to “control” in some ways I guess.
Just my opinions though. The wildlife departments in CO and WY have been dealing with affected elk and deer for years. I’m sure they have an opinion on the topic.
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