wildbirdhunter
10-13-2002, 09:46 AM
Posted Oct. 11, 2002
Feingold, Kohl pressing for increased CWD testing
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The federal government would be required to certify private laboratories to test for a fatal brain disease in deer under a bill introduced Thursday by Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators.
The bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand the number of labs that can test for chronic wasting disease and develop appropriate testing protocols, including a test for live animals and a faster test for the disease, Democratic Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold said.
“For over six months, we have been telling the administration that they can best help with Wisconsin’s fight against CWD by providing scientific assistance and federal funding,” Kohl said. “This bill will set some deadlines for implementing a coordinated plan for combating CWD.”
Wildlife officials in Wisconsin have said many hunters this fall may not go hunting unless they have a way to test whether the deer they kill have chronic wasting disease.
But the federally certified labs across the country do not have enough capacity to do that.
Whether the bill introduced Thursday can be passed soon enough to do any good for this fall is unknown, said Ari Geller, a spokesman for Feingold.
The bill does not appropriate any new money for USDA, requiring the agency to meet the new requirements under its existing budget, Geller said.
The disease, which creates sponge-like holes in a deer’s brain, causes the animal to grow thin, act abnormally and die.
Feingold, Kohl pressing for increased CWD testing
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The federal government would be required to certify private laboratories to test for a fatal brain disease in deer under a bill introduced Thursday by Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators.
The bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand the number of labs that can test for chronic wasting disease and develop appropriate testing protocols, including a test for live animals and a faster test for the disease, Democratic Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold said.
“For over six months, we have been telling the administration that they can best help with Wisconsin’s fight against CWD by providing scientific assistance and federal funding,” Kohl said. “This bill will set some deadlines for implementing a coordinated plan for combating CWD.”
Wildlife officials in Wisconsin have said many hunters this fall may not go hunting unless they have a way to test whether the deer they kill have chronic wasting disease.
But the federally certified labs across the country do not have enough capacity to do that.
Whether the bill introduced Thursday can be passed soon enough to do any good for this fall is unknown, said Ari Geller, a spokesman for Feingold.
The bill does not appropriate any new money for USDA, requiring the agency to meet the new requirements under its existing budget, Geller said.
The disease, which creates sponge-like holes in a deer’s brain, causes the animal to grow thin, act abnormally and die.