I would hunt there and probably shoot as many deer as legally possible. I think part of the reason the prevalence is increasing is because there's simply too many deer and the disease is spreading through direct contact with each other. Hunters whined and complained to the point the DNR threw their hands up and said "Fine, we don't do anything to control it" and now we all see what's happening. Of course there's no coalitions or associations of hunters out grandstanding trying to help stop CWD in these areas. We only do that when the DNR tries to thin deer numbers and we don't see any deer when we go hunting.
Good points. Would you let your children eat venison from some of those counties or are you out trying to stop a disease?
Not sure it is logical to blame the WI DNR for CWD. WI had no problem with a large healthy herd until the CWD showed up.
Maybe.... maybe........ at best delay. The crap is in the soil and it isn't going anywhere. We already tried seting tag limits to decimate the population. It didn't much of anything. Unless the DNR themselves goes out and kills the deer that need to be killed there is little the DNR can say or do to fight it. Even if you do eradicate. The prions are in the soil and will re-infect deer once they return. It isn't as simple as killing all the deer.
I personally wouldn't eat the meat if it tested positive for CWD. I know that studies show it isn't transmittable to humans but I'm not one for taking chances or wanting to be the first person to get it. Call me crazy. I would have the deer tested first before making that decision.
I never said eradication was the answer. I was merely pointing out one of the great ironies I see within the hunting community. - Deer become infected with CWD > DNR thins numbers to help slow the spread of the disease > hunters throw a fit, form organizations, lobby politicians and cry in their beer because they aren't seeing enough deer. - Deer become infected with CWD > DNR does nothing > disease spreads and infection rates rise, thus killing hundreds or possibly thousands of animals > hunters do nothing. I know that sharp shooting and herd reduction are unpopular with hunters but its hard to argue that it doesn't help. In IL the prevalence of CWD in tested animals has increased at a much slower pace than in WI and still remains under 1%. We're going on 12 years of this program now.
Could it just be luck, or bad luck in Wisconsin's case, that it is spreading slower in Illinois? Also, isn't Illinois' deer population less? Obviously it may be deceiving, since some areas of IL don't have any deer, but in the deer-rich environments of IL, are there less deer in those areas than the equivalent areas in WI?
cant blame anyone yet. Im thinking that those disease came from the fenced deer farms. It happen to 1 deer in mn that had cwd. But it was because of the elk ranch that they didnt clean their feed or something else. Who knows. It could be those people that freed a pet deer and cause the disease to spread. Deer own by people live and feed alot different than the wild ones. Thats why im thinking that could be one of the cause. I mean i do see alot of advertisements on deer hunting wisconsons fenced deer than mn and iowa.
^^^ I don't know how or to what extent, but I do think there is some sort of correlation between the disease and pen raised deer.
This might be a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway. I'm not sure what the percentage of field/woods, etc is in these areas of Wisconsin. But, something had me thinking last year while in Missouri. Given the fact that there is far less woods in comparison to the agriculture ground, wouldn't it be far easier to transmit diseases through a heard in places in the midwest as opposed to other states that are predominately woods? More deer tend to congregate in smaller woods lots, etc. Here in PA, we've had a couple cases here and there, but thankfully, nothing widespread. We also have most woods, mountains, etc., spreading deer out. Chances of infected deer infecting others is less because there is less contact? I'd wager to bet the deer population in PA is at least what WI has, if not more. I don't know, just a thought. I do agree with Justin. Hunters ***** and complain about lack of deer and then do nothing when those very deer are under duress from diseases. Pens have accounted for most of the cases I believe. I'm just not too sure this is a naturally occurring disease in the wild. I read somewhere that there is a direct correlation between EHD/CWD and having deer pens in the areas.
