PA CWD Proposal = Kill em all

[AspenTimber]

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wildlife-RelatedDiseases/Documents/Draft%20CWD%20Response%20Plan.pdf

Not pretending to have a correct answer for management of the CWD crisis but seems like its being taken to the extreme. Just wonder if thinning the herd really solves the problem since the disease is still there and if deer populations rise years later it remains an unresolved issue. Not to mention that less deer means less hunting enthusiasts to help manage the wildlife?

 

[LostArra]

No one has any good answers about CWD but every agency from G&F, Dept of Ag and the CDC feel like they need to do "Something".

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

The prions can survive in the soil for years, so killing the hosts will not help. Last time I checked we did not kill all the folks with polio....

So true, nobody knows what to do. Perhaps it may have to run it's course and some animals will develop an immunity and prevail, who knows.

I also wonder if decades of fire suppression has also allowed this disease to stay dormant in soil, etc. where it would otherwise be destroyed.

So many factors, things will get worse before they get better I think.

 

[N2TRKYS]

State agencies will kill more deer than cwd does.

 

[Pepe55]

Indiana dfw sent out questioneers about hiring sharpshooters, i think it was more to appease the insurance companies

 

[AspenTimber]

They tried the sharpshooters last year in PA and met too much pushback. Now they are considering multiple long open firearm seasons, increased tags , pulling back antler point restrictions, “incentive programs”, mandatory testing, and if that’s not enough... sharpshooters.

 

[AspenTimber]

Incentives have not been defined as of, now to my knowledge...Maybe we’ll see a “kill a buck-win a truck” sweepstake.

 

[Ace12]

Missouri has done the same thing. From what I’ve read some deer are naturally immune to it. So tryin to wipe out the herd is only going to kill the ones that are. I think best case scenario is let nature run it’s course and eventually the immune ones will survive. I strongly disagree with all of these extended seasons, more tags, removing of pt restriction, sharp shooters, allowing spotlighting over bait after season etc to wipe out the herd just to appease the insurance companies

 

[MuleyFever]

They tried it in WI with the “eradication zone”. We could kill all the deer we wanted. Didn’t work. Also, landowners still controlled the hunting on their property so it’s not like everyone was in a hurry to kill all the deer.

 

[Chad.frank]

Missouri has done the same thing. From what I’ve read some deer are naturally immune to it. So tryin to wipe out the herd is only going to kill the ones that are. I think best case scenario is let nature run it’s course and eventually the immune ones will survive. I strongly disagree with all of these extended seasons, more tags, removing of pt restriction, sharp shooters, allowing spotlighting over bait after season etc to wipe out the herd just to appease the insurance companies

None are immune. It just takes some longer to show signs of having it. The BHA chapter here in Wisconsin has been working to help contain the spread as much as possible. But as far as eradicating the disease there is no answer yet. The thing every hunter needs to do is continue hunting and getting their deer tested. And also know that your state agencies aren’t just trying to screw the hunters over, for the most part they are doing all that they can with limited funds.


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[cuttiebrownbow]

I just don’t get it. We know going scorched earth on the population doesn’t work so why do it?

The only thing that will happen is the population will be hunted down extremely quickly, hunters won’t see anything and then there will be no more hunters. License sales will drop big time and the game commission will have even less money.




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[Michael54]

They jacked up the amount of doe tags issued here in 2E with the sole hope that hunters will thin the herd and stop it from spreading faster. Not that we plan on using them but all 8 adults on the farm have 4 tags apiece this year.

 

[LostArra]

None are immune. It just takes some longer to show signs of having it. The BHA chapter here in Wisconsin has been working to help contain the spread as much as possible. But as far as eradicating the disease there is no answer yet. The thing every hunter needs to do is continue hunting and getting their deer tested. And also know that your state agencies aren’t just trying to screw the hunters over, for the most part they are doing all that they can with limited funds.


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How is BHA working to contain the spread? I'm not picking on BHA. I'm just interested in how any organization can contain CWD.
My opinion: Until testing methods improve the percentage of hunter-killed deer tested in voluntary areas will be low.

 

[Chad.frank]

How is BHA working to contain the spread? I'm not picking on BHA. I'm just interested in how any organization can contain CWD.
My opinion: Until testing methods improve the percentage of hunter-killed deer tested in voluntary areas will be low.

We are donating money towards dumpsters for deer carcasses and some of our board members have cwd kiosks where you can drop the heads off for lymph node removal.


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[Hawkeye5964]

15 to 20 years ago the PA game commission increased the number of antlerless deer tags supposedly due to high deer density and lack of forest regeneration and we hunters purchased those tags and willing took advantage. Now CWD is the reason being used to kill large numbers of deer in PA. I have read everything the game commission has put out on CWD in PA and most of it seems like a lot of guessing and not much science. I do understand that it seems to be an issue that no one can figure out at this point but killing loads of deer with mostly negative test results doesn’t seem to be an effective strategy. Just my two cents.

 

[jmez]

And yet they still only require that 50% of all cervid deaths be tested on farms unless showing any signs. They don't require double fencing with a buffer zone of cervid farms. Fences are only required to be 8 feet tall but they recommend 10 feet.

Seems that states with a large cervid farm industry that also have a CWD problem leave the farms out of it.

 

[LostArra]

And yet they still only require that 50% of all cervid deaths be tested on farms unless showing any signs. They don't require double fencing with a buffer zone of cervid farms. Fences are only required to be 8 feet tall but they recommend 10 feet.

Seems that states with a large cervid farm industry that also have a CWD problem leave the farms out of it.

I think that is because cervid farms are not under the jurisdiction of the G&F departments but the Dept of Agriculture.

 

[jmez]

That is correct, but you still never see any discussion about the cervid farms in all of this. Maybe the Game and Fish should call them out.

 

[LostArra]

That is correct, but you still never see any discussion about the cervid farms in all of this. Maybe the Game and Fish should call them out.

Agree 100% but why doesn't the Ag dept call them out? If this was beef cattle with a prion disease I would think the farms would be in trouble.

 

[Hunt41]

The PA Game Commission is struggling with CWD. If an adequate solution can not be found. Then it may be best to let nature take its course. Killing off the deer intentionally is no better for the hunters than if CWD killed off the deer. Plus, it’s not better for the deer either.