First cases of CWD found in BC deer

[Red Bullets]

Looks like CWD is spreading west. 2 cases south of Cranbrook. If there are 2 cases there is a good chance there are more cases.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...und-in-bc-deer

[walking buffalo]

CWD runs like a Deer.

In this case, CWD is probably spreading North from Montana.

It will be interesting to see how BC tries to manage the disease.

[Smoky buck]

It seems to spread no matter how it’s managed kinda seems like it’s a loosing battle without a cure or slim chance natural immunity

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

It seems to spread no matter how it’s managed kinda seems like it’s a loosing battle without a cure or slim chance natural immunity

After all the gov't slaughter when outbreaks of CWD happen we still have CWD but we have a whole lot less deer in those areas, not because of CWD but mostly because of the slaughter. Far as I'm concerened it's a waste of time. CWD will go through the herds and the herds will survive with or without it. If CWD is so devastating we should have no deer left regardless of the slaughter. Thinking CWD if far more widespread than we realize and if they tested areas they haven't tested for CWD we would find it. Have often thought that the slaughters kill so many non infected deer that perhaps we are killing the deer that might actually have some sort of immunity to it. Thinking we messing with natural selection by doing this and compounding the problem.

[Pioneer2]

to thank a game rancher

[I’d rather be outdoors]

It’s probably been here forever just like whirling disease. Would really like to see more research into the causes of these diseases and remedy vs further restrictions

[thumper]

If CWD was as bad as we’ve been led to believe, there would be no deer east of Highway 22 by now, and the deer west of 22 would be in free-fall. We’re told that there’s no cure, the life expectancy from contracting the disease is only 2 years, and it’s present throughout the environment - unavoidable.

So how come we aren’t seeing emaciated deer falling over in our fields? How come we’re still seeing lots of deer in the eastern parts of the province - even along the major river valleys which we’re told are the biggest entry corridors? (Granted not as many as 10 years ago - but could that be the result of a combination of factors - more hunters, culls and dramatic increases in tags ?) How come we’re still seeing mature mulie bucks - shouldn’t they ALL be dead from CWD?

Here in Canmore, we were inundated with feral rabbits for decades. Even with expensive ‘control’ efforts (costing on average $265 per rabbit ‘removed’), we had thousands of them 2 years ago. Then a rabbit virus swept through town, and we’ve had ZERO rabbits for the past year. If CWD is all it’s touted to be, then why haven’t we seen the same result with deer?

[britman101]

Well as they try and get a handle on CWD maybe it is a good thing it is moving slowly in Canada. If it raced through the prairies and BC that would be it for deer, elk, and moose hunting. And at that stage what if it mutated to affect domestic animals like cattle. That would be a scary thought. Just have to wait and see what happens at this point.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by britman101

Well as they try and get a handle on CWD maybe it is a good thing it is moving slowly in Canada. If it raced through the prairies and BC that would be it for deer, elk, and moose hunting. And at that stage what if it mutated to affect domestic animals like cattle. That would be a scary thought. Just have to wait and see what happens at this point.

Consider how long CWD has been around and we still have hunting in every state/province it is present in I think it is likely not as doom and gloom as your post. It doesn’t appear anywhere actually has a handle on it either

[densa44]

It can jump to humans and it is not something that you want to get!

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by britman101

Well as they try and get a handle on CWD maybe it is a good thing it is moving slowly in Canada. If it raced through the prairies and BC that would be it for deer, elk, and moose hunting. And at that stage what if it mutated to affect domestic animals like cattle. That would be a scary thought. Just have to wait and see what happens at this point.

It was found in Alberta game farms for over 2 decades ago. Found in wild populations soon after. Found in Saskatchewan a few years before that. How long it was around before they found it is anyones guess. They suspect it came from elk transported to game farms in 1996. Why do we still have elk and deer if it is so devastating?

[thumper]

Originally Posted by densa44

It can jump to humans and it is not something that you want to get!

Where did you hear that? All I’ve seen is that ‘there has never been a documented case of a human being contracting CWD’.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by densa44

It can jump to humans and it is not something that you want to get!

There is a prioun disease similar to CWD that humans can get but it is not the CWD found in ungulates

[I’d rather be outdoors]

Every time something like this comes up, I can’t help but to think “what gov’t agency wants money now, and what opportunities are we going to loose?”

[wind drift]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Consider how long CWD has been around and we still have hunting in every state/province it is present in I think it is likely not as doom and gloom as your post. It doesn’t appear anywhere actually has a handle on it either

In my experience, the number of mature mule deer is relatively lower in the 100s and 200s (WMUs) than a decade ago and the best days of hunting for trophy mule deer are behind us. If the positive rate for bucks is 50% and a deer will only persist for two years once infected, old large bucks will become more rare.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by wind drift

In my experience, the number of mature mule deer is relatively lower in the 100s and 200s (WMUs) than a decade ago and the best days of hunting for trophy mule deer are behind us. If the positive rate for bucks is 50% and a deer will only persist for two years once infected, old large bucks will become more rare.

I don’t pay attention to the population in the 100 and 200’s enough to comment about what is taking place

[britman101]

TSE, and I am not going to try and spell out the medical name for it has different prion diseases that affect humans, cattle, goats, and ungulates to name a few. However when you start the search and read medical reviews as how this all started, there are those researchers who say this is a man made problem. For instance for animal feed, if on the package it says bone meal, it most likely contains the remains of a dead animal. Regardless if it is a dead chicken, cow or even a cat or dog one of the producers for animal feed in the US stated on camera it goes in to feed for the animals - they treat it like protein.
Disturbing to say the least.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by wind drift

In my experience, the number of mature mule deer is relatively lower in the 100s and 200s (WMUs) than a decade ago and the best days of hunting for trophy mule deer are behind us. If the positive rate for bucks is 50% and a deer will only persist for two years once infected, old large bucks will become more rare.

Simply because of the number of draw tags given out. No other reason

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

There is a prioun disease similar to CWD that humans can get but it is not the CWD found in ungulates

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
Scrapie.
Chronic whirling disease (CWD)

[1hogfarmer]

They’ll probably hire contractors with helicopters and “high-capacity” magazines

[wind drift]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Simply because of the number of draw tags given out. No other reason

Nope

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by wind drift

Nope

You from out there as well? Sounds like you must be to know what is going on and has been happening for a long time now

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by Bushrat

After all the gov't slaughter when outbreaks of CWD happen we still have CWD but we have a whole lot less deer in those areas, not because of CWD but mostly because of the slaughter. Far as I'm concerened it's a waste of time. CWD will go through the herds and the herds will survive with or without it. If CWD is so devastating we should have no deer left regardless of the slaughter. Thinking CWD if far more widespread than we realize and if they tested areas they haven't tested for CWD we would find it. Have often thought that the slaughters kill so many non infected deer that perhaps we are killing the deer that might actually have some sort of immunity to it. Thinking we messing with natural selection by doing this and compounding the problem.

These echo my thoughts on the subject as well.

The massive overreaction and jumping-the-gun before having long term data, reminds me of the other government blunders in the last few years.

[dgl1948]

Originally Posted by thumper

If CWD was as bad as we’ve been led to believe, there would be no deer east of Highway 22 by now, and the deer west of 22 would be in free-fall. We’re told that there’s no cure, the life expectancy from contracting the disease is only 2 years, and it’s present throughout the environment - unavoidable.

So how come we aren’t seeing emaciated deer falling over in our fields? How come we’re still seeing lots of deer in the eastern parts of the province - even along the major river valleys which we’re told are the biggest entry corridors? (Granted not as many as 10 years ago - but could that be the result of a combination of factors - more hunters, culls and dramatic increases in tags ?) How come we’re still seeing mature mulie bucks - shouldn’t they ALL be dead from CWD?

Here in Canmore, we were inundated with feral rabbits for decades. Even with expensive ‘control’ efforts (costing on average $265 per rabbit ‘removed’), we had thousands of them 2 years ago. Then a rabbit virus swept through town, and we’ve had ZERO rabbits for the past year. If CWD is all it’s touted to be, then why haven’t we seen the same result with deer?

In the zones where it first started in Saskatchewan there has been a huge decline in the mule deer population. It takes a while but it does get there. One study that was started with collared deer could not be completed as they all died of the disease. There are no survivors with this. If the animal gets it, it is a death sentence.

[wind drift]

I get that we want to believe that a pervasive and fatal disease won’t have a devastating effect on susceptible species, but that’s just wishing and ignoring the basic data about spread and prevalence. Info is easily found here:

https://www.alberta.ca/chronic-wasti...es#jumplinks-0

The most startling info is the maps that show the progression of the disease:
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/ac89...o-2019-map.pdf

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/5337...ule-deer-2.pdf

It’s not witchcraft to suss out that 50% prevalence and a two year lifespan for any infected mule deer buck will mean damn few will get old and big.

This disease isn’t going away. The only way to slow spread is reduce transmission rates, which is driven by deer density. Alberta tried to cull, but the public howled and that ended. Using hunting to reduce herds won’t work when hunters stop wanting to kill deer that just wind up testing positive and get discarded to the landfill. It sucks. At least I was able to experience the great mile deer hunting we had in the 90s.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by wind drift

I get that we want to believe that a pervasive and fatal disease won’t have a devastating effect on susceptible species, but that’s just wishing and ignoring the basic data about spread and prevalence. Info is easily found here:

https://www.alberta.ca/chronic-wasti...es#jumplinks-0

The most startling info is the maps that show the progression of the disease:
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/ac89...o-2019-map.pdf

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/5337...ule-deer-2.pdf

It’s not witchcraft to suss out that 50% prevalence and a two year lifespan for any infected mule deer buck will mean damn few will get old and big.

This disease isn’t going away. The only way to slow spread is reduce transmission rates, which is driven by deer density. Alberta tried to cull, but the public howled and that ended. Using hunting to reduce herds won’t work when hunters stop wanting to kill deer that just wind up testing positive and get discarded to the landfill. It sucks. At least I was able to experience the great mile deer hunting we had in the 90s.

I don’t think anyone doubts CWD has an effect on deer numbers. What most question is if the management plan of greatly reducing deer numbers is more damaging to the population with limited impact on stopping the spread

[H380]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Simply because of the number of draw tags given out. No other reason

Wrong on this account , hi tags yes is a problem and kicked a hole in the population..but a severe winterkill a few years ago was much worse ..dead mules and whitetail stacked like cord wood on some big ranches . Strange ,2 of those ranches don't allow hunting and contained a large overpopulation of deer ,maybe nature making the adjustment

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

[Rvsask]

Originally Posted by wind drift

In my experience, the number of mature mule deer is relatively lower in the 100s and 200s (WMUs) than a decade ago and the best days of hunting for trophy mule deer are behind us. If the positive rate for bucks is 50% and a deer will only persist for two years once infected, old large bucks will become more rare.

You are accurate. Talk to any serious, die hard mule deer hunter, shed antler hunter in Sask and you’ll find the same story from them. That story is CWD is running roughshod and the glory days of big mules are done and gone. It really is bad for populations and it will have a negative affect, even if you choose not to believe it.

[densa44]

You all may be correct that the disease has been here forever and is not dangerous to humans.On the other hand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creutz...3Jakob_disease is a terrible lethal illness, and we don't want humans to get it.

It has been mentioned before that we could all bennefit from more research in some of these areas, it takes both money and students/proffessors interested in the topic.

[lannie]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Simply because of the number of draw tags given out. No other reason

Absolutely.