CWD

[Fox]

CWD is now in many counties around me and likely my county does have it just hasn't been found yet. DWR is not explaining very well the protocol. For the people that have had CWD in their area for a while what is recommended? should you have every deer you kill tested? wear gloves? or just go about as normal unless the dear was obviously sick?

this is quite upsetting. I feel as though my time here in the woods is just beginning and already the future for hunting and being a part of the mountains is going to be short due to disease and wild places becoming ever smaller and fewer.

[Digital Caveman]

To add to that, how do you know that the deer you kill have not just been infected with rabies or some other lethal bacteria?

[Hawkdancer]

it is very serious, if your area has it, I would recommend having any deer tested, definitely wear gloves when handling the deer avoid the brain and connective tissues, and sanitize all of your tools and your hands when finished cleaning.  Apparently bucks are. more subject to infection than does.  There are lots of research reports on it.
Hawkdancer

[boomhowzer]

CWD is chronic wasting disease, for those who aren't up with the down low. But that's all I know about it. We have some reports of it in Northern Michigan, but not in my area. Can you guys elaborate a little? What are the dangers to humans? How is it diagnosed? What do I do if I get a deer that has it?

And Fox, don't fret. The woods will be here as long as we are. There will always be places you can go to get completely and utterly lost to humanity.

[Hawkdancer]

It is similar to mad cow disease,  there's rare human variant called Creukzfields(sp?)-Jacobs disease.  Basically, the animal just wastes away once infected due to brain damage.  I have not seen a case, but the animal does not act normal and may appear emaciated.  The disease is spread by "prions" found in the saliva and various other tissues.  I think Colorado State University has a rather intensive data bases does Parks and Wildlife.  I would chem with the Wildlike Division in your state to determine if testing is needed.
Hawkdancer

[Allyn T]

Yep it started as scabies in sheep, spread to cattle through bone meal made from diseased sheep, then jumped to elk. From there it went to mule deer and then white tail. It takes a long time for symptoms to show. From what I've read it some humans got it from eating cattle brains. As far as I know they haven't linked cwd to hunters yet so it hasn't made the species jump that way. As to your question fox, around here all counties with cwd and any counties with a 10 mile radius of a positive case they do mandatory testing opening weekend of rifle season. They also let you voluntarily get test if you want through out the season. Still haven't had a positive in my county the last 5 hunting seasons I've been a part of. I don't get my deer tested unless I have to but if it became prevalent I would. I'd also discard any meat of an infected animal just to be safe but that's up to each person individually.

[Digital Caveman]

I take it it doesn't cook out?

[Allyn T]

It isn't a living organism It's a protein fragment so you can't cook it out or freeze it out It can stay active in the soil for 2 years. Don't quote me on this but I believe what I read was you can't burn it out either because it requires a temperature of like 10,000 degrees, not sure if that's the right temp

[boomhowzer]

Apparently CWD has made the jump from deer or elk and infected some non-human primates. This is where the concern for possible transmission to humans comes from, but so far there haven't been any reported cases. Let's just hope it stays that way.

[Fox]

Thanks guys.. some good into here. I’ve read about what it does and how it started but I’m not sure how it will effect hunting this season. One of the really annoying things is I can’t leave guypiles in the woods which is going to make some things hard for me considering I usually Quarter in the field and leave everything I don’t want to the coyotes…. It’s a long way to drag a full deer by yourself where I’ve been hunting…. I also feel quite wrong about throwing any deer parts where the state wants you to… it just seems wrong throwing them in a dumpster of some kind….

[Allyn T]

Here they recommend burying the guts or trash but I don't know if digging a hole in a ridge would be any easier than a drag lol