I hunt about an hour SE of here. Hopefully the "eradication" zone doesnt get too much bigger. Lots of deer will be killed. Working for the DNR and seeing some extra info, I'd say they are doing the right thing though. As a wyoming biologist said, treat it with the wrath of god.
I do not know much about CWD at all...but with the little I've read, fighting it seems like the equivalent of trying to stop a volcano...sometimes you just have to let Ma' Nature do her thing. Good Luck putting down every animal in the US that is currently carrying this disease!
I think it's good to try and slow the spread, but I agree that there is little that we can do to control it. Here's a photo of the doe that tested positive. On the other hand, I highly doubt a deer with CWD will ever be turned in from the Northern 1/3 of the state. Ma' Nature does her thing up here Like it or not, it's the best control for CWD.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/index.html Has tons of good information including a map of testing locations. I hope they can't find any more!
Probably 15 years ago or so I snuck up on a doe with In 15 yards of her during the 1st week of the deer season here. I was planning on shooting her until I saw the ribs and backbone like the one In your picture. I wonder If she had the same thing? Interesting photo Fitz. Thanks for sharing. Good point there!!
Unless your elk herd starts and 24,000 and is now 6,000 because of the reintroduction of wolves... then the calfs get ripped out of the womb before they have a chance to be born (or contract CWD). Oh and, it's not legal to shoot ANY wolf...
Killing off deer won't do a thing, CWD is located in the soil and can stay in the soil up to 15 years. So even if you kill every deer off and 5 years later, deer come back they can still get CWD. Look at Wisconsin, we've been fighting it for 8 years now and what have we accomplished? Nearly every hunter is pissed off at the DNR and their left with there heads up there a**! They keep making excuses that we need to control this disease otherwise it will get out of hand. I say make every state test for it and I'm willing to bet every state will have it.
THis most likely came from a very large elk farm who had six bulls test positive for CWD. These elk have since been destroyed, along with the rest of the herd. The location of the elk farm is still currently high fenced. THe owner is required to keep the high fence operational and intact for at least 15 years. If he does not, he pays to clean up the top layer of soil. The hope is that the source of the prions is in the soil and the enclosure and very few deer have contracted it. They may very easily get this under control, but even if they do, its sure to pop up again somewhere else you'd think.
Ha! The Southern Yellowstone herd... Fitz, I wish this were a topic I could laugh about, unfortunately... I can't. I've seen first hand the effects of the wolf introduction without means of control and it is awful. When you see 100 head of cows in June with no calves... it's not good. When you have wolves killing elk 300 miles from what was supposed to be their "maximum range" it's not good. There are elk herds in the tri-state area (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho) that simply cannot sustain themselves with the wolves around, period. The area that I hunt is not a CWD and the wolves are beginning to make their mark, it's an ecosystem that cannot handle a supreme predator. Oh and just FYI, if you happen to be anywhere in Wyoming, Montana or Idaho... don't say anything good about wolves unless you are wearing your bullet proof vest :D
That's a Dang Shame. Have read quite a bit on this recently...obviously Wolves can have their place...but it's crazy that they cannot be hunted and kept in control...the statistics are alarming, and to think politicians (and the Anti's) that have never stepped foot in these wilderness area are the ones saying Wolves should be endangered. (sorry for hijack)
I agree that they should be de-listed and controlled. I also understand that this is one of those issues that polarizes people and I'm not going to change your mind. But here's what I think... The Yellowstone Elk herd was grossly overpopulated. Grossly. The Park was overgrazed to a devastating point. There was a large generational gap in many plants especially the aspen trees. The rivers in the valleys lost nearly all their browsable tree/shrubs. The aspen were either 70+ years old or saplings that were browsed to the ground yearly. Streams, lacking structure at their banks, were eroding at hugely accelerated rates. Since the reintroduction of wolves, there has been a dramatic effect in the all around environment. Aspen, cottonwood & willows are once again starting to line stream banks. Beaver colonies have grown from one colony to nine. Raven, bear, fox, bison, beaver numbers have increased. For me, the biggest plus is the benefit to the flora. Seeing these dramatic reestablishment of species (naturally) where they were long missing is a great sign. Animal populations fluctuate more frequently, but the health of the park IMO can be seen in the plants. I know I'm probably in the minority on this one. And I'm not the typical pro-wolf "anti" or "politician" as BZ put it. I don't live in or near Yellowstone, but I do live near probably the densest population of wolves in the lower 48. My golden was attacked by wolves in '94, my neighbors dog was killed this fall, wolves. We have one of the lightest deer densities in the state, but they still over graze species like cedar which is evident by paddling and of the beautiful lake shores here and seeing the obvious browse-lines. Wolf populations should be controlled. I think MN has a good plan in place when they are de-listed. But I'll strongly argue that they have one of the most important roles in wildlife management. Especially in the overall health of the deer/elk herds. Now, practicing what I preach, what works for me or Northern MN cannot/should not be blanketed across the US. There's a balance to be found everywhere, and that balance is not the same. But nature is far more effective at achieving that balance than we are... One more side effect of the wolves is population control of hunters. I like that I don't have to deal with people ripping off my treestands and trail cams on public land. I have yet to see another bowhunter in the woods while I was hunting. I'll share with the wolves thanks My initial point was really that nature has an effective solution to diseases like CWD. Schultzy makes my point. He passed on a sick doe because she was all skin & bones (I'm not roasting you Schulty, most likely would have done the same). I'm am much less likely to see a deer like that because of the wolves. They don't pass on that and that makes for a healthier herd. OK, I'm done. Sorry for the Hijack!
