Water is rising

[dipper]

http://host.madison.com/sports/recr...cle_2bb270cf-7b26-5980-9126-fa4bb6f4d6cb.html
Every dnr has their own agenda when it comes to deer density and Cwd. None are honest, but what do we do?

 

[shawnv]

Nothing other than pray they come up with a vaccine before the infection rates become problematic to the deer in our area. BTW, the most recent vaccine trial has failed in Elk.

 

[wiscwhip]

I really hope I am wrong here, but I don't see a vaccine being a viable solution to this issue. A vaccine will work on a living organism, such as a virus or a bacteria, but prions are really just mutated protein strands that are present in the environment. They aren't really "alive" in any way, so I don't see a way to "kill" them with a vaccine? As I said, I hope I am totally wrong and way out in left field on this. I think a better hope is that we eventually end up with deer that are basically "immune" to the affects of the prion once it enters their system. That will likely take some "evolution" on the part of the deer, but animals have been known to adapt to environmental changes rather quickly in some cases, I hope this is one of them.

 

[bueller]

Is there any silver lining? Maybe the fact that the overall percentage of positives was higher because there were fewer samples collected from areas on the fringe or outside of the CWD hotspot compared to previous years.

 

[wiscwhip]

IDK bueller, that just seems to me that the DNR doesn't want the public to know the far reaching extent of the outbreak. I already KNOW the prevalence rates are insanely high in the hotzone. I would rather they upped the monitoring on the fringes of the known areas to monitor the spread than just have them keep testing the core areas to tell me more deer have CWD. I can deduct that conclusion for myself.

 

[bueller]

IDK bueller, that just seems to me that the DNR doesn't want the public to know the far reaching extent of the outbreak. I already KNOW the prevalence rates are insanely high in the hotzone. I would rather they upped the monitoring on the fringes of the known areas to monitor the spread than just have them keep testing the core areas to tell me more deer have CWD. I can deduct that conclusion for myself.

I agree. There needs to be more monitoring on the fringes areas. Last fall they were testing deer harvested within a 10 mile radius of the positive deer from northern Adams County. We are maybe 12 miles southwest from there. Go about 25 miles south from us and you are in the old cwd zone. Yet they haven't collected samples by me for a number of years now.

 

[shawnv]

Please don't take this the wrong way but what will more testing accomplish or how will it affect you personally. The only thing I can think of is that you or myself might be more inclined to have our deer tested before we eat it. I'm considering having all the deer my family shoots tested now.

 

[bueller]

Please don't take this the wrong way but what will more testing accomplish or how will it affect you personally. The only thing I can think of is that you or myself might be more inclined to have our deer tested before we eat it. I'm considering having all the deer my family shoots tested now.

I get my deer from northern IL tested and it gives me a piece of mind before eating. Probably wouldn't consume one after getting a positive test even though there has been no link to humans.

 

[wiscwhip]

I suppose that would be the biggest thing shawn, personal knowledge that it is becoming prevalent in other areas. I understand your thinking, but by those lines, why continue to test in the hotzone at all, we already know it is there, what more do we need to know?

 

[kabic]

What are people doing now in the hot zone? I think in the beginning a lot of people were testing, are they still doing that? I don't think I would worry to much about it myself, but not sure I would want to feed it to my kids.

Clark, Jackson and Eau Claire counties: 80 tests, 125 sought (64 percent), no infections;

When this area changes then I really need to start to worry about it.

 

[wiscwhip]

I'm not sure what they are doing down there? If I were anywhere near an area with a 20%+ prevalence rate, I would(or will) be testing every deer, that I can assure you. There is enough $h!t out there that can mess with a guys mental state when one starts to age. ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, you name it, it's all scary as hell! Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) that I may have contracted from eating venison that was positive for CWD(if it is ever found to cross the species barrier) is one of those things that could possibly be avoided simply by testing the deer and not eating the venison. The Center for Disease Control has recommended for many years already not to risk eating CWD positive tested venison. I'll likely follow their advice as opposed to a bunch of guys on forums or the "street" telling me it is ok to consume CWD tainted venison.

 

[wiscwhip]

Here is a "peer review" of the WI DNR CWD Response Plan. Some pretty smart folks on the review team and they don't sound real optimistic or impressed.....:(

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/documents/External_Review.pdf

Here's the link to the DNR CWD page, the review is at the bottom:

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/cwdplan.html

 

[gunther89]

I've been reluctant to post in this because I'm getting tired of hearing about CWD. I've never been a fan of Durkin and his articles. I know where Durkin hunts in Richland county and it's about 20 minutes from our property. I remember one time him writing we basically must bring the population down and keep shooting deer, yet the next year in a article he talks about passing up a couple does. I lost faith in him right there.

I live and hunt in what is considered the old CWD zone. Now our farms aren't located in the hot spots, but I have NEVER found a dead deer that seemed suspicious to me. We have found dead deer that had been hit by cars, or been shot and never found, but never a full deer with no wounds or nothing. All I hear is CWD is 100% fatal, so does this mean that every deer that contracts the prion gets shot before it dies on it's own? The population is rising in the CWD zone which is another thing that baffles my mind. Here is a disease that we are being told kills deer, yet the population is growing.

As far as hunting goes, it's the best in Wisconsin. I know some will disagree with me, but you have the best chance at shooting a 3+ year old buck in these areas. My cousin has friends who hunt in Richland county and to see some of the sheds they pick up or deer they shoot, its just insane. Our home county of Sauk is no differen't. You will find booners at age 4 located throughout the area. Heck we had a 188 inch 10 pointer shot a couple years ago a mile from our farm.

 

[wiscwhip]

I've been reluctant to post in this because I'm getting tired of hearing about CWD. I've never been a fan of Durkin and his articles. I know where Durkin hunts in Richland county and it's about 20 minutes from our property. I remember one time him writing we basically must bring the population down and keep shooting deer, yet the next year in a article he talks about passing up a couple does. I lost faith in him right there.

I live and hunt in what is considered the old CWD zone. Now our farms aren't located in the hot spots, but I have NEVER found a dead deer that seemed suspicious to me. We have found dead deer that had been hit by cars, or been shot and never found, but never a full deer with no wounds or nothing. All I hear is CWD is 100% fatal, so does this mean that every deer that contracts the prion gets shot before it dies on it's own? The population is rising in the CWD zone which is another thing that baffles my mind. Here is a disease that we are being told kills deer, yet the population is growing.

As far as hunting goes, it's the best in Wisconsin. I know some will disagree with me, but you have the best chance at shooting a 3+ year old buck in these areas. My cousin has friends who hunt in Richland county and to see some of the sheds they pick up or deer they shoot, its just insane. Our home county of Sauk is no differen't. You will find booners at age 4 located throughout the area. Heck we had a 188 inch 10 pointer shot a couple years ago a mile from our farm.

So per the above, am I to assume your perfectly fine with consuming venison that tests positive for CWD?

 

[gunther89]

If I knew a deer had it, I wouldn't. If I had an suspicion a deer was sick, I would get it tested and go from there but every deer I've shot has appeared healthy with lots of fat on it.

 

[dipper]

My loved ones and I eat a ton of venison, the safety of that food source, is paramount. Venison is an important component of our healthy lifestyle. The healthy food source is One of many reasons why we comment the amount of $, we do to owning land.
I know it comes back to big racks for many on These forums, we all own land for our personal reasons.