spectr17
07-18-2002, 02:02 PM
Source of deer disease narrowed to 3 possibilities
7/16/02
Ron Seely, Wisconsin State Journal Environment reporter
Just two days after the presence of chronic wasting disease was announced in Wisconsin, investigators started scouring the countryside around Mount Horeb, searching for clues about how the fatal illness was introduced into the state's wild deer herd.
That investigation started in late February and continues today, said Thomas Solin, chief of special operations in the Bureau of Law Enforcement for the state Department of Natural Resources.
Nearly six months after they started their work, Solin said wardens have narrowed their investigation to three possible sources:
An escaped or released captive animal.
A carcass of an infected deer or elk brought to Wisconsin from an area in one of the Western states where the disease is prevalent.
Deer feed that may have contained diseased animal parts.
"Those would be the three things we're focusing on," Solin said.
Finding out how CWD arrived in Wisconsin is important because it will help shape the state's response to the disease and inform potential legislation aimed at fighting CWD. The information could also be used to create models that would tell wildlife specialists about the disease's spread.
The fatal elk and deer disease, which is believed to be passed through nose-to-nose contact, causes animals to grow thin and die. It has been confirmed in 18 white-tailed deer in south-central Wisconsin, near Mount Horeb.
The investigation could lead to legal action against someone responsible for introducing the disease, Solin said, especially if evidence points to an animal that was released from a game farm as being the original source. Solin said it is illegal to stock wild animals without a permit. But the penalty is relatively light - a civil forfeiture of $160.
Initially, Solin said, investigators focused on rumors of a mule deer - a species of deer not native to Wisconsin but found in Colorado and other Western states where the disease is present - that had been released or escaped from a game farm.
Solin said it was not unusual in the past for such animals to be released in the belief they would improve the genetics of Wisconsin's white-tailed deer.
"The escaped mule deer in that area is definitely a concern," Solin said. "People heard about a deer being released in that area before CWD was found, up to a year in advance of CWD's arrival. ... We heard lots of discussion about deer being released for genetic purposes."
Wardens also investigated the escape of deer from two area game farms. Although they were able to confirm that animals had escaped, tests by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at the farms turned up no evidence of CWD.
In addition, investigators looked for evidence of CWD-contaminated deer feed as well as the disposal of deer or elk carcasses by hunters who brought the animals from Western states with the disease. Solin said wardens confiscated deer feeding blocks made of rendered animal parts. And he said investigators interviewed several hunters who had hunted in Western states where the disease is present. The hunters said they brought back animals, boned them out, and discarded the carcasses in the woods.
"That's always been a common practice," Solin said.
While it is now illegal to feed or bait deer in Wisconsin, there are no laws prohibiting hunters from discarding carcasses of animals killed in other states. Such a law is being considered, Solin said.
7/16/02
Ron Seely, Wisconsin State Journal Environment reporter
Just two days after the presence of chronic wasting disease was announced in Wisconsin, investigators started scouring the countryside around Mount Horeb, searching for clues about how the fatal illness was introduced into the state's wild deer herd.
That investigation started in late February and continues today, said Thomas Solin, chief of special operations in the Bureau of Law Enforcement for the state Department of Natural Resources.
Nearly six months after they started their work, Solin said wardens have narrowed their investigation to three possible sources:
An escaped or released captive animal.
A carcass of an infected deer or elk brought to Wisconsin from an area in one of the Western states where the disease is prevalent.
Deer feed that may have contained diseased animal parts.
"Those would be the three things we're focusing on," Solin said.
Finding out how CWD arrived in Wisconsin is important because it will help shape the state's response to the disease and inform potential legislation aimed at fighting CWD. The information could also be used to create models that would tell wildlife specialists about the disease's spread.
The fatal elk and deer disease, which is believed to be passed through nose-to-nose contact, causes animals to grow thin and die. It has been confirmed in 18 white-tailed deer in south-central Wisconsin, near Mount Horeb.
The investigation could lead to legal action against someone responsible for introducing the disease, Solin said, especially if evidence points to an animal that was released from a game farm as being the original source. Solin said it is illegal to stock wild animals without a permit. But the penalty is relatively light - a civil forfeiture of $160.
Initially, Solin said, investigators focused on rumors of a mule deer - a species of deer not native to Wisconsin but found in Colorado and other Western states where the disease is present - that had been released or escaped from a game farm.
Solin said it was not unusual in the past for such animals to be released in the belief they would improve the genetics of Wisconsin's white-tailed deer.
"The escaped mule deer in that area is definitely a concern," Solin said. "People heard about a deer being released in that area before CWD was found, up to a year in advance of CWD's arrival. ... We heard lots of discussion about deer being released for genetic purposes."
Wardens also investigated the escape of deer from two area game farms. Although they were able to confirm that animals had escaped, tests by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at the farms turned up no evidence of CWD.
In addition, investigators looked for evidence of CWD-contaminated deer feed as well as the disposal of deer or elk carcasses by hunters who brought the animals from Western states with the disease. Solin said wardens confiscated deer feeding blocks made of rendered animal parts. And he said investigators interviewed several hunters who had hunted in Western states where the disease is present. The hunters said they brought back animals, boned them out, and discarded the carcasses in the woods.
"That's always been a common practice," Solin said.
While it is now illegal to feed or bait deer in Wisconsin, there are no laws prohibiting hunters from discarding carcasses of animals killed in other states. Such a law is being considered, Solin said.