CWD update (27-Feb)

[shedcrazy]

Looks like things are getting worse on the CWD program. Think what you want on the control program we are starting to have a serious spreading problem with CWD. The lastest numbers I got is a new one in 256 (hunter kill) (the most NW of any case), 2 -236 (1 hunter, 1cull) , 2-234 (2 hunter), 7-163 (2 hunter 5 cull)and 1 in 150/151.
They started in 234 yesteday so I imagine that we will se more positives in 234.
SC

[Bushmaster]

Well. that's bad news, for sure.

[WTBooner]

It tells me that this is more widely spread than thought and culling is not going to stop it. It may already be time to cut our losses and accept that CWD has a presence in Alberta. Colorado has come to that conclusion and have also found that it does not have the devastating effects on ungulate herds that were previously feared.

Shed do you have the reason that they are not testing the elk over there. And were those elk transplanted from Elk Island? A buddy had a draw that way this year and I've been wondering about the timing of the transplant and the timing of the outbreak. Has there ever been any testing in the park?

[packhuntr]

No, that sure doesnt sound too good...With news like that, im not real sure she can be stopped now. I was praying it didnt make it to solid bush

keep a strain on er.

[shedcrazy]

I looked at some of the numbers and the good news is that there seems to be no new cases in 150/151 from the cull. So to me that says you might be able to control it..maybe not as it is very early.

On the elk issue. I am not sure which elk your talking about being transplanted. I am assuming the Suffield herd as the Edgerton herd is not a transplanted herd. From what I know most of the positives in the 150/151 are quite a distance from the base and the elk herd but I could be wrong.

The testing elk heads is a hot issue. I am not 100% sure why they do not test the heads due to the small amount there are but their reason is that elk have a very low rate of infestion in the wild. I due know they will test all heads if you request it no matter where are what species (ungulate). They also tested a few from the 234 area from hunters that turned them in.

The bush issue is a big problem...hard to control population in the bush areas, hard to cull with chopper, etc.... The issue will be big for Species at Risk Species (woodland Caribou) as it spreads north.

I do have a question for people that think it is spread through out the province...Do you test your heads? Even though I do not believe humans can get CWD or that the risk is very low, I personnally would not give away meat that is not tested or at least tell the person. I wonder if this will be the end of wild game suppers.

Originally Posted by WTBooner

It tells me that this is more widely spread than thought and culling is not going to stop it. It may already be time to cut our losses and accept that CWD has a presence in Alberta. Colorado has come to that conclusion and have also found that it does not have the devastating effects on ungulate herds that were previously feared.

Ya, a fellow from Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation spoke on Saturday at the AFGA conference and his message basically was that we were screwed and everything we were doing was a waste of time. Interestingly, overall deer numbers are not expected to drop because of CWD but our trophy bucks will be wiped out. I asked him if there was any good news out of the CWD conference he'd just attended and he said "No"

Not what I hoped to hear.

[WTBooner]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Interestingly, overall deer numbers are not expected to drop because of CWD but our trophy bucks will be wiped out.

I don't see why trophy bucks would be affected any more than any other population strata. Did he give a reason?

Originally Posted by WTBooner

I don't see why trophy bucks would be affected any more than any other population strata. Did he give a reason?

Because they travel more and are exposed to more deer. All the contact increases their odds of contracting CWD.

[snetzer]

Do the biologists really think that a massive cull in wmu 234 is going to accomplish anything? Saskatchewan has all but dropped their CWD control efforts. Think about it, this will be the only cull in North America. And we're not talking about a small number of animals here...try like 5-6 thousand. There were some fantastic deer taken in 234 this past year, so what will happen to those genetics or does anyone care? Personally I would like my children to hunt this area as I have done my whole life and my father before me, but if this cull happens I'm not so sure they will.

[WTBooner]

Shed,

I test heads shot in the mandatory and voluntary submission zones. However, I have also eaten meat from some of these animals before I get results. In fact, I'm still waiting for results from several animals taken in November. I don't worry about contracting CWD, and like you I don't believe it can be contracted by humans. Any meat that I give to friends I let them know where it came from and that results are pending. After that it's their decision. Personally I don't think you have any higher risk of contracting a deadly disease from one of these animals than you do from any piece of meat. In all likelihood, your health risks are higher from eating vegetables (pesticides, herbicides, genetics etc). I really doubt that this will affect wild game suppers in the least. I suspect that CWD has been present in many herds throughout the continent for a very long time at very low prevalence. I don't think we can stop its existence any more than we can stop the common cold. I also don't think that it will have much, if any, effect on our overall herds; unless we continue to cull that is. Chasing this disease around after finding positives is likely quite futile and a waste of resources.

[spurs]

I test heads shot in the mandatory and voluntary submission zones. However, I have also eaten meat from some of these animals before I get results. In fact, I'm still waiting for results from several animals taken in November. I don't worry about contracting CWD, and like you I don't believe it can be contracted by humans. Any meat that I give to friends I let them know where it came from and that results are pending. After that it's their decision. Personally I don't think you have any higher risk of contracting a deadly disease from one of these animals than you do from any piece of meat. In all likelihood, your health risks are higher from eating vegetables (pesticides, herbicides, genetics etc). I really doubt that this will affect wild game suppers in the least. I suspect that CWD has been present in many herds throughout the continent for a very long time at very low prevalence. I don't think we can stop its existence any more than we can stop the common cold. I also don't think that it will have much, if any, effect on our overall herds; unless we continue to cull that is. Chasing this disease around after finding positives is likely quite futile and a waste of resources.

X2
and well said

[Rob Miskosky]

Originally Posted by snetzer

Saskatchewan has all but dropped their CWD control efforts.

Where do you get this information from? Saskatchewan actually stepped up their efforts in 2007 and in fact offer CWD permits to hunters for free. They are actually working very closely with Alberta in the CWD Border Control Program.

Is there some 2008 information out there I am unaware of?

[Rob Miskosky]

For those not entirely aware of the importance of controlling CWD, read the report from the Expert Scientific Panel on Chronic Wasting Disease.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...icwdmccwhcnews

and Canada's National Chronic Wasting Disease Control Strategy.

http://wildlife1.usask.ca/Publications/NCWDCS2005.pdf

May help in understanding the risks associated with the disease. It is something that you can't just walk away from.

[WTBooner]

Originally Posted by Rob Miskosky

For those not entirely aware of the importance of controlling CWD, read the report from the Expert Scientific Panel on Chronic Wasting Disease.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...icwdmccwhcnews

and Canada's National Chronic Wasting Disease Control Strategy.

http://wildlife1.usask.ca/Publications/NCWDCS2005.pdf

May help in understanding the risks associated with the disease. It is something that you can't just walk away from.

Rob,

Just because a report is written by an "Expert Scientific Panel" doesn't mean it's the gospel, especially as pertains to CWD. I don't argue that it would be great to stop the spread of CWD and prevent it from getting a foothold in Alberta. Unfortunately I don't think that is possible. Other jurisdictions have tried to stop it and have failed. There's really no reason to believe that we could stop it. There just isn't enough known about the disease for an "Expert Scientific Panel" to give advice on how to stop it. I believe the cull program made sense to try. As seen from the spread of the disease, we may be already too far behind and now would be just reacting. I'm not opposed to the cull program to a certain extent. But where and when should we cut our losses and look to different alternatives to battle the disease? At some point it becomes unfeasible to cull and I think we are very quickly reaching that point.

[Rob Miskosky]

Originally Posted by WTBooner

Rob,

Just because a report is written by an "Expert Scientific Panel" doesn't mean it's the gospel, especially as pertains to CWD. I don't argue that it would be great to stop the spread of CWD and prevent it from getting a foothold in Alberta. Unfortunately I don't think that is possible. Other jurisdictions have tried to stop it and have failed. There's really no reason to believe that we could stop it. There just isn't enough known about the disease for an "Expert Scientific Panel" to give advice on how to stop it. I believe the cull program made sense to try. As seen from the spread of the disease, we may be already too far behind and now would be just reacting. I'm not opposed to the cull program to a certain extent. But where and when should we cut our losses and look to different alternatives to battle the disease? At some point it becomes unfeasible to cull and I think we are very quickly reaching that point.

WT, this is written by the world's scientific leaders in chronic wasting disease research... I think I'm going to listen to them long before I listen to a hunter who is worried about losing his favourite hunting spot (and I'm not making any accusations here). That is purely selfishness because at the end of the day he may lose more than that.

Is culling the answer, I'm not sure, but if we walk away and let it run rampant, what do you get then? There is no other known way to stop or control the spread of the disease. If we quit controlling deer numbers and go the "Mother Nature" route, we'd have an entire province filled with frothing-at-the-mouth deer.

In the meantime, if a cure is discovered, then we'd have thousands and thousands of deer that need to be vaccinated all over the province, not just in isolated areas. Who's going to pay for that undertaking?

I'm sorry, but I just can't understand that type of thinking.

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by snetzer

Do the biologists really think that a massive cull in wmu 234 is going to accomplish anything? Saskatchewan has all but dropped their CWD control efforts. Think about it, this will be the only cull in North America. And we're not talking about a small number of animals here...try like 5-6 thousand. There were some fantastic deer taken in 234 this past year, so what will happen to those genetics or does anyone care? Personally I would like my children to hunt this area as I have done my whole life and my father before me, but if this cull happens I'm not so sure they will.

I agree a cull will not accomplish much, as a lot of the deer are coming in from Saskatchewan. I was born and raised in this area and have hunted there for years, and my four sons have as well. Something has to be done, but stopping the deer at the end of their migration instead of at the beginning is not going to solve the problem. Just killing the deer is easy for F/W but unfortunately not very effective at eliminating the problem, as proven by the thousands of deer they have already killed and the problem is still there, and next year more deer will migrate into the area.....and so on..... and so on.....

[packhuntr]

I hate to say it, but we need the winter of 08/09 to knock the sh*t out of more than the northern portion of Alberta. If not the next winter, one in the hopeful very near future, and hopefully before CWD gets too far out of hand. We are mabey gonna need a hand from ol ma nature with this one.

keep a strain on er.

[winged1]

Saskatchewan has certainly stepped up thier CWD program. Mule does for non Sask residents, a triple CWD tag for mulies that allows residents into big buck heaven.

Better get your residency now, because in another 5 years, those big cruisers will be gone. (And it won't be from CWD)

[300 wsm]

cwd is a problem but they are doin it all wrong in my opininon it should be year round huntin in certain zones with unlimited tags untill they have figured we had are amount outa tha zone to still survive

[2 Tollers]

Originally Posted by shedcrazy

Looks like things are getting worse on the CWD program. Think what you want on the control program we are starting to have a serious spreading problem with CWD. The lastest numbers I got is a new one in 256 (hunter kill) (the most NW of any case), 2 -236 (1 hunter, 1cull) , 2-234 (2 hunter), 7-163 (2 hunter 5 cull)and 1 in 150/151.
They started in 234 yesteday so I imagine that we will se more positives in 234.
SC

Shed do you know on the numbers of positives what is the percentage to the total number of deer hunter harvested and culled combined by zone? and how do these percentages compare to low / medium / high infection rates.

Also has SRD ever consider posting the hunter harvest number by zone that were not positive on their map. This level of communication on the extent of green zone, total number of heads submitted that were not positive around the hot spots could be useful to many of the skeptics to culling.

In terms of getting rid of the CWD prion the only way I have been informed of is high temperature bake for a sustained period of time (3 hours).