spectr17
11-02-2002, 05:39 PM
Hunt for infected deer begins
Biologists hope highly-contagious condition won't be found in Louisiana
10/27/02
By Bob Marshall, Times-Picayune Outdoors editor
When Louisiana's deer season begins in earnest next month, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will begin a comprehensive research program with a special twist: Biologists are hoping they find nothing.
That's because the target of this investigation will be chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious, always fatal brain-destroying condition that could devastate the estimated million-animal deer herd at the heart of one of the state's most cherished sporting traditions, and the billion-dollar-a-year industry it supports.
"We'll be testing 500 deer taken from across the state this season, and that will just be the start," said Tom Prickett, administrator of the DWF Wildlife Division. "Eventually we'll be testing thousands of animals because we want to get to the point where we're 90 percent certain we can say if CWD is here or not.
"We have no evidence CWD is here, but we need to be certain. It's that important. It's a top priority."
Quarantine breached
It became a top priority last August when the DWF learned the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry had breached a CWD quarantine by allowing a shipment of 44 deer into Louisiana from a game farm in Minnesota, a state suspected of being contaminated by CWD. Tests later proved those suspicions accurate.
Since the deer had come from a source that was not certified-free of CWD, the two agencies agreed on an emergency program to locate the 44 animals and test them all for CWD, which means killing the deer and sending a sample of brain tissue to a lab for evaluation. By the time the effort began, Prickett said, 15 of the animals had died of what is believed to be natural causes.
"It's not unusual for northern deer imported here to die from the stress of the move, the heat, and being exposed to local diseases," said Prickett. "We tested two of the deer that were already dead, and they were negative for CWD.
"That left 29 in deer pens (private hunting enclosures as large as several hundred acres). We collected 20 of those and they were all negative.
"Now we're in the process of collecting the last nine. But that won't end the testing. We're embarking on a program that most other Southeastern states are undergoing. We're attempting to find out if we have any CWD exposure."
CWD belongs to a family of diseases known as spongiform encephalopathies, which release prions, a type of protein, that produce microscopic holes in the brain. Infected animals may take as long as five years to show symptoms, which include a gradual loss of mental and physical capabilities along with severe weight loss. Deer in their final stages of the disease typically are emaciated and stumbling through the woods, if they can walk at all.
Scientists believe the most likely form of transmission is by prions passed through animal-to-animal contact, such as nuzzling, or in ground and food infected by feces, urine and saliva.
Shocking spread
First identified in 1967 at a deer and elk research facility in northeastern Colorado, CWD for years was a minor concern among wildlife biologists because it was endemic in an area with very low deer and elk populations. Transmission rates were low, and the disease seemed to post little danger of spreading.
But the emergence of deer and elk farming and the growth of intensive quality deer management by private landowners and clubs changed all that. Suddenly, deer and elk from the infected areas were being shipped across the country and into Canada. By August CWD had been identified in wild or pen-raised deer in 10 states and two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
"In the case of Alberta, the Canadian authorities, which keep very detailed records, were able to track it back to one specific elk imported from the United States," said Prickett.
But it was when wild deer in Wisconsin tested positive last year that CWD sent shock waves through wildlife management circles.
"The deer density in northeastern Colorado and Wyoming is about two animals per square mile or a deer every 320 acres," said Prickett. "But now you had CWD in a state where you had a deer every three acres. The greater the animal density, the faster a disease will spread."
And it did. Within months more wild and pen-raised deer were found with CWD. Based on the state's deer densities, an untreated CWD outbreak could wipe out all the deer in a 5,000-square mile area within 25 years, one University of Wisconsin researcher claimed.
In an effort to protect its 1.2 million deer herd and $1.5 billion deer hunting industry, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has begun a massive effort to kill every deer in a 411-square mile area.
"We've got a three-county area where we're trying to cull every deer -- at least that's the goal," said Bob Manwell, of the WDNR. "The estimate would be 25,000 deer from that one area. We started last summer, but hunting deer in the summer isn't an easy job. And we know we won't get all 25,000 during the regular season, so we'll have post-hunting season efforts."
Complicating the effort is the fact 90 percent of the property in the area is privately owned. "We're holding town meetings across the area, trying to convince land owners to work with us on this problem," said Manwell. "It's going to take a community approach if we're going to be successful."
Sudden impact
The impact of the problem already has been felt in Wisconsin: The WDNR reports deer hunting license sales are down 23 percent this year.
Wisconsin's problem, along with outbreaks in Nebraska, Kansas and Minnesota, shook the rest of the deer hunting world because the Midwest is the heart of the deer exporting industry. Private landowners and hunting clubs across the southeast have imported the larger-growing Midwestern whitetails in an effort to improve the genetic composition of their own herds.
In most states the operations have been tested as agricultural businesses and have not been subject to regulation by wildlife agencies. Louisiana, like many states, does not have complete records of how many deer were imported and where they came from, Prickett said.
That uncertainty has caused deer biologists with several southern agencies to say privately the likelihood that CWD already is in their states is high. That's why there is a rush to test.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, one of the best-funded in the nation, has set out on the most aggressive campaign: It will collect and test 6,000 deer over the next three years at a cost of $170,000.
"Our statisticians tell us we need to have that large a sample to give us a 90 percent confidence of finding out if CWD is in two percent or greater of the total deer population," said Jeff Beringer, MDC wildlife research biologist. "We feel it's important because Nebraska has it, and Kansas has it and they both adjoin us.
"If we have it, we'd like to find out in the early stages so we can perhaps do something about it."
The LDWF, with a deer heard about the same size and density of Missouri, but a much smaller budget, is starting with a much smaller program. Prickett said it will do cost-sharing through membership in the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, a group of wildlife agencies from across the region.
"Each of the states is going to contribute about $20,000 to put together a war chest to buy the machine and the chemicals needed for testing, which will be done at the University of Georgia," said Prickett.
The DWF research will include collecting deer heads from hunters at state-owned wildlife management areas, as well as from private lands participating in the Deer Management Assistance Program, or DMAP. Prickett said LSU researchers were composing a statistical profile of where the samples should be taken "to give us a high degree of certainty of finding out if we have it here."
Hunters can play a valuable role by simply noticing what they see in the woods, Prickett said.
"If a hunter sees a deer that's emaciated or not acting normal, stumbling around, then he should go ahead and shoot it, then contact our department and we will immediately come out and collect it for testing," he said. "But keep in mind, a deer could have CWD and show no signs.
"That's what's so insidious about this disease. The incubation period can be as long as five years. That deer could be spreading it for five years before it shows any signs. You could kill an animal that looks healthy, that looks like a trophy, and it could have CWD.
"Once they show serious symptoms, they don't have long to live."
A positive test would prompt the DWF to launch its own culling plan, based on recommendations from the Southeastern Cooperative, Prickett said. That would include trying to reduce the deer population in the area the deer was found, then increase the amount of sampling in the state.
"What you find typically is a hot spot, where you have one or more deer infected, then nothing for 75 miles or so and then another hot spot," said Prickett. "What you hope to do is slow the spread, or contain it to one area. That's why you go in and try to reduce the population.
"People say they want to eradicate the population in an area, but I don't think there's any way you can do that in a place like Louisiana or Wisconsin. There's just too many deer, too many places where you can miss them. But you have to try."
Some states are trying to be pro-active. California has issued guidelines for its residents who are hunting in states that have CWD, including asking them not to bring back carcasses of deer or elk, but only de-boned meat. Minnesota has passed regulations prohibiting hunters from bringing carcasses back into the state. Prickett said the DWF has discussed those options, but made no decision.
Nor is the state equipped to conduct tests of deer on a voluntary basis, as some states already are doing for hunters.
"Right now, there is no need for that, because there's absolutely no evidence we have a problem," Prickett said. "Of course, this will be the first time we've tested for it."
It's a test the DWF and deer hunters hope finds nothing.
. . . . . . .
Bob Marshall can be reached at rmarshall@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3539.
Biologists hope highly-contagious condition won't be found in Louisiana
10/27/02
By Bob Marshall, Times-Picayune Outdoors editor
When Louisiana's deer season begins in earnest next month, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will begin a comprehensive research program with a special twist: Biologists are hoping they find nothing.
That's because the target of this investigation will be chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious, always fatal brain-destroying condition that could devastate the estimated million-animal deer herd at the heart of one of the state's most cherished sporting traditions, and the billion-dollar-a-year industry it supports.
"We'll be testing 500 deer taken from across the state this season, and that will just be the start," said Tom Prickett, administrator of the DWF Wildlife Division. "Eventually we'll be testing thousands of animals because we want to get to the point where we're 90 percent certain we can say if CWD is here or not.
"We have no evidence CWD is here, but we need to be certain. It's that important. It's a top priority."
Quarantine breached
It became a top priority last August when the DWF learned the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry had breached a CWD quarantine by allowing a shipment of 44 deer into Louisiana from a game farm in Minnesota, a state suspected of being contaminated by CWD. Tests later proved those suspicions accurate.
Since the deer had come from a source that was not certified-free of CWD, the two agencies agreed on an emergency program to locate the 44 animals and test them all for CWD, which means killing the deer and sending a sample of brain tissue to a lab for evaluation. By the time the effort began, Prickett said, 15 of the animals had died of what is believed to be natural causes.
"It's not unusual for northern deer imported here to die from the stress of the move, the heat, and being exposed to local diseases," said Prickett. "We tested two of the deer that were already dead, and they were negative for CWD.
"That left 29 in deer pens (private hunting enclosures as large as several hundred acres). We collected 20 of those and they were all negative.
"Now we're in the process of collecting the last nine. But that won't end the testing. We're embarking on a program that most other Southeastern states are undergoing. We're attempting to find out if we have any CWD exposure."
CWD belongs to a family of diseases known as spongiform encephalopathies, which release prions, a type of protein, that produce microscopic holes in the brain. Infected animals may take as long as five years to show symptoms, which include a gradual loss of mental and physical capabilities along with severe weight loss. Deer in their final stages of the disease typically are emaciated and stumbling through the woods, if they can walk at all.
Scientists believe the most likely form of transmission is by prions passed through animal-to-animal contact, such as nuzzling, or in ground and food infected by feces, urine and saliva.
Shocking spread
First identified in 1967 at a deer and elk research facility in northeastern Colorado, CWD for years was a minor concern among wildlife biologists because it was endemic in an area with very low deer and elk populations. Transmission rates were low, and the disease seemed to post little danger of spreading.
But the emergence of deer and elk farming and the growth of intensive quality deer management by private landowners and clubs changed all that. Suddenly, deer and elk from the infected areas were being shipped across the country and into Canada. By August CWD had been identified in wild or pen-raised deer in 10 states and two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
"In the case of Alberta, the Canadian authorities, which keep very detailed records, were able to track it back to one specific elk imported from the United States," said Prickett.
But it was when wild deer in Wisconsin tested positive last year that CWD sent shock waves through wildlife management circles.
"The deer density in northeastern Colorado and Wyoming is about two animals per square mile or a deer every 320 acres," said Prickett. "But now you had CWD in a state where you had a deer every three acres. The greater the animal density, the faster a disease will spread."
And it did. Within months more wild and pen-raised deer were found with CWD. Based on the state's deer densities, an untreated CWD outbreak could wipe out all the deer in a 5,000-square mile area within 25 years, one University of Wisconsin researcher claimed.
In an effort to protect its 1.2 million deer herd and $1.5 billion deer hunting industry, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has begun a massive effort to kill every deer in a 411-square mile area.
"We've got a three-county area where we're trying to cull every deer -- at least that's the goal," said Bob Manwell, of the WDNR. "The estimate would be 25,000 deer from that one area. We started last summer, but hunting deer in the summer isn't an easy job. And we know we won't get all 25,000 during the regular season, so we'll have post-hunting season efforts."
Complicating the effort is the fact 90 percent of the property in the area is privately owned. "We're holding town meetings across the area, trying to convince land owners to work with us on this problem," said Manwell. "It's going to take a community approach if we're going to be successful."
Sudden impact
The impact of the problem already has been felt in Wisconsin: The WDNR reports deer hunting license sales are down 23 percent this year.
Wisconsin's problem, along with outbreaks in Nebraska, Kansas and Minnesota, shook the rest of the deer hunting world because the Midwest is the heart of the deer exporting industry. Private landowners and hunting clubs across the southeast have imported the larger-growing Midwestern whitetails in an effort to improve the genetic composition of their own herds.
In most states the operations have been tested as agricultural businesses and have not been subject to regulation by wildlife agencies. Louisiana, like many states, does not have complete records of how many deer were imported and where they came from, Prickett said.
That uncertainty has caused deer biologists with several southern agencies to say privately the likelihood that CWD already is in their states is high. That's why there is a rush to test.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, one of the best-funded in the nation, has set out on the most aggressive campaign: It will collect and test 6,000 deer over the next three years at a cost of $170,000.
"Our statisticians tell us we need to have that large a sample to give us a 90 percent confidence of finding out if CWD is in two percent or greater of the total deer population," said Jeff Beringer, MDC wildlife research biologist. "We feel it's important because Nebraska has it, and Kansas has it and they both adjoin us.
"If we have it, we'd like to find out in the early stages so we can perhaps do something about it."
The LDWF, with a deer heard about the same size and density of Missouri, but a much smaller budget, is starting with a much smaller program. Prickett said it will do cost-sharing through membership in the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, a group of wildlife agencies from across the region.
"Each of the states is going to contribute about $20,000 to put together a war chest to buy the machine and the chemicals needed for testing, which will be done at the University of Georgia," said Prickett.
The DWF research will include collecting deer heads from hunters at state-owned wildlife management areas, as well as from private lands participating in the Deer Management Assistance Program, or DMAP. Prickett said LSU researchers were composing a statistical profile of where the samples should be taken "to give us a high degree of certainty of finding out if we have it here."
Hunters can play a valuable role by simply noticing what they see in the woods, Prickett said.
"If a hunter sees a deer that's emaciated or not acting normal, stumbling around, then he should go ahead and shoot it, then contact our department and we will immediately come out and collect it for testing," he said. "But keep in mind, a deer could have CWD and show no signs.
"That's what's so insidious about this disease. The incubation period can be as long as five years. That deer could be spreading it for five years before it shows any signs. You could kill an animal that looks healthy, that looks like a trophy, and it could have CWD.
"Once they show serious symptoms, they don't have long to live."
A positive test would prompt the DWF to launch its own culling plan, based on recommendations from the Southeastern Cooperative, Prickett said. That would include trying to reduce the deer population in the area the deer was found, then increase the amount of sampling in the state.
"What you find typically is a hot spot, where you have one or more deer infected, then nothing for 75 miles or so and then another hot spot," said Prickett. "What you hope to do is slow the spread, or contain it to one area. That's why you go in and try to reduce the population.
"People say they want to eradicate the population in an area, but I don't think there's any way you can do that in a place like Louisiana or Wisconsin. There's just too many deer, too many places where you can miss them. But you have to try."
Some states are trying to be pro-active. California has issued guidelines for its residents who are hunting in states that have CWD, including asking them not to bring back carcasses of deer or elk, but only de-boned meat. Minnesota has passed regulations prohibiting hunters from bringing carcasses back into the state. Prickett said the DWF has discussed those options, but made no decision.
Nor is the state equipped to conduct tests of deer on a voluntary basis, as some states already are doing for hunters.
"Right now, there is no need for that, because there's absolutely no evidence we have a problem," Prickett said. "Of course, this will be the first time we've tested for it."
It's a test the DWF and deer hunters hope finds nothing.
. . . . . . .
Bob Marshall can be reached at rmarshall@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3539.