CWD: Interesting article from WY

[S.Clancy]

A Wyoming mule deer herd is so riddled with CWD it could nearly vanish - WyoFile

Preliminary findings have biologists worried for superinfected deer herd. There’s hope research could help guide chronic wasting disease management — if the public lets it happen.

wyofile.com

 

[GRIZFUR]

Thanks for sharing this article. CWD is spreading in Idaho. It is sad to think what our herds will look like in 20 to 30 years.

 

[muleyapprentice]

Often times I agree with “the cure is worse than the disease”. Not by these numbers. Definitely the highest numbers I recall seeing

 

[Predator_SD]

Yet another CWD nothing burger.

These posts seem to be on the rise. Guess CWD researchers are getting nervous about never ending Federal Grant money drying up now that Trump is clipping the purse strings. Gotta ramp up the “deer are going extinct unless i’m aloud to study CWD for my entire career” tactics.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Yet another CWD nothing burger.

These posts seem to be on the rise. Guess CWD researchers are getting nervous about never ending Federal Grant money drying up now that Trump is clipping the purse strings. Gotta ramp up the “deer are going extinct unless i’m aloud to study CWD for my entire career” tactics.

So are we thinking the numbers are skewed due to a harsh winter kill or other factors?

Ahead of the data dump illuminating how CWD-infected deer are using the landscape differently, an eye-opening discovery has emerged. The collared deer are dying at horrendous rates that threaten to wipe out the herd. Typically, adult doe mule deer have about an 85% chance of surviving any given year. In the Project Herd, however, only half of the first cohort of 30 GPS-collared does lived through their first 12 months as a research deer. The bucks, more prone to CWD, fared worse. Three out of the 10 tracked males were still breathing after one year, but by the time WyoFile rendezvoused with Russell some 15 months into the study, 90% were dead. A single buck remained.

 

[ID2NM]

Yet another CWD nothing burger.

These posts seem to be on the rise. Guess CWD researchers are getting nervous about never ending Federal Grant money drying up now that Trump is clipping the purse strings. Gotta ramp up the “deer are going extinct unless i’m aloud to study CWD for my entire career” tactics.

So are we thinking the numbers are skewed due to a harsh winter kill or other factors?

No, anybody with two brain cells to rub together isn't thinking that. He's just shouting conspiracy instead of facing the truth that CWD is a big ******* problem for western deer and elk herds.

 

[Predator_SD]

No, anybody with two brain cells to rub together isn't thinking that. He's just shouting conspiracy instead of facing the truth that CWD is a big ******* problem for western deer and elk herds.

I grew up in WI where CWD has been for decades and guess what? WI hunters killed almost an identical number today than as they killed pre CWD.

It’s no conspiracy CWD does NOT impact deer numbers anywhere it exists, period. If it gives you joy continue to worry about the sky falling for the next 3 or 4 decades, your choice.

 

[Customweld]

I grew up in WI where CWD has been for decades and guess what? WI hunters killed almost an identical number today than as they killed pre CWD.

It’s no conspiracy CWD does NOT impact deer numbers anywhere it exists, period. If it gives you joy continue to worry about the sky falling for the next 3 or 4 decades, your choice.

You guys have been dealing with it for a long time. One has to wonder about mule deer being able to rebound like whitetails. Listening to one of Robby's podcasts with a biologist (I think from Wyoming) Muleys can rebound at a 27 percent rate if conditions are ideal. Whitetail are closer to 67 percent. It takes a long time for a muley herd to repopulate.
I am in the cure is possibly worse than the disease camp and do not agree with Idaho's approach at all. I know this is a Wyoming article.

 

[atmat]

It’s no conspiracy CWD does NOT impact deer numbers anywhere it exists, period. If it gives you joy continue to worry about the sky falling for the next 3 or 4 decades, your choice.

This is a really bad take.

1) Some populations have seen greater decline than expected

2) There is published literature on this. Example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5004924/

3) I still don’t want to be eating or feeding others CWD-infected meat. Prions are terrifying. Just because this one prion hasn’t made the jump to humans yet doesn’t mean it won’t.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I grew up in WI where CWD has been for decades and guess what? WI hunters killed almost an identical number today than as they killed pre CWD.

It’s no conspiracy CWD does NOT impact deer numbers anywhere it exists, period. If it gives you joy continue to worry about the sky falling for the next 3 or 4 decades, your choice.

From what I understand your buck age class average also dropped by 3 years or so. I talked to a guy from out there while hunting Elk in CO a couple years ago and he said mature deer are few and far between and your deer just breed like rabbits.

 

[Predator_SD]

So are we thinking the numbers are skewed due to a harsh winter kill or other factors?

This is from the posted article “biologists and others are left to imprecise anecdotes to gauge its population effects.” So they have NO IDEA how CWD has effected the population. Which means they have no idea if it even has.

This sort of speculative language is endemic to every single CWD study out there. They are all filled with “we suspect”, “we think”, “we have a hunch”, “we anticipate” etc. Read any one of em you can find and they’re laced with that sorta speculative language.

A couple more examples from the article, “74% of buck mule deer killed by hunters are in the process of dying anyway from CWD.” Uh huh, prove it.

Regarding does, “41% test positive and would likely die within a couple years” Again, prove it.

But despite all of their own speculation as to why deer numbers might be down it never occurs to these university “researchers” it could be this attitude. Also from the posted article:

“Hunter success is down and the number of animals harvested is down, but we’ve just got to maintain the same harvest, because we don’t want high deer density,” the biologist said. “We want to keep it low density, like it is. Maybe even lower.”

So deer numbers are down but let’s just keep giving out way too many tags for decades. Then when deer numbers do drop from state sponsored over harvest tell everyone “we SUSPECT it MAY be CWD” and say the solution is to kill EVEN MORE to save them

 

[IdahoBeav]

Yes, it's very bad, but what are the proposed solutions? What is the cost and benefit?

 

[Predator_SD]

This is a really bad take.

1) Some populations have seen greater decline than expected

2) There is published literature on this. Example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5004924/

3) I still don’t want to be eating or feeding others CWD-infected meat. Prions are terrifying. Just because this one prion hasn’t made the jump to humans yet doesn’t mean it won’t.

If prions scare you stop hunting. Do your part in helping the populations rebound.

 

[Predator_SD]

From what I understand your buck age class average also dropped by 3 years or so. I talked to a guy from out there while hunting Elk in CO a couple years ago and he said mature deer are few and far between and your deer just breed like rabbits.

Where are you talking about, WI?

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Where are you talking about, WI?

It was either WI or MI, you guys are all the same to me so I forget lol. I'm 95% sure he was from WI, he was a good dude and we BS'd for 2 hours.

 

[Predator_SD]

You guys have been dealing with it for a long time. One has to wonder about mule deer being able to rebound like whitetails. Listening to one of Robby's podcasts with a biologist (I think from Wyoming) Muleys can rebound at a 27 percent rate if conditions are ideal. Whitetail are closer to 67 percent. It takes a long time for a muley herd to repopulate.
I am in the cure is possibly worse than the disease camp and do not agree with Idaho's approach at all. I know this is a Wyoming article.

So you don’t suspect that just maybe the Mule deer population could be declining, if that 27% rebound rate is correct, because of state management practices such as this listed in the article

“Hunter success is down and the number of animals harvested is down, but we’ve just got to maintain the same harvest, because we don’t want high deer density,” the biologist said. “We want to keep it low density, like it is. Maybe even lower.”

So we THINK CWD MIGHT be killing deer so kill MORE deer. Do that for a decade then scratch your head wondering why deer numbers are declining???? That is lunacy man but it’s the way they respond in every single state it’s ever existed.

I tell you how you tell if CWD is a problem or not. Give out 25% of the tags they’re giving out now for 10 years and see how the deer population responds. My money is on it rebounding in a big way. But that means no more federal research grants for these researchers. Always follow the money.

 

[muleyapprentice]

I grew up in WI where CWD has been for decades and guess what? WI hunters killed almost an identical number today than as they killed pre CWD.

It’s no conspiracy CWD does NOT impact deer numbers anywhere it exists, period. If it gives you joy continue to worry about the sky falling for the next 3 or 4 decades, your choice.

CWD Year 2024

This is showing a 10% prevalence rate in Wisconsin, I’m glad your state is doing well but I don’t think that applys to a different species with much more prevalence

 

[wapitibob]

It's a singular herd in WY that has an unusually high prevalence rate. CWD has been in the state for decades, same for CO. The thought that it's suddenly going to decimate the states Elk and Deer is laughable. The dept wants to shoot more Deer and CWD is the perfect vehicle to get that past consumers.

 

[Predator_SD]

It was either WI or MI, you guys are all the same to me so I forget lol. I'm 95% sure he was from WI, he was a good dude and we BS'd for 2 hours.

I have never heard a DNR estimate on WI Buck Age class in my life. However, doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a thing they could be younger.

But, ever think this might have an effect on Buck Age class?i

Bow hunters prior to Crossbows for all in 2013 averaged about 40,000 Buck Kills statewide.



Then after Crossbows were introduced in 2013 the buck kill by crossbow hunters has continued to rise every single year until a recent decline the last couple years.




Bowhunter still killed Buck during those years as well so the total bucks killed during archery season went from roughly 40,000 to a bow/crossbow buck kill as high as 58,000 bucks in 2020. So from around 40,000 bucks/year to 55,000 bucks/year for the last decade. Not to mention most who picked up crossbows statistically were not bowhunter prior. So it’s probably safe to say they’re targeting and killing younger bucks as most newer hunters would.

But you know, killing more bucks with crossbows when WI hunters never could prior to 2013 couldn’t have any effect whatsoever on Buck age class right? It just HAS to be CWD causing it.

Dont even get me started on the new Late Holiday DOE ONLY Hunts that run until Jan 1. You know how many bucks have dropped their antlers and been shot because these rifle hunters think they’re does?

Come on man

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I have never heard a DNR estimate on WI Buck Age class in my life. However, doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a thing they could be younger.

But, ever think this might have an effect on Buck Age class?i

Bow hunters prior to Crossbows for all in 2013 averaged about 40,000 Buck Kills statewide.

View attachment 835167

Then after Crossbows were introduced in 2013 the buck kill by crossbow hunters has continued to rise every single year until a recent decline the last couple years.


View attachment 835168

Bowhunter still killed Buck during those years as well so the total bucks killed during archery season went from roughly 40,000 to a bow/crossbow buck kill as high as 58,000 bucks in 2020. So from around 40,000 bucks/year to 55,000 bucks/year for the last decade. Not to mention most who picked up crossbows statistically were not bowhunter prior. So it’s probably safe to say they’re targeting and killing younger bucks as most newer hunters would.

But you know, killing more bucks with crossbows when WI hunters never could prior to 2013 couldn’t have any effect whatsoever on Buck age class right? It just HAS to be CWD causing it.

Dont even get me started on the new Late Holiday DOE ONLY Hunts that run until Jan 1. You know how many bucks have dropped their antlers and been shot because these rifle hunters think they’re does?

Come on man

How many are killed by rifles? I wonder if the stats even out or if there's so many the crossbow increase doesn't matter. Regardless, if you're only at 10% like that above poster stated then it's neither here nor there. The guy I talked to was speaking of a region that was really bad, not statewide, he was saying something like 60%-80%.