Driftwood Outdoors: Chronic Wasting Disease gains more national attention

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) continues to gain more and more national attention as new states are added to the dreaded list of those home to infected deer.

Tennessee "didn't have" CWD six months ago. Now they've discovered nearly 200 positives. More than half the states in our country now have CWD, and those states listed as not having CWD, might just mean it hasn't been discovered, yet.

In Missouri, 103 CWD positive deer have been found since the disease was first discovered in a captive deer facility in 2010. MDC believes the disease was new to the state at that time, because of the incredibly low density rate of positives. CWD has progressed slowly here, thanks in large part to the MDC aggressively culling in small, concentrated areas around the discovery sites.

CWD is sadly treated similar to climate change. Meaning, nearly every person who can read and is of pure intentions, understands it is real and a very serious threat. But there are, of course, a few who refuse to believe in science and have formulated their own fairy tales or bought into conspiracies. Even worse, there are those who know it's real, and recognize the serious and horrible implications, but are still willing to trade tomorrow for today. They are financially invested in an industry that continues to put wild deer at risk, and just can't let go of just how lucrative selling fake hunts is, so they try to dispel the disease and influence lawmakers with money and misinformation.

Thankfully, the science is being stood up for those we trust our natural resources to. Last week, at the 84th annual North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference, state directors approved a statement entitled "Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Statement on Chronic Wasting Disease Etiology."

A press release issued reads, "This statement was drafted by leading experts in wildlife disease management and affirms the current scientific consensus that Chronic Wasting Disease, a 100 percent fatal disease of deer, elk, moose, and reindeer, is caused by a misfolded protein called a 'prion.'"

The statement reads, "Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a family of diseases that have been documented in numerous mammalian species, including cattle, sheep, humans, and members of the deer family (Cervidae or cervids), among others. Decades of scientific research have been dedicated to understanding the cause and treatment of TSEs, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids. The consensus that has emerged from this research indicates that prions (misfolded proteins) are the causative agents of TSEs, including CWD."

This powerful statement was issued to dispel rumor, and set the record straight on what causes CWD and how dangerous the disease is.

"Recent media coverage has focused on alternative theories that suggest that Chronic Wasting Disease may be caused by bacteria or other sources," said Ed Carter, president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and executive director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. "We felt that until there was definitive proof otherwise, it was important that the Association go on record as supporting the overwhelming scientific consensus that Chronic Wasting Disease is caused by mutated protein known as prions."

When you dig in and look at CWD management across the country, you can see the benefits or ramifications to selected styles of dealing with the disease.

Take Illinois, for example. CWD was discovered in Illinois in 2002, but you don't hear a lot about the disease there. To date, they have discovered 736 positives from a sample size of 114,534 tested. The reason Illinois has been able to keep the disease at bay is largely because of a strong targeted surveillance program that attacks the disease where it is known to be, which requires aggressive culling.

On the other hand, Wisconsin is a disaster. Also discovered there in 2002, CWD has spread like wildfire, because the state's natural resources administration decided to basically do nothing about the disease and let it spread. They now have CWD in 56 counties with areas where 50 percent of bucks harvested are infected.

Citizens made a change in political leadership and regulation changes are being made, but that genie is going to be real tough to put back in the bottle. Other states continue to learn from Wisconsin's mistakes.

"I strongly support the statement that is being released by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies today," said Bob Duncan, director of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and chair of the Association's Fish and Wildlife Health Committee. "Our nation's hunters deserve to have the best available scientifically credible information about this deadly disease, and to know that our state, federal, provincial, and territorial wildlife agencies are doing everything within their power to stop its spread."

CWD is a real and serious threat to the future of white-tailed deer and deer hunting as we know it today. There is currently no way to treat an infected deer. If they catch it, they will die.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies states, "CWD must be managed with available science-based tools that include, but are not limited to, regulation of live cervid and carcass movements, prohibition of activities that congregate susceptible species, targeted removal, hunting, surveillance and monitoring, and public education."

See you down the trail.

III

Brandon Butler, the director of communications for Roeslein Alternative Energy, is an outdoors columnist for Central Missouri Newspapers Inc. Contact him at [email protected].