Random distribution isn't as scattered as people like to think. Clustering happens in sets of random distribution. Then considering that they were friends, they likely participated in other activities together, though none of those activities are listed. Perhaps they worked at the same slaughter house. Or maybe they hunted in other places together and participated in the local customs, which may include eating the brains of an animal, like monkey. The problem is that the article gives a very pointed view and shows very little consideration for other factors, or at a minimum does not acknowledge any consideration.
Encouraging Article on CWD in Missouri
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andrew bullard
5 year old buck +
Maybe.
I don’t think the article is jumping to any conclusions. It’s newsworthy even if it turns out to be nothing. I don’t think it’s possible to know one way or the other.
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I had it in my head that there were CWD “hot zones” in which impacts to buck age structure was measurably and obviously apparent. Now I’m starting to think that these were hot zones WITH sharp shooters or drastically accelerated harvest. Does anyone know more about such data? I have no agenda, just asking.
I agree - like the county(s) in WI with infection rates of 50% or more. Are there few mature bucks? Do folks actively hunt those counties? WI claims a growing deer population due to declining hunter numbers. Is high infection rates of CWD reducing hunter participation?
gwm
5 year old buck +
I'm going by memory so some of these dates may be off a bit......
WI started testing for CWD in the late 90's, and had the first CWD positive in 2001/2002. I think it was 2003 when they established the Deer Eradication Zone (DEZ) in an attempt to kill every deer. Unlimited tags, EAB, landowners had extended seasons, sharpshooters over bait at night, etc..
Hunters started to speak out against this shortly after. Letters were wrote, calls were made, and in 2006 EAB was banned by the legislature. It's still banned today.
The DNR estimates hunting in WI as a $2.5 billion dollar industry with 80% of that coming from deer hunting. In 2022, WI had hunters from all 50 states and 20 foreign countries purchase a deer hunting license. While license sales are down (highs over 600,000 to around 550,000 now), I believe, this is more attributed to worse hunting in the north due to wolves and lack of access to quality land in the south.
The CWD hot zones are still some of the best deer hunting in the nation for quantity and quality. In 2006, the King buck (scored as new WR beating the Hansen Buck - later scored lower) was killed in the heart of the main area of CWD. Overall, these are great areas for hunting. Land prices have skyrocketed just like everywhere else. I have not seen or heard of CWD having a negative effect on much of anything deer hunting related.
WI started testing for CWD in the late 90's, and had the first CWD positive in 2001/2002. I think it was 2003 when they established the Deer Eradication Zone (DEZ) in an attempt to kill every deer. Unlimited tags, EAB, landowners had extended seasons, sharpshooters over bait at night, etc..
Hunters started to speak out against this shortly after. Letters were wrote, calls were made, and in 2006 EAB was banned by the legislature. It's still banned today.
The DNR estimates hunting in WI as a $2.5 billion dollar industry with 80% of that coming from deer hunting. In 2022, WI had hunters from all 50 states and 20 foreign countries purchase a deer hunting license. While license sales are down (highs over 600,000 to around 550,000 now), I believe, this is more attributed to worse hunting in the north due to wolves and lack of access to quality land in the south.
The CWD hot zones are still some of the best deer hunting in the nation for quantity and quality. In 2006, the King buck (scored as new WR beating the Hansen Buck - later scored lower) was killed in the heart of the main area of CWD. Overall, these are great areas for hunting. Land prices have skyrocketed just like everywhere else. I have not seen or heard of CWD having a negative effect on much of anything deer hunting related.
I have heard from other hunters in our state’s cwd zone that the herd has declined as has the number of mature bucks. Our cwd regs did away with the three point antler restriction and in addition to our already existing two buck limit - removed the requirement to count button bucks as bucks. Button bucks now count as antlerless deer and you can kill three of them in addition to your two adult bucks. It is a war on bucks. In addition, the antlerless limit was increased from two to three deer. It does make sense the deer density would decline - along with age structure
Exactly. I own land in one of these areas and the deer population is very high. The only dead deer I’ve found there throughout the years are all near the roads and are presumed to be hit by cars. Even then I probably average finding 1 dead deer on my property for every two years. With the numbers of deer in this area I would assume I’d be finding many dead deer every year if cwd killed like they claim. I just don’t see it. Makes me really question the “science”.
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I own land in Richland County Wisconsin which has a high positive test rate. There’s many mature bucks and deer populations are extremely high.
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Mortenson
5 year old buck +
That sounds about the same as us. Although I wouldn't say our population is very high. I'd probably call it mediocre. We find maybe 1 dead deer a year. Last year my adjacent neighbor on 9 acres texted me to say that all 3 of the young bucks he killed were all cwd+. Our farm (200 acres) has never had a deer test +. I shot a 5.5 year buck this season. He was healthy as a horse and didn't get tested. We're eating him. I shot a 5.5 year old buck in '21. He was healthy as a horse and didn't get tested. We ate him. I shot a 5.5 year old buck in '19 - healthy, not tested, ate him. Shot a 5.5 in '16 - healthy, not tested, ate him. Including youth and muzzie, we have 6 gun seasons. The dnr only tests for cwd during the 1st 2 primary gun seasons. If we shoot a deer during 1 of those 2 seasons and we don't intend to mount it, we allow it to be tested and marked on the map where it came from. I question the science same as you.
There was a real good article in the Habitat issue of North American Whitetail.Talked alot about Wisc and how after all the sharpshooting it was decided by most biologist that mass reduction of the herd made no difference in the spread or death rate.It was worth checking out.
I have not read of anywhere else that the infection rate is anywhere near 50%. The infection rates in Illinois are single digit percentages (if true). While I am not an advocate of intensive herd reduction - it does seem like it reduces the infection rate, even if it does not slow the spread.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
I used to subscribe to the MN Outdoor News. I had to quit or I was going to need benzos to keep reading it. People bad, government good, venison dangerous, forests dying, wolves harmless.
So much so that this forum basically wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the QDMA deleting their forum primarily because everyone was recommending not spending all the money on name brand food plot seed, the very same name brands that “sponsored” QDMA.
I’m definitely not still bitter about that….
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Mortenson
5 year old buck +
What's your take? Has something like that ever been tried with a wild population of animal? Kinda makes me want to watch jurassic park again.
