Regrets on not CWD testing my deer

[LandLakes]

Looking for some opinions on a CWD situation. I shot a whitetail buck in early November and kept the head for a euro mount. I got the outside of the skull pretty cleaned up, but the whole brain and I think the brainstem are still inside. I haven’t boiled it or anything yet. I’ve had the head sitting in my shed for about a month and a half now. I live in Montana so the temperature has been relatively cooler since, but idk if it’s enough to preserve any tissue.

A buddy of mine shot a mule deer buck about a week or two before mine. He got it about 4 miles away from where I shot my deer, but still the same property, but different “microhabitats.” His ended up testing positive for CWD, but I had already gotten everything of mine processed before I knew. I didn’t test mine at the time, and since I’ve already had it processed, I am now sitting here with steaks, jerky, sticks, etc. wondering what other people would do.

I’m curious if folks would still eat the meat in this situation, or if the nearby positive would make you think twice. Also wondering if it’s even worth trying to get the head tested now since the brain is still intact, even though it’s been sitting around for this long.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I would call your local bio and ask these questions.

 

[LandLakes]

I would call your local bio and ask these questions.

Yeah fair enough. If it’s possible, I’ll likely get it tested. I guess the meat consumption part is my biggest concern, and that’s more of an opinionated dilemma

 

[freezerfull]

If the deer looked healthy I personally would consume away.

As mentioned above, definitely look into the possibility of testing options if you’re concerned. I am not sure what they will take for samples (brain sample) or the viability given the length of time. Other than fresh lymph nodes of course.

 

[LandLakes]

If the deer looked healthy I personally would consume away.

As mentioned above, definitely look into the possibility of testing options if you’re concerned. I am not sure what they will take for samples (brain sample) or the viability given the length of time. Other than fresh lymph nodes of course.

For sure. Definitely looked healthy. Big body and lots of fat.

 

[Hunt4lyf]

I was told by the Colorado CPW that they can test for it months after it died because of how long it lasts in the gland under the chin. I get mine tested every year just to be safe, no positives yet. I would call and see if you can still get it tested.

 

[Fowl Play]

It’s a personal decision. There are allot of threads on here about CWD and allot of studies you can read online. I personally would be totally fine eating the meat on a positive CWD animal (provided it was healthy/ nothing else was wrong with it) .

 

[ShowMeState]

Yeah fair enough. If it’s possible, I’ll likely get it tested. I guess the meat consumption part is my biggest concern, and that’s more of an opinionated dilemma

If the deer seemed healthy and the meat is too, I’d consume it. There’s no proof that CWD has ever affected a human beyond causing anxiety surrounding the hypothetical..

While it’s good to have some concern, if you’ve harvested deer in this area before, and consumed them, there’s a possibility they had CWD. Should this concern you?

I hunt in MO, and hunt in non-enforced testing zones. I’ve never felt that this is due to a significantly low likelihood of CWD prevalence, but more so due to resource limitations. This hasn’t discouraged me one bit. While BSE is very rare in the U.S., we still see cases sometimes. Similarly, I don’t think twice about consuming beef. Granted this isn’t a very good comparison, but for the sake of argument BSE can affect people as CJD. CWD cannot.

Ultimately I think it’s important for you do to what you’re comfortable with, and what you think is best for you and your family. In my opinion there are far more tangible things that can harm or kill me than CWD, so I invest my concerns elsewhere at least for the time being.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

We hunted for years in a mandatory CWD testing zone, wouldn't have any issues eating the hell out of that meat. Now if you got it tested and confirmed positive I probably wouldn't simply because no matter how miniscule the risk is it's just not worth it. Untested deer I'm not bothered by it at all, and we still hunt in the same zone and testing is not mandatory now and we only have them tested when convenient now even though the test is quick and free. I wouldn't have any concerns in your situation, quite frankly I think it's silly.

 

[K9kodi]

If it concerns you, donate the meat, then if you’re okay w donating the meat your a screwed up human. Haha

In all fairness, there has been zero proof it’s able to jump species. But no prion , barrier based issue has ever jumped species, till that one time it did.

Either way, deer don’t get cwd and die the next day, some live months, some live years, appearing perfectly healthy minus the screwed up prions. It seems to knock out the weaker deer faster.

Either way, let us know what ya do! And if you decide to continue hunting and only eating the meat from a deer that tested negative, at least you can toss the ones w it and know it’s one less deer spreading cwd.