Intresting write up on cwd

[headgear]

Yep we don't have all the details and probably won't for many years so you can choose to worry about it or not, that is up to each of us an individuals. Your point it view is you don't know enough to think it is safe, my opinion is we don't know enough to think it is dangerous. I'm not actively seeking to eat CWD infected venison and but at the same time I don't test the deer I eat either so whatever. We've probably kicked this dead horse enough for today.

[VilasCo]

As a clinical lab scientist I find it humorous that science is so discredited. What has science done for us anyway There are new discoveries every day and prions are a relatively new one. Just because we don't know much about them doesn't mean they don't exist and should be ignored. It is accepted that the CDC are experts when they issue a warning about lettuce, but when it comes to prions they are considered incompetent. The CDC does have conflicting studies about transmission, but one study showed that monkeys did get infected from ingesting meat. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html. One fact remains. Humans in the U.K. contracted a prion disease from eating meat from an animal infected with prions. The odds are 1:1 million. There are a lot of things in this world that can kill me with better odds, but I won't bet my life for 1:1 million by eating a CWD positive deer. Someone said they wouldn't eat a deer full of tumors. If the odds of getting sick or DYING are the same, why not eat the tumor deer? The CDC article also mentioned there are no confirmed cases of human CWD, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printed an article about the rise of both Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and CWD. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/loc ... 453371001/
Could these numbers be inflated due to the increase in testing? Probably, but there could be a correlation; albeit a small one. My opinion is we should all get our deer tested. We get the peace of mind that our meat is safe and can help scientists collect data. Scientists present the data, the media and government "ring the alarm bells". Remember it's the media and politicians we have to worry about, not the scientists.

Let's consider the deer population itself. CWD in Wisconsin was first confirmed at a deer farm. Deer farms create an unnaturally dense population. In the originally posted link the focus was on SW WI, an area with a high density. Now consider the population of China. Obviously China is crowded and an area of the world with a lot of illness not experienced elsewhere. Viruses and bacteria are great at mutating as evident by the strange strains found in China. What's to say prions can't do this? The science community will continue to work on figuring out these proteins, meanwhile we as a hunting community need to focus on preventing the spread of CWD. One, deer farms need to go. CWD has been found in too many around WI to let them continue. I know families that own these farms will be impacted, but at what cost to the state's deer health and potential human health? A reduction, not an eradication, would be beneficial to the landscape and the deer in areas that are over populated. Baiting needs to be banned also. All those tongues in one corn pile can't be good. Just like with humans; less bodies, less illness. Anyone with children can attest to this.

It is know that prions are found in the environment. Common sense suggests they are naturally spread by human and animal activity. The variable in this is how much is spread. A minuscule amount of prions found in the soil is not going to be nearly as infectious as a whole brain full of them. With this point being stated we as hunters should not continue to potentially concentrate prions by disposing carcasses in the woods. Unfortunately this may mean not being able to quarter game in the field.

With all this being said I hope this issue can be addressed with data and facts, not knee jerk reactions and anecdotal stories. We as hunters should continue to hunt, get our deer tested, enjoy delicious, prion free, venison and prevent the spread of CWD as best we can.

[dan]

It is accepted that the CDC are experts when they issue a warning about lettuce, but when it comes to prions they are considered incompetent.

I believe most of what the CDC puts out, and for the most pert believe what they put in print. I am not discrediting anything. But I am saying, of you don't want to eat your venison, well then don't, but with the amount of CWD positive deer, the fact that butchers mix the meat and do not clean the utensils, saws, grinders, etc, for each deer, means perhaps hundreds of thousands of people ate CWD positive deer and 1/2 the country has eaten venison... The fact that not one person has gotten sick from it tells me there are a lot more dangerous things out there. Pretty low risk in my eyes, and I just read studies that said that... Don't agree? then don't eat it and promote killing every deer, elk, moose, etc on the planet... but it will still be here...

one study showed that monkeys did get infected from ingesting meat. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html.

Thats interesting, cause I just read a CDC report stating that no primates had gotten "cwd" from eating prions, it went on to state that the only way they could infect monkeys was inject prions into certain parts of the monkey. either im reading an old report or there is different opinions within the CDC.

Humans in the U.K. contracted a prion disease from eating meat from an animal infected with prions.

It was not CWD... Odds based on current stats are 0 : 1 million.

My opinion is we should all get our deer tested. We get the peace of mind that our meat is safe and can help scientists collect data. Scientists present the data, the media and government "ring the alarm bells". Remember it's the media and politicians we have to worry about, not the scientists.

Test yours if you want, when people start getting CWD, I will worry too. Not that testing does any good when butchers mix all the meat before test results.

Let's consider the deer population itself. CWD in Wisconsin was first confirmed at a deer farm. Deer farms create an unnaturally dense population. In the originally posted link the focus was on SW WI, an area with a high density. Now consider the population of China. Obviously China is crowded and an area of the world with a lot of illness not experienced elsewhere. Viruses and bacteria are great at mutating as evident by the strange strains found in China. What's to say prions can't do this? The science community will continue to work on figuring out these proteins, meanwhile we as a hunting community need to focus on preventing the spread of CWD. One, deer farms need to go. CWD has been found in too many around WI to let them continue. I know families that own these farms will be impacted, but at what cost to the state's deer health and potential human health? A reduction, not an eradication, would be beneficial to the landscape and the deer in areas that are over populated. Baiting needs to be banned also. All those tongues in one corn pile can't be good. Just like with humans; less bodies, less illness. Anyone with children can attest to this.

If you believe in "science" you need to believe that lowering the population does not work cause it spreads the disease outward faster according to a scientific study. Furthermore, and I am not either agreeing, nor disagreeing, just stating facts, of you really believe CWD to be that bog of a threat, you are not stopping it by lowering herds or any of your other solutions. The only one that "might" work in preventing us from contracting CWD if its inevitable as your indicating is to kill every single deer family animal in the entire world. This will stop the spread... For now. But CWD will still be present. Its in our soil and environment.

It is know that prions are found in the environment. Common sense suggests they are naturally spread by human and animal activity. The variable in this is how much is spread. A minuscule amount of prions found in the soil is not going to be nearly as infectious as a whole brain full of them. With this point being stated we as hunters should not continue to potentially concentrate prions by disposing carcasses in the woods. Unfortunately this may mean not being able to quarter game in the field.

I would agree with that,,, but how many won't follow the rules? and what are being done with those infected items? landfills? trash? We know normal fire don't disable the the prions, so what you doing with those scraps? What about the ones that die in the woods? I scouted a guys farm for him last year in the center of the hat zone and we found 4 dead dear on the property. Most likely from CWD. eITHER WE LIVE WITH IT as Dr Kroll suggests, or kill every single deer in the world. There is no inbetween.

With all this being said I hope this issue can be addressed with data and facts, not knee jerk reactions and anecdotal stories.

All my info comes from years of studying CWD and looking at reports, studies, and talking with experts. No knee jerk... You may be right and everybody will get CWD. iF SO, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO STOP IT. and no one seems willing to make that sacrifice.

[PK_]

I now debone my neck roasts before they go into the croc-pot. That is about all I can think of rationally doing as far as changing what I do and do not eat from a deer. I don’t eat the brain or eyes or anything...

Not CWD related but along the same lines, I am also switching to non lead ammo.

When your family eats primarily venison I think these are simple steps to take...

It is a huge pain but I do make sure I follow the guidelines about transport across state lines. I was caping out faces until 2am in the freezing rain in MO the night we were leaving, even though I think it makes a minuscule at best difference in the grand scheme of things. Like Dan said. Think about buzzards, rivers, soil, ag. Those prions are going everywhere with or without hunters transporting carcasses across state lines... but if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem right?

Idk, I have a very fluid outlook on CWD.

[cedarsavage]

It is accepted that the CDC are experts when they issue a warning about lettuce, but when it comes to prions they are considered incompetent.

I believe most of what the CDC puts out, and for the most pert believe what they put in print. I am not discrediting anything. But I am saying, of you don't want to eat your venison, well then don't, but with the amount of CWD positive deer, the fact that butchers mix the meat and do not clean the utensils, saws, grinders, etc, for each deer, means perhaps hundreds of thousands of people ate CWD positive deer and 1/2 the country has eaten venison... The fact that not one person has gotten sick from it tells me there are a lot more dangerous things out there. Pretty low risk in my eyes, and I just read studies that said that... Don't agree? then don't eat it and promote killing every deer, elk, moose, etc on the planet... but it will still be here...

one study showed that monkeys did get infected from ingesting meat. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html.

Thats interesting, cause I just read a CDC report stating that no primates had gotten "cwd" from eating prions, it went on to state that the only way they could infect monkeys was inject prions into certain parts of the monkey. either im reading an old report or there is different opinions within the CDC.

Humans in the U.K. contracted a prion disease from eating meat from an animal infected with prions.

It was not CWD... Odds based on current stats are 0 : 1 million.

My opinion is we should all get our deer tested. We get the peace of mind that our meat is safe and can help scientists collect data. Scientists present the data, the media and government "ring the alarm bells". Remember it's the media and politicians we have to worry about, not the scientists.

Test yours if you want, when people start getting CWD, I will worry too. Not that testing does any good when butchers mix all the meat before test results.

Let's consider the deer population itself. CWD in Wisconsin was first confirmed at a deer farm. Deer farms create an unnaturally dense population. In the originally posted link the focus was on SW WI, an area with a high density. Now consider the population of China. Obviously China is crowded and an area of the world with a lot of illness not experienced elsewhere. Viruses and bacteria are great at mutating as evident by the strange strains found in China. What's to say prions can't do this? The science community will continue to work on figuring out these proteins, meanwhile we as a hunting community need to focus on preventing the spread of CWD. One, deer farms need to go. CWD has been found in too many around WI to let them continue. I know families that own these farms will be impacted, but at what cost to the state's deer health and potential human health? A reduction, not an eradication, would be beneficial to the landscape and the deer in areas that are over populated. Baiting needs to be banned also. All those tongues in one corn pile can't be good. Just like with humans; less bodies, less illness. Anyone with children can attest to this.

If you believe in "science" you need to believe that lowering the population does not work cause it spreads the disease outward faster according to a scientific study. Furthermore, and I am not either agreeing, nor disagreeing, just stating facts, of you really believe CWD to be that bog of a threat, you are not stopping it by lowering herds or any of your other solutions. The only one that "might" work in preventing us from contracting CWD if its inevitable as your indicating is to kill every single deer family animal in the entire world. This will stop the spread... For now. But CWD will still be present. Its in our soil and environment.

It is know that prions are found in the environment. Common sense suggests they are naturally spread by human and animal activity. The variable in this is how much is spread. A minuscule amount of prions found in the soil is not going to be nearly as infectious as a whole brain full of them. With this point being stated we as hunters should not continue to potentially concentrate prions by disposing carcasses in the woods. Unfortunately this may mean not being able to quarter game in the field.

I would agree with that,,, but how many won't follow the rules? and what are being done with those infected items? landfills? trash? We know normal fire don't disable the the prions, so what you doing with those scraps? What about the ones that die in the woods? I scouted a guys farm for him last year in the center of the hat zone and we found 4 dead dear on the property. Most likely from CWD. eITHER WE LIVE WITH IT as Dr Kroll suggests, or kill every single deer in the world. There is no inbetween.

With all this being said I hope this issue can be addressed with data and facts, not knee jerk reactions and anecdotal stories.

All my info comes from years of studying CWD and looking at reports, studies, and talking with experts. No knee jerk... You may be right and everybody will get CWD. iF SO, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO STOP IT. and no one seems willing to make that sacrifice.

Do you think it’s a little weird that you think you know more about science than people who work in the field?

[purebowhunting]

Everyone in favor of testing your venison prior to consumption know that there is no current test that provides a result of being negative. Current tests are positive or inconclusive, there is no way of knowing for certain you're eating CWD free meat without completely removing it from your diet, there is a fact for you.

[FRH]

You will never know for sure if you have eaten infected meat or not. Since there is no true negative result, its only a positive that it has cwd or you get a result that says it doesn't show up. So even if you think your eating meat that isn't infected there is a chance that it is, it just doesn't show up in the tests yet. IMO cwd is here to stay until a vaccine or cure is found. Who are we to try to outdo mother nature. Every disease and virus has a purpose and even though we might like to have deer hiding behind every tree and being able to see deer on every sit, maybe that's not the way its supposed to be.

[dan]

It is accepted that the CDC are experts when they issue a warning about lettuce, but when it comes to prions they are considered incompetent.

I believe most of what the CDC puts out, and for the most pert believe what they put in print. I am not discrediting anything. But I am saying, of you don't want to eat your venison, well then don't, but with the amount of CWD positive deer, the fact that butchers mix the meat and do not clean the utensils, saws, grinders, etc, for each deer, means perhaps hundreds of thousands of people ate CWD positive deer and 1/2 the country has eaten venison... The fact that not one person has gotten sick from it tells me there are a lot more dangerous things out there. Pretty low risk in my eyes, and I just read studies that said that... Don't agree? then don't eat it and promote killing every deer, elk, moose, etc on the planet... but it will still be here...

one study showed that monkeys did get infected from ingesting meat. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html.

Thats interesting, cause I just read a CDC report stating that no primates had gotten "cwd" from eating prions, it went on to state that the only way they could infect monkeys was inject prions into certain parts of the monkey. either im reading an old report or there is different opinions within the CDC.

Humans in the U.K. contracted a prion disease from eating meat from an animal infected with prions.

It was not CWD... Odds based on current stats are 0 : 1 million.

My opinion is we should all get our deer tested. We get the peace of mind that our meat is safe and can help scientists collect data. Scientists present the data, the media and government "ring the alarm bells". Remember it's the media and politicians we have to worry about, not the scientists.

Test yours if you want, when people start getting CWD, I will worry too. Not that testing does any good when butchers mix all the meat before test results.

Let's consider the deer population itself. CWD in Wisconsin was first confirmed at a deer farm. Deer farms create an unnaturally dense population. In the originally posted link the focus was on SW WI, an area with a high density. Now consider the population of China. Obviously China is crowded and an area of the world with a lot of illness not experienced elsewhere. Viruses and bacteria are great at mutating as evident by the strange strains found in China. What's to say prions can't do this? The science community will continue to work on figuring out these proteins, meanwhile we as a hunting community need to focus on preventing the spread of CWD. One, deer farms need to go. CWD has been found in too many around WI to let them continue. I know families that own these farms will be impacted, but at what cost to the state's deer health and potential human health? A reduction, not an eradication, would be beneficial to the landscape and the deer in areas that are over populated. Baiting needs to be banned also. All those tongues in one corn pile can't be good. Just like with humans; less bodies, less illness. Anyone with children can attest to this.

If you believe in "science" you need to believe that lowering the population does not work cause it spreads the disease outward faster according to a scientific study. Furthermore, and I am not either agreeing, nor disagreeing, just stating facts, of you really believe CWD to be that bog of a threat, you are not stopping it by lowering herds or any of your other solutions. The only one that "might" work in preventing us from contracting CWD if its inevitable as your indicating is to kill every single deer family animal in the entire world. This will stop the spread... For now. But CWD will still be present. Its in our soil and environment.

It is know that prions are found in the environment. Common sense suggests they are naturally spread by human and animal activity. The variable in this is how much is spread. A minuscule amount of prions found in the soil is not going to be nearly as infectious as a whole brain full of them. With this point being stated we as hunters should not continue to potentially concentrate prions by disposing carcasses in the woods. Unfortunately this may mean not being able to quarter game in the field.

I would agree with that,,, but how many won't follow the rules? and what are being done with those infected items? landfills? trash? We know normal fire don't disable the the prions, so what you doing with those scraps? What about the ones that die in the woods? I scouted a guys farm for him last year in the center of the hat zone and we found 4 dead dear on the property. Most likely from CWD. eITHER WE LIVE WITH IT as Dr Kroll suggests, or kill every single deer in the world. There is no inbetween.

With all this being said I hope this issue can be addressed with data and facts, not knee jerk reactions and anecdotal stories.

All my info comes from years of studying CWD and looking at reports, studies, and talking with experts. No knee jerk... You may be right and everybody will get CWD. iF SO, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO STOP IT. and no one seems willing to make that sacrifice.

Do you think it’s a little weird that you think you know more about science than people who work in the field?

Some of your comments are just mean, hateful, and are not in the spirit of this forum. I stated well and full that I get all my information from the experts. Your choosing to believe certain experts like the editor at the Journal sentinel, and I choose to listen to scientists and biologists. If you actually read what I wrote in just about every answer I cited the source. I would ask that you try and be nicer in your conversation and that you try and be open minded. Look at the respectful comments from Vilas co. and Headgear for example. I have done a ton of research on CWD... I used to read every report and consult with experts regularly. Did so for many years when this 1st came to Wisconsin. If I am under informed its only on recent research.

[headgear]

As a clinical lab scientist I find it humorous that science is so discredited.

I didn't mean to attack science as a whole or those who practice it, I just think we need to hold it to the same standards as everything else. It can have a dark hunder belly just like any other profession and it will only be as solid as the people who practice it. The actual scary part is people don't seem to realize there is a lot of bad science out there, plenty corporate sponsored science that only cares about the $$$ and getting the results they want, many of them fudge the numbers to get the results they want, just like anything else it can be manipulated to tell a story. You know what they say about lies, damn lies and statistics. So like I said, please don't take it personal but also please don't put science up on some pedistal above questioning either, it isn't some perfect system and people need to be aware of that and ask more questions instead of taking its word as gospel. Now I am not saying that is at all the case with CWD, but as I mentioned earlier it can take decades to sort this stuff out so we need to be patient and get all the info we can before making big decisions on limited data.

[dan]

Did some reading this morning to get up to date... Some interesting things that have changed since I last studied CWD here are some of the points of interest I found while reading. Some new, some old.

As of August 1 2018, CWD in free-ranging deer, elk and/or moose has been reported in at least 23 states in the continental United States, as well as two provinces in Canada. The disease has also been found in farmed deer, elk, and reindeer. In addition, CWD has been reported in Norway (reindeer, moose, red deer) and Finland (moose), and a small number of imported cases have been reported in South Korea.

infection rates of more than 25 percent (1 in 4) have been reported

CWD affects many different species of hoofed animals including North American elk or Wapiti, red deer, mule deer, black-tailed deer, white-tailed deer, Sika deer, reindeer, and moose.

CWD does not appear to naturally infect cattle or other domesticated animals.

My estimation (that was questioned) saying more than 1/2 oF people in the U/S have eaten venison seems low based on this study:

If CWD could spread to people, it would most likely be through eating of infected deer and elk. In a 2006-2007 CDC surveyExternal of U.S. residents, nearly 20 percent of those surveyed said they had hunted deer or elk and more than two-thirds said they had eaten venison or elk meat. However, to date, there is no strong evidence for the occurrence of CWD in people, and it is not known if people can get infected with CWD prions.

Tests for CWD are monitoring tools that some state wildlife officials use to look at the rates of CWD in certain animal populations. Testing may not be available in every state, and states may use these tests in different ways. A negative test result does not guarantee that an individual animal is not infected with CWD, but it does make it considerably less likely and may reduce your risk of exposure to CWD.

If you have your deer or elk commercially processed, consider asking that your animal be processed individually to avoid mixing meat from multiple animals.

Experts believe CWD prions can remain in the environment for a long time, so other animals can contract CWD from the environment even after an infected deer or elk has died.

they showed that CWD was transmitted to monkeys that were fed infected meat (muscle tissue) or brain tissue from CWD-infected deer and elk. Some of the meat came from asymptomatic deer that had CWD (i.e., deer that appeared healthy and had not begun to show

This previous study is the one I cited earlier without having read new info:

This study showed different results than a previous study, which had not shown successful transmission of CWD to macaques. The reasons for the different experimental results are unknown. To date, there is no strong evidence for the occurrence of CWD in people, and it is not known if people can get infected with CWD prions

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/index.html

[Stretch]

I found it ironic that when we stopped at mi deer check station that the dnr was cutting the heads and antlers off the deer for testing using the same uncleaned saw over and over likely spreading the very disease they were testing for!?

[vtbuck]

As we all bicker at each other on this subject which is good and bad life still goes on. How many of you know someone whose actually contracted a prion related disease? I’m betting it’s single digits.
If you do know someone with a prion disease that person is dead cause the only confirmed way to get a confirmed diagnosis requires a dead body.
That may sound harsh but it’s reality. I’m not pretending to have all the facts on any of these prion related diseases but, I’ve seen there effects firsthand.
When my mother was diagnosed in November of 2010 there were @ 200 confirmed cases in the United States per year. In 2017 I believe that number had nearly doubled to 385. Most cases aren’t diagnosed properly because doctors misdiagnose the symptoms as dimentia, Parkinson, Alzheimer, etc....
As I stated before, the only way to confirm CWD, CJD, or any other prion related disease is to test brain and parts of the nervous system after the subject is dead.
Don’t stop doing what you love but don’t be ignorant. Arguing about this subject hits me at a different level cause of what my family went through watching my mother die while all the doctors had no answers till her last few days. It really wasn’t an answer, more one doctor telling the other doctors they were wrong.
Instead of arguing do some research. We all have smartphones and computers. Post info so all of us can become better educated on this subject.
Sorry for the rant. It’s hard sometimes to read about this and bite my tongue.

[dan]

As we all bicker at each other on this subject which is good and bad life still goes on. How many of you know someone whose actually contracted a prion related disease? I’m betting it’s single digits.
If you do know someone with a prion disease that person is dead cause the only confirmed way to get a confirmed diagnosis requires a dead body.
That may sound harsh but it’s reality. I’m not pretending to have all the facts on any of these prion related diseases but, I’ve seen there effects firsthand.
When my mother was diagnosed in November of 2010 there were @ 200 confirmed cases in the United States per year. In 2017 I believe that number had nearly doubled to 385. Most cases aren’t diagnosed properly because doctors misdiagnose the symptoms as dimentia, Parkinson, Alzheimer, etc....
As I stated before, the only way to confirm CWD, CJD, or any other prion related disease is to test brain and parts of the nervous system after the subject is dead.
Don’t stop doing what you love but don’t be ignorant. Arguing about this subject hits me at a different level cause of what my family went through watching my mother die while all the doctors had no answers till her last few days. It really wasn’t an answer, more one doctor telling the other doctors they were wrong.
Instead of arguing do some research. We all have smartphones and computers. Post info so all of us can become better educated on this subject.
Sorry for the rant. It’s hard sometimes to read about this and bite my tongue.

You have to remember a dew things... #1 your Mom did not die of CWD, no one has... Ever, that we know of. #2 I don't think anyone reading this would purposefully eat CWD prions. The only thing we really differ on is whether or not every deer should be tested and if it matters. For me it is useless cause I get my meat and sausage processed at a butcher, who like most mixes all the deer. Last time I did a CWD test (Cause it was mandatory) my meat had all ready been mixed with 1000 other deer at the processor, and what I got back was already mostly consumed before those results came back... And they give "ME" the results, not the processor, or any of the other customers. I would say it is highly likely that some of those 1000 deer had CWD based on random testing in this area so all of the customers are likely getting exposure... So, it would take me searching for a processor that don't mix the meat. You can find that, but I bet none of them clean all the equipment between each and every deer... A agree with you, horrible disease that will eventually wipe out all deer species. Could it transfer to humans? Yes there is a very remote chance. Is it likely? Both me and the CDC say no. And neither of us would eat infected meat on purpose or recommend that... I might of before reading about the newest monkey study you posted, but certainly not now. But that don't mean Im going to live in fear...

[VilasCo]

I know this is a hot topic and is getting beaten to death, but I think healthy discussion about the things we care about (deer) is good. I certainly learned a lot so far. Let us all be opened minded and remember it's hard to communicate with text. Sorry for the lengthy response and the lack of skill using the quote feature, but I hope to clear up my stance a bit.

Dan:

"the fact that butchers mix the meat and do not clean the utensils, saws, grinders, etc, for each deer, means perhaps hundreds of thousands of people ate CWD positive deer and 1/2 the country has eaten venison... The fact that not one person has gotten sick from it tells me there are a lot more dangerous things out there. Pretty low risk in my eyes, and I just read studies that said that... Don't agree? then don't eat it and promote killing every deer, elk, moose, etc on the planet... but it will still be here..."
It is true, butchers do a lot of mixing, but we can't say for certain that no one has gotten "sick". Yes, no one has ever gotten CWD specifically but the Journal Sentinel article I cited does bring up an interesting correlation. I don't ever take the media for gospel, but it may be something to consider studying. We are only in the infancy of this CWD journey and have lots to learn about it and its effects. I never once promoted the eradication of the herd.

If you believe in "science" you need to believe that lowering the population does not work cause it spreads the disease outward faster according to a scientific study. Furthermore, and I am not either agreeing, nor disagreeing, just stating facts, of you really believe CWD to be that bog of a threat, you are not stopping it by lowering herds or any of your other solutions. The only one that "might" work in preventing us from contracting CWD if its inevitable as your indicating is to kill every single deer family animal in the entire world. This will stop the spread... For now. But CWD will still be present. Its in our soil and environment.
I would like a link to that study. If the "great CWD reduction" {sarcasm} instituted by the WI DNR has proven to be ineffective then ,ok, on to the next idea. Consider the original post. Could that be part of the cause of the spread? I want to be crystal clear. I don't want all the deer killed (Deer hunting wouldn't be much fun with no deer) and I know CWD will always remain. My point is maybe there is something we can do to lessen its prevalence. My logic was less deer/carcasses: less disease. I'm not scared of CWD or getting sick (to your point, I have probably have been exposed), but I learned I may need to respect it more. I want to be informed and start doing something about it if need be.

It was not CWD... Odds based on current stats are 0 : 1 million.
I know it wasn't CWD, but vCJD is a disease caused by consuming an animal carrying a prion. There were 10 cases in 1996 in the UK. https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/vcjd/facts.
Contracting it was obviously rare, but still important enough to generate feed bans and other rules which then led to decreased numbers of those infected.

Test yours if you want, when people start getting CWD, I will worry too. Not that testing does any good when butchers mix all the meat before test results...but how many won't follow the rules? and what are being done with those infected items? landfills? trash? We know normal fire don't disable the the prions, so what you doing with those scraps? What about the ones that die in the woods? I scouted a guys farm for him last year in the center of the hat zone and we found 4 dead dear on the property. Most likely from CWD. eITHER WE LIVE WITH IT as Dr Kroll suggests, or kill every single deer in the world. There is no inbetween.
You're right, there will be one's that don't follow the rules so it is impossible to truly prevent exposure to us and deer. If we do test our deer and follow the rules the less likely exposure will occur (in theory). With testing deer we can track where the animal was shot and where it was moved to. If we start seeing CWD near land fills and disposal sites we then know carcasses are the source and then have to figure out how to get rid of them. There is nothing we can do about the natural death that occurs. I know the prion will always remain and we will have to live with it but if we can somehow curb its spread don't you think that would be a good thing? If not for our health at least the deer's. I would be pretty uncomfortable eating a deer that was covered in tumors. A CWD positive deer is "sick" , just not visibly. Would you eat a tumor deer, Dan? I don't mean to be confrontational, just curious.

All my info comes from years of studying CWD and looking at reports, studies, and talking with experts. No knee jerk... You may be right and everybody will get CWD. iF SO, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO STOP IT. and no one seems willing to make that sacrifice.
I respect your opinion, Dan. You ,no doubt, have intimate knowledge of the subject. However, I sense you want to sweep it under the rug. I didn't mean your reaction, specifically, was "knee-jerk". I was referring to us as a hunting community, the media, and the DNR shouldn't jump to conclusion. Also, I never once inferred "everybody" was going to get CWD and never said to eliminate deer.


Headgear:

I didn't take any of your statements personally, good science can always be proven. I agree with what you are saying. The misapplication of the raw data by interested parties is a danger in any study. Unfortunately, manipulation is all too common and the general public can't think for themselves and apply common sense. As you said we must be patient, but I feel there is enough good data on CWD to start discussions and maybe some small regulation on how we sportsman can do our part. We have a long way to go but have to start somewhere.

[crankn101]

Im still dying from acid rain and killer bees, CWD better get busy...