https://www.kwtx.com/2023/09/07/mcl...ential-exposure-chronic-wasting-disease/

A McLennan County judge temporarily blocked orders from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that would have required two local deer breeders to kill 29 deer because they came from a facility where one tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

McLennan County deer breeders Steven Wieser and Jason Chancey are suing the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, TPWD Wildlife Division Director John Silovsky and the state of Texas, and are seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the state from forcing them to kill their deer stock and destroying their livelihoods.

Glad someone is fighting the state. Killing deer because they might Have CWD is crazy.

I understand both sides.

Again CWD was discovered in 1967 so why the big deal today.
CWD isn't new news.

^^^^ A voice of reason. It’s controversial so lots of opinions from both sides. The only thing “crazy” is to say one way or the other is crazy. No easy answers, imo.

Yep

they used it to try and eliminate deer breeders and it backfired on them.


So now CWD has become the Covid 19 of the deer world and TPWD is using fear tactics now on the general public to try and garner support.



CWD exists, but it isn't near the threat to wildlife here in Texas that they are claiming it is.

That's what I've read from a few folks.

Too much to get into here on this thread, but its 100% political in origin.

It's crazy but not just TPWD. In Arkansas, where I grew up, they found one deer in a NWR that tested positive for CWD. They killed fifty other deer there and no sign of CWD in those. For two years the surrounding counties, including our family land has been under CW2 restrictions.

Bottom line: Because CWD is no longer an isolated finding at a singular research facility in Colorado. It is spreading to more and more facilities to more states and more countries and being found more and more often in the wild. It has taken a long time to understand what is actually going on and the threats posed.

Yes, it was discovered long ago and long ago, and it took years to confirm the discovery. At the time, it was an isolated group of captive mule deer in a Colorado research facility. No big deal, right? Of course, back in 1967, they did not comprehend the overall impact that would/could occur to the deer population, change in population characteristics and spread across the country, etc.

Why a big deal today? Several reasons. We are finding it in more and more places and it impacts our food supply by spilling over into livestock. There is notable concern of the potentiality of spread into humans, though it hasn't happened yet, may never happen, but then again, could be happening right now. Lots of diseases aren't zoonotic until either the disease changes or the potential victims change. For example, AIDS in monkeys was known for nearly 20 years before it was discovered in humans.

Look at the map, here. While it is known from the 1960s in Colorado with research animals, it wasn't it wasn't seen in non captive deer until 1981, the distribution was believed to be quite limited and apparently was with no other populations being discovered outside the immediate Colorado (and adjoining Wyoming) area prior to 2000. After 2000, we see it in Canada, the Rockies, northern plains, southern plains, midwest, and east. After 2000, we start seeing it in the cattle industry.
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/distribution-chronic-wasting-disease-north-america-0

The map is a bit generalized. CWD was in Canada prior to 2000, for example, but again, in captive facilities
https://cwd-info.org/timeline/

It’s been around longer than since the 60’s. More testing gets more results. Like Covid, lots of deer have died with CWD, but I don’t believe they have a qualitative study where any individual animal died as a result of CWD. I am sure deer die from it, just hasn’t been rightfully observed and recorded.

Is there no test to determine which deer may have it? Is it not detectable until symptoms appear?

All ill say is that the new fear campaign from TPWD is asinine.

They have better things to spend their budget on, instead of billboards, mailers and emails about CWD.

Another way to attack our rights to hunt…

Don’t act like misappropriation of funds by a government entity is a new thing


Next thing you know we will have a mask mandate while hunting so we don’t catch the CWD’s from the deer

Yep.

I believe this is an unintended consequence of their actions.

Yes there is a CWD test.

I understand both sides which is why I only agree with one side!

If they would have tested for it back in the 60s the amount they do today you would have had the same numbers IMO. But the scary people disease wasn’t running rampant during the 60s…..

I know nothing about CWD. I understand the issue in closely penned deer, cows, pigs, etc. Heck, I just got over Covid so told friends and family to stay away.

I assume it to exist in the wildlife. Do we shoot all of them on sight in the area just in case? Not likely possible. Is it transmittable to scavengers like coyotes and others? Does it take physical contact or, like flu, just be close to an infected person or animal?

Can it be transmitted to other forms of life? If so, what kinds? Turtles, giraffes, elephants, dogs, cats? Or, do the “experts” know.

Where has it shown up in cattle? Haven't seen that yet and Wyoming did a study on cattle on the pens at Sybille, ground zero in Wyoming. After 20 years in the pens no cattle contracted CWD, not found in cattle yet.
It has affect our deer herds here in SE/SC Wyoming, no doubt, but not decimated them.
I believe WG&F has had 1 animal in their pens at Sybille not contract CWD when enclosed there, Lucky the cow elk. Every other cervid wild animal, not cattle, that has been in their pens has died of CWD.
That in itself would be cause for concern if I had a high fenced deer farm, it will take hold and get into a captive herd if exposed to it enough.
It does stay in the environment also, plants and yes predators have been shown to carry it but not contract the disease.

Somes are starting to think it was goat originated.

I put a lot of stock into what Dr. Kroll says on the matter.

Dr. Deer's CWD Whitepaper

I will go put my tinfoil hat on in a bit, but in the back of my mind, I cannot help think there is some tie-in with the 5 big money FDA customers versus the rise of popularity into custom meat processing and they know it is cutting into their profits and now is the time to unleash the CWD scare campaign.

It seems rational, to me at least, that cervids have been dying in similar fashion and in similar ratios for eons; science has simply evolved to the point of being able to isolate and label the specific causes - CWD in this case.

Look at us humans, that is absolutely the case in our species. "Died of natural causes" was an acceptable blanket statement for so long, and now we have drilled down to a specific cancer, a genetic deficit, or now-known affliction that we didn't have a name for not that many years back.

Just food for thought and my

Don't think so, TXTrophy's comments about this being TPWD and big money interests against big monied breeding operations.