CWD Positive. What would you do??

[Sbarrera185]

You've done the work. You've put in the miles both traveling and hiking. Worked rain, snow, wind and shine. You had luck on your side, you took the shot. Now you travel back to the truck with pack loaded best feeling in the world.

You get your buck tested for CWD, comes back positive.

Will you still consume your buck or discard the meat?

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[twall13]

I've thought about this a bit as with every animal I've shot in the past I would have already consumed some of the meat before the test results came back. Part of me wants to say the damage is already done if anything is going to happen but in all likelihood I'd probably not eat any more but it would sure be a disappointment to discard it.

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[generalist]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but any "contaminated" meat would be around the spinal column, correct?

 

[jspradley]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but any "contaminated" meat would be around the spinal column, correct?

That's the theory. Theres still a lot to learn about prions though, CWD hasnt transmitted to humans yet so it's still a bit of a mystery.

 

[Rmauch20]

I wouldn’t consume it. I know CWD hasn’t jumped yet and but I sure don’t want to be the first or even worse a family member gets to be patient one.

 

[isu22andy]

Coyote food, not a chance in hell Id eat it . Plenty of places to buy meat.

 

[cnelk]

I’ve probably eaten some CWD over the years without knowing it, but if I knew it was positive I wouldn’t eat it.

What I would do, is take the tag voucher you get for a positive deer and go shoot another one. Hopefully one that doesn’t have CWD

 

[Ratbeetle]

My mulie this year came from a mandatory CWD test unit. Thankfully the results were negative, but had it been positive, the meat would have gone in the dumpster.

Maybe I'm worried about nothing, but IMO there are too many unknowns and that long incubation period is scary as hell.

 

[Sbarrera185]

Yea this year we have to mule deer tags in a mandatory unit for CWD testing. And it's been one of those subjects I've heard alot about and people arguing bith sides of the subject. I'd hate to lose an animal, but I dont think I would risk family eating it.

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[dukhunt]

Nope. Wouldn’t even feed it to my chickens.

 

[smith406]

Not for me. David Quammen’s book Spillover might be a good read when talking about these diseases.

 

[smith406]

In Montana a cwd positive will get you a new tag.

 

[twall13]

Getting a new tag is one thing, having sufficient time to get another deer is another...

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[Travis Hobbs]

I sat around a fire eating fresh a chunk of fresh blackstrap last year off a 5 year old buck I killed in Colorado. As I was chewing I decided I’m not throwing the meat away no matter the results.... The area is getting hammered with CWD, mandatory testing... I think almost 1 in 5 harvested bucks had it last year...

I do more dangerous shit all the time and I think, what are the odds? If the deer looks healthy, I’m eating it....

Half the processors most hunters use mix grind, etc anyway those results aren’t available for weeks... if you use a processor from a CWD infected area, you have probably eaten it anyway.

 

[Jakeb]

I'm still eating it. Do you know how many deer get eaten that aren't tested every year? I can assure you I won't be the first to eat one.

Of all the risk's involved in everyday life, I put being the first person to contract CWD way way down on that list.

 

[Ownthewest]

People have been unknowly consuming CWD infected deer for decades. Not a single human case yet. However, knowing it's positve, I would not eat a bite of it. Sure it will make good dog food though!

 

[Midwest.Bushlore]

I expect the risk from eating the meat/flesh is minimal but it's a non-zero risk. Not worth it to me. I won't knowingly risk a ghastly disease for one buck's worth of meat in the freezer.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

The doe I got last year was in a mandatory testing area. Test came back negative. If it had been positive it would have gone in the dumpster.

The highest concentration of infected prions is in the brain, spinal column, and lymph nodes, but there are lower levels in the meat. Feeding infected meat to pets or coyotes will pass the prions through their feces and spread the disease on to landscapes where it may not have previously been.

CPW no longer gives out replacement antlerless tags. They will reimburse processing costs, so hold on to your receipts.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

 

[Skerhunter]

Time will tell if it is an actual issue or not, maybe it already has? I have had two people in my family that tested positive for CJD/TSE, but both grew up in a different time and still lived into their 80's/90's. I won't knowingly feed my family with meat from a sick animal though. If I had one test positive for CWD, maybe I just save it for my coworkers/neighbors that are already crazy?

 

[tntrker]

WOW, surprised at the number of people that said no way. Being back East and not right in the heat of things, I thought this would be a hands down "eat it anyway" response majority.... things that make you go hmmmmm....