The "CWD is a HOAX" movement is building

[44hunter45]

Reminds me of the guy I saw in Costco yesterday wearing a tee-shirt emblazoned, "COVID is a hoax, The Media is the real virus." On the back "Infomax is the answer." This guy had a Go-Pro on his head in Costco. I guess case someone like me puts the smackdown on him.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Even the tech who took the sample from my bull this year seemed very misinformed on CWD. Tried telling me things such as cooking thoroughly will kill the prions, if my bull didn’t look sick I have nothing to worry about, no risk eating a positive animal, etc.

Oy vey.

 

[ClearCreek]

Do y’all find alot of dead deer that have died from cwd on this ranch?

I only spend about two weeks a year, during hunting season, on the ranch, so not being there all year I have not found deer dead and had them tested for CWD. I have found old carcasses on the place, but at that stage it is difficult to tell what the exact cause of death was.

I have observed two deer that were in what I believe were late stages of CWD. They were in very poor body condition, their ears were "droopy" and you could approach them without them moving.

A couple years ago my wife killed a buck in it's bed and when we got up to it the deer weighed about 60% of what it should have weighed. Lymph node samples indicated it was CWD positive.

ClearCreek

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Typical modern Eastman’s article.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I only spend about two weeks a year, during hunting season, on the ranch, so not being there all year I have not found deer dead and had them tested for CWD. I have found old carcasses on the place, but at that stage it is difficult to tell what the exact cause of death was.

I have observed two deer that were in what I believe were late stages of CWD. They were in very poor body condition, their ears were "droopy" and you could approach them without them moving.

A couple years ago my wife killed a buck in it's bed and when we got up to it the deer weighed about 60% of what it should have weighed. Lymph node samples indicated it was CWD positive.

ClearCreek

How old are these deer that you witnessed these symptoms in?

Sitting in on some of these CWD meetings, I’m always amazed that there’s not more updated “fixes” for a disease that’s been around for this long.

 

[VikingsGuy]

So... at this point I'm just basically assuming there will be no more deer or elk in 10 years. It's no wonder to me that we see people arguing against the existing science when no one offers solutions other than kill all the deer before the CWD does.

Getting frustrated with a lack of better solutions, and pushing back against current unsuccessful approaches, proposing other science-based solutions (on this or other issues) is always a good thing. Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have moved from arguing over the best steps forward towards just trying to deny the existence of facts/problems as an excuse to revert to the status quo and do nothing. It happens on both sides of the aisle and on a whole range of problems - but if we don't get a grip, it will be the downfall of us all. Viruses, earthquakes, climate, wildlife, food production, etc don't care about our tribal ideologies - humans may choose to ignore science, but nature does not and in the end we will lose.

 

[ClearCreek]

How old are these deer that you witnessed these symptoms in?

Sitting in on some of these CWD meetings, I’m always amazed that there’s not more updated “fixes” for a disease that’s been around for this long.

RE: the bolded sentence above:
I did not have these deer tooth aged, but comparing them to a few (from the same area) that have been tooth aged I would say they would have been over four years of age.

ClearCreek

 

[N2TRKYS]

RE: the bolded sentence above:
I did not have these deer tooth aged, but comparing them to a few (from the same area) that have been tooth aged I would say they would have been over four years of age.

ClearCreek

That goes against things I’ve heard from folks in a management position making these decisions and more in line with what I was thinking.

Thanks for the info.

 

[JimQ]

I have stood 10 foot from a 2 year muley buck near Carter Montana who was slowly doing circles and was oblivious to my presence. Standing in middle of a gravel road. I watched herds in Missouri be decimated by CWD and EHD. Not sure what these idiots think is killing all of those deer but they need to stick to what they are best at...scrolling Facebook

 

[Mudranger1]

Oy vey.

Just a real curiosity question here...are they still testing with the same test they did decades ago or has testing enhanced per say...like say steroid testing in sports

 

[Sask hunter]

I have been around CWD in Sask for a long time now. Currently the oldest hot areas are very low deer numbers. Like used to see 50-100 deer and now might see 20. The new hotter area is where I grew up. Lots of deer still lots of does just none or very few mature bucks. Seems to affect Mulies way more then whitetails. Not sure what the solution is as it sits in the soil for a long time I have even heard coyote poop will carry it around. The deer herd up naturally every winter especially on winters with lots of snow. We have done the herd reduction here and it didn’t seem to do much. Our deer densities are way lower then almost everywhere in the states. Maybe in the super low deer number area they will start to rebuild and can get some age. Guess we will see in another 10-15 years. As of now I could probably draw a rifle mulie tag but I’m not too keen on a 160 or 170 being the biggest buck I can find

 

[appaloosa]

Typical modern Eastman’s article.

They should just stick to "DIY" hunting on private property. Science isn't their forte.

 

[brockel]

Was just talking to another member here about disposing of positive cases. Over here they take them to the dump. Below the dump are ponds to catch the runoff. Have seen many mule deer over the years drinking from these ponds. Seems like not the right way of disposing of these animals considering it can get right back into the ground and also can runoff into the water system. How are other areas disposing of positive animals?

 

[rjthehunter]

Getting frustrated with a lack of better solutions, and pushing back against current unsuccessful approaches, proposing other science-based solutions (on this or other issues) is always a good thing. Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have moved from arguing over the best steps forward towards just trying to deny the existence of facts/problems as an excuse to revert to the status quo and do nothing. It happens on both sides of the aisle and on a whole range of problems - but if we don't get a grip, it will be the downfall of us all. Viruses, earthquakes, climate, wildlife, food production, etc don't care about our tribal ideologies - humans may choose to ignore science, but nature does not and in the end we will lose.

No opinion on CWD, but the MN DNR hasn't handled it very well IMO. They found a deer on a deer farm that caused them to put the whole 604 unit on blast. It was unlimited does for a few years here. There has to be a better way than just trying to kill all the does in any given unit. Also, why do they open up does to over harvest and not bucks? They can both contract it.

 

[Gr8bawana]

CWD Management – Science or Money? - Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals

As I reported in my blogs on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management in Wyoming in the sprin

blog.eastmans.com

Edit: I should add, I'm starting to see this message promulgate more and more through media. Forums, FB pages, articles, conferences, etc. This is a serious movement and may have political ramifications for wildlife agencies whom are viewed as "pro cwd".

 

[Hunting Wife]

Just a real curiosity question here...are they still testing with the same test they did decades ago or has testing enhanced per say...like say steroid testing in sports

Not necessarily. The standard tissues for sampling have not changed. Obex or retros still provide the most reliable detection.

IHC is still the “gold standard” method by which other tests are judged. But many agencies have switched to ELISA because it’s quicker (relatively- still a multi-stage test with multiple reagents, incubation time, etc). Some work had been done on various PCR tests but I’m not aware of that being quite proven as a diagnostic test yet? I’d have to check on that.

Plus they’ve been doing RAMALT sampling on live animals for a number of years though it’s hard to do on a large scale for the simple fact you have to capture, immobilize, and handle every animal, and that ain’t easy or cheap. It also isn’t as reliable as the retros/obex.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I'd guess not. We know it has a slow incubation period. But, from what I've read and the discussions I've had with veterinarians, CWD isn't always this overtly displayed disease. It weakens deer slowly and makes them more succeptible to other diseases, predation, vehicle collisions, etc. It's not like EHD where you find dead deer stacked up on water lines at the same time.

The comparison to cancer is ironic given his "how do we know it's 100% lethal stance".

Most folks don't "die from cancer" most people with stage 4 cancer die from other things because... it weakens them and makes them more susceptible"

My aunt died from pneumonia technically, her death certificate said metastatic breast cancer.
My dad died from various organ failures his certificate says carcinoma.

This guy doesn't know his ass from his elbow.

 

[Bigjay73]

The comparison to cancer is ironic given his "how do we know it's 100% lethal stance".

Most folks don't "die from cancer" most people with stage 4 cancer die from other things because... it weakens them and makes them more susceptible"

My aunt died from pneumonia technically, her death certificate said metastatic breast cancer.
My dad died from various organ failures his certificate says carcinoma.

This guy doesn't know his ass from his elbow.

I agree, and I'm sorry

 

[Trial153]

Got it to love science deniers, they are a special kind of creation.

 

[Treeshark]

It’s always hard to compare western states to the Midwest, but we did have our turn in the tumbler with this years ago. The DNR went crazy with eradication zones etc and after several years figured out that didn’t work and sort of gave up on it. Back to normal now for the most part.

I’m not saying that ignoring CWD is the right way to deal with it of course, but scorched earth didn’t seem particularly effective either.