Positive CWD Result

[covey ridge]

Originally Posted by charves

I worry about the dumping of CWD positive carcasses after deboning at home into a CWD free zone.

I’d like to see a stronger message on deboning and burying the carcass in place or really driving home the importance of proper disposal.

Research shows it can take 7 deliveries of the same message before it sinks in.

We need to pound out the message of how every hunter can help reduce the spread!

Are you saying that we should be burying the carcass where the animal was killed? If so, how deep would we have to bury it so that scavengers would not get to it and bring it to the surface?

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by covey ridge

Are you saying that we should be burying the carcass where the animal was killed? If so, how deep would we have to bury it so that scavengers would not get to it and bring it to the surface?

How many carcasses are getting buried in sub -30 temps with 2-3 feet of snow. That is simply not a feasible option.

LC

[3blade]

Originally Posted by covey ridge

Are you saying that we should be burying the carcass where the animal was killed? If so, how deep would we have to bury it so that scavengers would not get to it and bring it to the surface?

Prions would then grow in the plants above the carcass, as proven in the U.K.

The only option is the disposal method provided by the govt, there's a fair bit of science that's been put into this. They want the gps coordinates of the kill so they can go back and hopefully isolate the gutting site.

And yeah...the number of hunters who dispose of animal tissue from CWD areas before knowing results is unfortunate. I gut it on the spot and absolutely everything I take home goes in its own freezer.

[covey ridge]

So it would seem that the gutless method where the skeleton including the spine is left behind would not be kool.

[covey ridge]

You kill an animal, field dress and load onto truck. Sometime after your get home you process meat and store in freezer. Sometime after that you get results that your animal was CWD positive.


Now what? Meat is taken to place where it can be disposed. Prions can live forever.

What about your freezer? Do you have to dispose of it?

What about your knives, saws, bloody clothing? What about your truck? Prions live forever and will simply hosing it out be OK?

If this prion disease is so difficult to destroy even with fire and bleach and it may take 40 years to show symptoms of disease is anyone really safe?

[charves]

All great points guys...
No easy answers and certainly makes my mind wander on what to do to help ensure we have healthy deer to hunt for generations to come.
Hope they find a vaccine!

[3blade]

Originally Posted by covey ridge

You kill an animal, field dress and load onto truck. Sometime after your get home you process meat and store in freezer. Sometime after that you get results that your animal was CWD positive.


Now what? Meat is taken to place where it can be disposed. Prions can live forever.

What about your freezer? Do you have to dispose of it?

What about your knives, saws, bloody clothing? What about your truck? Prions live forever and will simply hosing it out be OK?

If this prion disease is so difficult to destroy even with fire and bleach and it may take 40 years to show symptoms of disease is anyone really safe?

Nope. Last time I checked, no one gets out alive anyway so I'm not going to stop hunting. It's also worth remembering that prion disease has been present in the U.K. for a long time (might explain a few things) as well as Colorado for many years now, and we haven't seen a massive die off of hunters. Take some precautions, have your animal tested, and enjoy the hunt.

My method: use elbow length gloves to gut. deer goes in a high sided plastic sled, is skinned and butchered on a plastic sheet-covered piece of plywood. Plastic, paper towels, gloves, knives and tools are double bagged and quarantined in the freezer with the meat. The freezer would be fine. All the other stuff can be handed over to F&W as contaminated material. It's not a big deal as long as you think your way through.

[Syndre]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Nope. Last time I checked, no one gets out alive anyway so I'm not going to stop hunting. It's also worth remembering that prion disease has been present in the U.K. for a long time (might explain a few things) as well as Colorado for many years now, and we haven't seen a massive die off of hunters. Take some precautions, have your animal tested, and enjoy the hunt.

My method: use elbow length gloves to gut. deer goes in a high sided plastic sled, is skinned and butchered on a plastic sheet-covered piece of plywood. Plastic, paper towels, gloves, knives and tools are double bagged and quarantined in the freezer with the meat. The freezer would be fine. All the other stuff can be handed over to F&W as contaminated material. It's not a big deal as long as you think your way through.

Fair point, nobody gets out alive, but certainly nobody wants to see their family afflicted by it. I heading to wainwright this week and this thread has given me much to consider. I was rather lax in my concern, as i think i read somewhere that you have to pretty much eat infected deer daily for months in order to get infected and somehow just ignored the 5 second rule. Excuse me while I go play in traffic...

I will likely be bio-hazarding everything for the hunt.

[Wisebuck]

I read a novel that depicted the human existence ending through incurable diseases and inability to reproduce viable offspring. Maybe we are seeing the beginning of the end of existence? ☹️ I suppose we could worry or continue living as a lot are......... without care for the future.
I take things one day at a time. Haven’t had a positive cwd deer yet, that I know of. Tested all those shot in cwd zones too. Not sure what stance to take once I do get one. Won’t stop me from hunting . If prions can’t be killed then I’ve probably walked where it’s prevalent and if it takes 40 years to show signs then that’ll put me in my 80s. I suppose that’s a long enough life. My children hunt and I let them make their own choices. Does make me think twice about hunting those zones though. 🤔😞

[thumper]

Originally Posted by 3blade

They want the gps coordinates of the kill so they can go back and hopefully isolate the gutting site.
.

This I gotta see! Hazmat teams in white suits criss-crossing the prairie tracking down stained spots on the ground! Maybe magpie and coyote 'clean-up crews' in dark sunglasses chasing down the scavengers that fed there.

[Syndre]

Originally Posted by thumper

This I gotta see! Hazmat teams in white suits criss-crossing the prairie tracking down stained spots on the ground! Maybe magpie and coyote 'clean-up crews' in dark sunglasses chasing down the scavengers that fed there.

CSI: Coyote...... YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[H380]

The talk of a CWD outbreak in Montana has me concerned about the possibility of it being here in southern Alberta as well . With the hi deer and now elk numbers , added to the large ranches that allow little or no access it has the possibility of wiping out big game hunting here as we know it .. Now if only the grizz down here could get it .

[Sledhead71]

Does anyone know the process with Urban deer in CWD zones ?

Are they worried about the mass concentration of these deer and what measures have been taken to ensure the health and safety of this environment ?

[Sooner]

I'm going to the base on Thursday. I guess I will buy some good quality rubber gloves in case we need to gut a deer.

For those that have had a positive result in a CWD zone, what did you do as far as precautions when you harvested a deer?

Is your cut up & wrapped/sealed meat in a separate freezer until you have your results or can I just double garbage bag the wrapped deer meat(butcher ourselves) and then put it in the freezer while results are being processed? Will that have the possibility of infecting other meats/food in the freezer?

This is our last hunt of the year so after cleaning, the equipment wont be used. No burger grinding until results as well. Do you toss your knives & saw blades if a positive result is had?

[thumper]

Great gloves for those that fear blood are Lee Valley's arm length "pruning gloves". Arm length rubber gloves with more dexterity than industrial ones:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...=2,42407,33246

[Ranger CS]

If you go to any rural veterinarian you can buy a whole box of shoulder length disposable gloves for not a whole lot of money. Enough to cover you and your hunting buds for years of field dressing. If you ever get the urge, you are also geared up to preg test your cow moose or elk as well.

[Wisebuck]

Originally Posted by Sooner

I'm going to the base on Thursday. I guess I will buy some good quality rubber gloves in case we need to gut a deer.

For those that have had a positive result in a CWD zone, what did you do as far as precautions when you harvested a deer?

Is your cut up & wrapped/sealed meat in a separate freezer until you have your results or can I just double garbage bag the wrapped deer meat(butcher ourselves) and then put it in the freezer while results are being processed? Will that have the possibility of infecting other meats/food in the freezer?

This is our last hunt of the year so after cleaning, the equipment wont be used. No burger grinding until results as well. Do you toss your knives & saw blades if a positive result is had?

Debone without cutting into bones. Use disposable blade knifes. Do you think you have to toss your boots n clothes too? How many precautions does one need to justify? This will stress you out if you worry too much over it. Best not to hunt in cwd zone if your that paranoid. Just sayin.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Wisebuck

Debone without cutting into bones. Use disposable blade knifes. Do you think you have to toss your boots n clothes too? How many precautions does one need to justify? This will stress you out if you worry too much over it. Best not to hunt in cwd zone if your that paranoid. Just sayin.

Exactly.

LC

[220 Swift]

Now in other news CWD has been proven to be the vaccine to keep those in the NWO healthy in Armageddon. Its the new secret CIA recipe. Trump....

Sorry i had to say it to keep some smiles going instead of worried faces.

[Junglefisher]

So if the prions can grow in plants that grow in infected soils and CWD is in around 2% of the deer population and it causes the deer to die (after which they rot into the soil, are eaten by coyotes, birbs etc)...... Would we not have all eaten the prions in our grain based foods? And that grain is also being used as animal feed so our steaks are contaminated too?
By the way, the WHO also says we shouldn't eat processed meat. Bacon, sausage, jerky etc.

[Bub]

^ I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I am pretty sure this thread went to "beyond" and the issue is now made out to be more than it really is.

Also, let's say I wanted to submit a head from a deer taken in the north for testing, is that possible and will they take it and test it?

[Wisebuck]

Originally Posted by Bub

^ I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I am pretty sure this thread went to "beyond" and the issue is now made out to be more than it really is.

Also, let's say I wanted to submit a head from a deer taken in the north for testing, is that possible and will they take it and test it?

You may have to pay for the test as no requirement has been authorized by the
Province

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Wisebuck

You may have to pay for the test as no requirement has been authorized by the
Province

As of now there is no cost to submit a head from anywhere in Alberta.

LC

[3blade]

Originally Posted by Junglefisher

So if the prions can grow in plants that grow in infected soils and CWD is in around 2% of the deer population and it causes the deer to die (after which they rot into the soil, are eaten by coyotes, birbs etc)...... Would we not have all eaten the prions in our grain based foods? And that grain is also being used as animal feed so our steaks are contaminated too?
By the way, the WHO also says we shouldn't eat processed meat. Bacon, sausage, jerky etc.

That is exactly the concern. But it's not a 1+1=2 situation, genetics are involved.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.news...in-the-uk/amp/

Also, it appears canines are much less susceptible to (but not immune from) prion diseases.

[densa44]

It has gone beyond where it started and I wonder should a new one be started for some of these other closely related topics?

WE have had our first road kill antlerless mule deer at the end of my road but now I know why. You can't expect hunters to control the population when the deer may be carrying a lethal disease.

The rub is as the population expands they will migrate west.

As far as the test for prions is concerned, it involves histology, basically, staining the tissue, fixing it in wax, and then slicing it (the tissue and wax) very thin (about a micron) with a special machine, putting one of these slices on a glass slide that can be placed under a microscope. The scientist then looks at the stained tissue sample through the microscope and determines if there are prions or not. This will never be a fast process.

What is needed is for some one to come up with a way to test the animal's blood or other fluid.

[Willowayin]

LEFT] What is needed is for some one to come up with a way to test the animal's blood or other fluid.

I watched a documentary not to long ago and pretty sure it was from a link posted here and then i clicked another link within, can't seem to find it again. It was a study they were doing, they were tranquilizing mule deer from helicopters and tagging them and taking a biopsy of the tonsils. There were able to get positive results for CWD. The herd was monitored and some deer who were negative on 1st testing showed positive down the road.
[/LEFT]

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Willowayin

What is needed is for some one to come up with a way to test the animal's blood or other fluid.

I watched a documentary not to long ago and pretty sure it was from a link posted here and then i clicked another link within, can't seem to find it again. It was a study they were doing, they were tranquilizing mule deer from helicopters and tagging them and taking a biopsy of the tonsils. There were able to get positive results for CWD. The herd was monitored and some deer who were negative on 1st testing showed positive down the road.

Maybe it was this one from Wyoming.

Live animals tonsil biopsy test for CWD.
Not as accurate as immunohistochemistry (IHC), but the best we have for studying live animals.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pvVmcRyL1w


Listen for the infection rates in this study area. And note that they have REDUCED hunting licences due to a concern that CWD mortality rates are SO HIGH, any additional mortality may tip the scale leading to an extirpation of this population.

[covey ridge]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Maybe it was this one from Wyoming.

Live animals tonsil biopsy test for CWD.
Not as accurate as immunohistochemistry (IHC), but the best we have for studying live animals.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pvVmcRyL1w


Listen for the infection rates in this study area. And note that they have REDUCED hunting licences due to a concern that CWD mortality rates are SO HIGH, any additional mortality may tip the scale leading to an extirpation of this population.

Would not hunting this population increase the spread of infection? IIRC Alberta thought a massive cull along the eastern border was the answer to control of the spread of the disease.

[Bub]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

As of now there is no cost to submit a head from anywhere in Alberta.

LC

Thanks. Thought about it for a couple of years now. Makes no difference to me where the head from a doe goes. Maybe next year I will submit mine. So I just freeze it and then drop it off at the local f&w office? My cousin is still after his mulie doe, maybe I will tell him drop the head off when he gets one. Has anyone dropped one off at Peace River office?

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by covey ridge

Would not hunting this population increase the spread of infection? IIRC Alberta thought a massive cull along the eastern border was the answer to control of the spread of the disease.

In this population scenario, there is nowhere for the disease to spread.
A situation unlike what we current have in Alberta.

The infection rates are SO HiGH, up to 50% some years, that the concern is the disease will cause such significant mortality that the population will die out.

I guess that the local desire is to not allow this to happen sooner than later.

Lowering population levels at the disease interface DOES slow infection rates and range expansion. Yet Alberta long ago gave up on this technique, largely in part due to public (hunter) protest.

Now we are starting to experience areas with high infection rates of up to 30%. We may soon be in a similar position where CWD mortality rates are so high that any hunting will be unsustainable.

Keep in mind Covey, what logically SHOULD be done and what is actually happening in managing CWD are typically contradictory.
Special interest pressure, expressed through political desire and will, then the all controlling $ currently have the final say in what managers are able to and allowed to do in managing the control of this disease.