What do you guys that are in CWD zones do about testing your meat. CWD has been confirmed about 30 miles from me. My local butcher, that makes my smokies and sausage, has said they won't accept any bone in wild game meat and that boned meat will have to be tested for CWD. Do any of you worry about the safety of eating wild game from confirmed CWD areas? This is all new to me so I am just trying to get some info. Thanks for any info you can give.

I am not worried about eating deer meat in confirmed CWD areas.

Does your State test for CWD?

I sent in a pair of neck glads to be tested on my elk they texted me the results and offer to answer any questions I had even. Not sure what they do with the deer.

SD GFP has a video available on the gland removal steps.

Idaho tests meat from inside the zones but I am just outside a confirmed area. The state is making rules on the fly as this is all new. They may test any that want tested not sure yet. I am just trying to find out what those of you with more experience do. I have read that CWD can not be passed from meat to humans by consumption but there seems to be a little disagreement about that. The only red meat I eat is wild game so I am trying to be informed as to what options there are.

Are you sure they’re testing the meat? Or are they testing a different part of the deer as in lymph nodes or obex?

If the deer you shoot looks and acts and smells normal, I’d say it’s safe to eat.

If the custom butchereing places or those handling venison etc. all over the nation that will change the testing numbers and routine a lot. More people will process their own or maybe not even hunt for food if this gets even more restrictive and expansive. It would be a way of gaining more data on the presence of and the numbers of infected animals but would not help to prevent or minimize if current management practices are not modified and reviewed.

Bryce

Locker plants are taking deer meat in my area iam a mile from the Wisconsin border.weve got cwd had it for years and your never going to get rid of it.back in the late 90s early 2000s wisc were giving farmers 200.00 for every deer shot on there land this was around the dodgeville area never got rid of it or went down percentage wise either. There's alot of controversy on the subject don't know who to believe but then again the government is involved I know guys that have eaten including me but iam not telling anyone else what to do research it and make your own decision.

Where I'm at in northeastern Wisconsin, we have hunters from all over the state bringing their meat to the processor to have it made into hot dogs, summer sausage, brats, snack sticks, etc. They collect the registration confirmation number and only require a negative CWD test result if you submit a sample for testing. Testing isn't required in WI unless your using a special CWD surveillance zone tag. So if you shoot a deer in one of the hot beds for CWD, if you don't submit it for testing, go ahead and being it in to be made into hot dogs.

Funny thing is, with our registration system in WI, the processors can easily tell which deer come from which counties. If they wanted to require testing, they could.

And you don't get your own meat back. So if you bring your meat to one of those processors, chances are good you're getting CWD positive meat back. That said, I have turned down confirmed CWD positive meat in the past, and will continue to do so for the sake of my family.

I don't worry about it . But wont eat a deer that looks sick or is acting strange. The mystery meat people buy at the grocery store and restaurants isn't tested is it?

Lol!

And I'll leave it at that. No further comment.

Easier way is don’t eat the brains raw. Plus just cook the meat until it is done.

We have to get the lymph’s tested here. Our DNRs site has a link to Michigans DNRs site for removal.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/chronic-wasting-disease/Hunters/lymph-node-extraction-instructional-video
I don’t know what kinda sample I submitted last year, but it wasn’t these things…lol.

From the CDC (if anybody still trusts what they have to say):

Currently there is no scientific evidence that CWD has or can spread to humans, either through contact with or consumption of infected animals. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has thoroughly investigated any connection between CWD and the human neurological diseases and has stated “the risk of infection with the CWD agent among hunters is extremely small, if it exists at all” and “it is extremely unlikely that CWD would be a food borne hazard.”

However, public health officials advise caution and recommend that human exposure to the CWD infectious agent be avoided as they continue to evaluate any potential health risk. The CDC currently recommends that people who hunt in areas with reported CWD should check state wildlife and public health guidance to see whether testing of animals is recommended or required in a given state or region. In areas where CWD is known to be present, the CDC recommends that hunters strongly consider having those animals tested before eating the meat. Hunters are encouraged not to consume meat from animals that test positive for CWD, or any animals that appear sick. It should be noted that the CWD test is a disease monitoring tool and is not a food safety test. In addition, hunters should take certain precautions when field dressing and processing deer or elk taken in areas where CWD is found.

Concerns over CWD shouldn’t stop you from enjoying this hunting season. State and provincial wildlife agencies are stepping up their surveillance and providing more information on CWD, so be alert to their advisories and follow the recommended precautions.

Simple Precautions Advised:

Public health and wildlife officials advise hunters to take the following precautions when pursuing or handling deer and elk that may have been exposed to CWD:

Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick. Contact your state game and fish department if you see or harvest an animal that appears sick.

Wear latex or rubber gloves when field dressing your deer or elk.

Bone out the meat from your animal. Don’t saw through bone and avoid cutting through the brain or spinal column (backbone).

Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.

Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed.

Instruments, cutting boards, and other items used for processing should be soaked for 5 minutes in a 40% solution of household bleach to inactivate prions. However, the items must be completely clean with absolutely no tissue or organic matter present for this proves to be effective.

Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field dressing coupled with boning out a carcass will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will remove remaining lymph nodes.)

Avoid consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive for the disease.

If you have your deer or elk commercially processed, request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal.

Our State sets up check stations in CWD zones.

I remove the lymph nodes from the neck and have the animal tested. If positive it will not be fed to my family. I process my own animals to make sure the meat my family eats is from the animal I took.

Cooking does not destroy the prions that cause CWD.

JP The state tests the lymph nodes not the meat(I said meat because that is what is consumed). I process my deer except what I have made into smoked products but elk or moose I take to a butcher because of their size. Thank you all for your comments, I will continue to investigate.

Deer gets cut up, meat packed in freezer bags and labeled. Head goes to a local DNR kiosk, bagged and tagged. Results come back negative and all venison gets canned. So far all deer have been negative.

Processors are worried because the prions can be transferred during processing and yes only very high heat kills them.
We are here in the endemic area where it all came from and none of our processors require testing.
We have eaten positive meat but I would not give it to anyone we know.

It is a sad disease to see in it's final stages so I can understand the reluctance to eat positive meat but just know no cases of variant CJD have been attributed to CWD eaten big game meat as of yet and it has been decades since CWD was discovered.
Don't eat squirrel brains though.