3togo, my understanding is it takes about 18 months for the disease to run its course. So a 6 year old deer could have been infected at 5 yrs old. Not every deer is born with it, though I believe it can be passed from doe to fawn. If not during gestation definitely possible during nursing and grooming.

I think that longer infection time means the results aren't as obvious as compared to EHD that spreads like wildfire and kills quickly. If deer are dying from it more slowly, the population as a whole has an easier time filling the gaps. And if it's spread by deer to deer contact, it makes sense that it's more prevalent in areas of high deer density (like southern Wisconsin) compared to relatively low density (like northern Wisconsin).

Thanks tiguy.

But that deer came from a captive deer herd. Noy saying it couldn't have happened the way you mentioned.

However, I also know that deer as young as 6 months have been found positive.

And let's not confuse EHD with CWD. One is from a bite from infected midges, the other is a virus transmitted by (biologists best guess) saliva contact by skin to skin, or same edible food source. They do believe that at least one other method exists, but could be more. They just don't know, and they admit it.

The stats in Arkansas and Wyoming show that somewhere between 35-100% of bucks (I don't know if they are getting as many does to check) are testing positive. All the ones I have heard about appear to be healthy deer at time of harvest and testing.

May take a long time before a solid answer is discovered.

CWD is another mortality factor that is killing whitetails. Hunting, predation, vehicle collisions, EHD and a few other ailments all contribute to their death. CWD is adding to those.

CWD left mismanaged can decimate a local deer population (research CWD in north Arkansas.) And, yes....part of mismanagement is too high of a deer harvest for too long, government sharpshooters killing every deer they can, and allowing too much in-season doe killing that the population cannot keep up with thru normal reproduction.

Hammering the doe segment of a deer population on any given property has been shown to NOT be effective. It does nothing to control/limit CWD spread. But, does having a high population increase the likelihood of spread? Probably, but bucks travel across the landscape more than does in a year's time. Does and their offspring form family groups.

Here in Georgia, indications are that targeted removal of a family group may limit spread when a positive is detected in a given area....like on your hunting area.

CWD #1 transmission pathway is deer to deer contact. There are a few other ways, but none of them are as high % as deer to deer for positive transmission.

CWD has a relatively slow transmission rate that varies depending on the initial infection and the local deer population. You will never see dozens or hundreds of dead deer in your area or state in a single year from CWD as we do with EHD. But, if you're in the woods enough in a CWD positive area (that has been established a few years)....there will be deaths from CWD. Already been confirmed here in Georgia.

Most likely, CWD in your area (no matter where you live) will not advance enough for you to really notice on your hunting area during the remainder of your lifetime. Your children and grandchildren will probably experience different deer numbers than you have in your lifetime. Few take serious or really notice a dead deer here and there over several years.

CWD is best viewed as another factor that is killing deer. Hunters in states that have areas where it is established & prevalent will (over time) have to accept that deer numbers may ultimately be lower than they like. CWD will not completely wipe out deer populations, but future generations can expect a younger age structure avaliable. Read that "not as many older bucks" to hunt.

Will you see this? Maybe...maybe not. But, future generations will notice it more than you have. It is a given. There is nothing man can do to stop CWD. All we can do as deer hunters is best manage the deer for the habitat we have.....basically what most of us been doing anyway. Got too many.....knock them back. Got to few...back off the does. If you end up with a CWD positive.....try to remove that doe family unit in that same general area. That's about it...the rest is out of our control. Its all out of your control if you are a public land hunter.....you are at the mercy of your state DNR agencies to make the right decisions....and some are NOT making good decisions.

Keep in mind that all this testing you see occurring is just to determine the prevalence of CWD. Nothing more...nothing less. You got to know where it is and how common it is to make any kind of informed management decisions related to future harvests. This is where most states are at today. Some are beyond this step in some areas and seem to be grabbing straws about what to do and what not to do. It's a no-win deal for a state wildlife agency as folks are going to critique every decision. Think about this situation. How would you handle this on a state level or even your local level???

Know CWD is out there (and will be forever.) Protect your's and your family's health interests..(testing is free in most states....take advantage of the testing....the threat to human health exists....do your own research.)

Keep enjoying deer hunting.

I don't think the fact that one will die of CWD and how rare the likelyhood is, impacts the hunting as much some might think it does. Espeically here in WI.
What does impact hunting or deer harvest in my opinion are the following
The inconvienence and the likelyhood of harvesting an infected animal. Many may not want to eat an infected animal and thus one goes through a testing and waiting process and if you cut up your own you can process and freeze and wait and see and then decide. If you have it custom processed and pay the cost then what do you decide to do if it is positive?
We have been seeing a decline in over all hunting licenses over decades and CWD may well impact that even more. We also harvest fewer deer now then we did 20 years ago and population estimates are similar to those years. We may also have many more deer that are never registered and thus know less about the herd status, numbers and health.
We also see a higher percentage of deer harvested in seasons other than our traditional 9-day gun season and that also changes the demographics of which animals are being harvested.
The deer season was a major way the state managed the herd in numbers and also health in many ways. Our new hunting options and methods are changing that and there may well be new methods needed to be developed to manage the herd and most likely it will be done with fewer people involved needing to harvest higher numbers of animals. This may cost municipalities harvest fees even more than today and or involve tax payer monies to accomplish.
If the disease can be transmitted from doe to fawn and lives in the soil for extended periods of time and some perenial plants can harbor the disease, CWD will consistantly infect more of the herd and in more regions, but it will take a long time. We have had the disease for 20 plus years knowingly and we still have a large herd. Mother nature will over time accomplish what we are seeming not to want to address in any meaningful or impactive way.

Bryce

All true^^^^

Different states are trying different things. Here in Georgia....if a deer is detected positive after dropping off at a deer processor (and the processor has cut/packaged the meat), the state pays the processor his costs and the meat is picked up by a state wildlife technician and incinerated.

Also, in Georgia, if a deer is detected positive....that deer is removed from the hunter's electronic game check record and doesn't count against the hunter's season limit.....if it's still open deer season.

Most deer here in WI don't make it much past 2.5 years old cause hunters. I don't think many die from cwd because of that.

Swamp,

The government "shoot them all" answer was attempted in NY just after I moved to Illinois. After the one, captive positive deer was discovered the government did exactly what you stated. Killed just over 600 deer. Found one positive. To the best of my knowledge they have not cut back on issuing doe tags.

Unfortunately, state wildlife agencies don't know what to do, but in fairness to them.....nobody knows what to do about CWD.

Pinpoint removal of doe family units (exactly where the positive is detected) is the only CWD "control/management" that makes any sense. Maybe most other state wildlife agencies will accept this soon.

Georgia is taking this route, but we don't yet know how prevalent CWD is where it has been detected or where else it's gonna be detected. So, the scramble to sample continues.

Hunter-killed deer sampling is not proving to be adequate enough to identify positives... hunters in some areas are providing deer for sampling while large areas of many Georgia counties have no samples provided by hunters....ie, north portion of county may have 100+ samples. 40 miles away & south end of county has zero deer sampled.

Another method of sampling is being explored (in Georgia) and shows promise, but I can't go into that at this time.

CWD has been detected in the southeast US at a time when a lot of citizens nationwide have an anti-government mindset. CWD has a perfect storm to remain undetected. Very few hunters trust anything the government does or says. Many others are not taking this serious because they don't see "sick or dead" deer they can attribute to CWD themselves.

Our precious whitetail deer in future generations are the losers.

How bout just let nature run it's course?

No, it does not effect WI with .84 fawns per doe like it does AR with a .38 fawn recruitment.

WI Outdoors,

Reckon what the folks on Tman would have to say if their state wildlife agency did that?

Can't win with this.

Lol!

WhiteCliffs,
You are spot on.

Lower fawn recruitment areas of the country have the potential to be out of the deer business as CWD creeps onto the scene.

We've been dealing with it since the 90's.

As I stated above in one of my long-winded comments....future hunters and wildlife managers will gradually see the problem....you and I will go to our grave witnessing about what we see now.....its mostly a slow progression to a different whitetail population.

The sky ain't falling man.

Swamp Wolf , i understand you're not a biologist . However, GWs do receive some wildlife biology instruction either at the collegiate or academy level.

What do you think the chances are of effected populations gaining a form of immunity from it ? Don't worry about timelines, that'd be anyone's guess.

Most deer here in WI don't make it much past 2.5 years old cause hunters. I don't think many die from cwd because of that.
According to the DNR stats 30% of the deer harvested in WI are over 4 years of age. That is a minority but it sure is a lot of deer, maybe 70-100K per year.

Bryce

CWD is not the same disease as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans.

CWD by its current name was first identified in the US in 1967, nearly 60 years ago. In all that time, there is no known case of CWD being transmitted to a human; although, science has speculated, that in theory, it may be possible. Not going to say it's not possible, but based on history, I like the statistical odds. That's not to say that it's not prudent to take precautions while harvesting and processing animals for consumption.

In Wisconsin, when first identified, the state tried the area herd reduction/elimination management route, it didn't work for various reasons and new areas of infestation occur even today despite all the state's efforts and regulations.

What is known about CWD:
1) an infected cervid will die within 24 months of being infected.
2) the most recognized transmission of CWD is by direct cervid' fluid contact.
3) infected cervids shed prions into the environment until death.
4) those shed prions can live for up to several decades in the environment, to be reintroduced to the cervid population through forage and soil.

It is obvious that based on what is known about the disease today, nothing short of an unified total scorched earth management policy over decades will eliminate the disease.

Will the cervids develope an immunity to the disease over time, we can only hope. But we must recognize that nature will always take care of itself, regardless of human interventions, one way or another.

Varies by state.
Not here

Aaron,
I think there is a possibility of a genetic alteration in deer over time. Nature has a way of correcting itself.

I'm definitely not a biologist. Only have an associate's degree in wildlife. The state hired me to collect samples for CWD two years ago after I retired from LE. I sampled Georgia's first positive. I have a strong and vested interest in deer management so this was right up my alley. I have dedicated some time to learn as much about CWD as I can and trying to seperate fact from fiction.

I was also chosen to be on the Statewide Deer Management Committee/Deer Disease Portion for some reason...lol