CWD Updates

CWD News

CWD UPDATE

November 19, 2003

The fiscal year 04 Interior budget passed by Congress includes 4.2 million for CWD research to USGS. This is a 1 million dollar increase over last year’s 3.2 million dollar appropriation. This includes a specified appropriation of $250,000 to establish a wildlife disease center in Wisconsin. (Bruce’s note: I don’t know if this refers to the National Wildlife Health Lab or to another center in Wisconsin) The USGS will utilize the funding to study the transmission pathways of the disease, as well as outbreak patterns and the disease's possible associations with landscape features.

Four deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease in new areas of southern Wyoming. The deer were killed in three hunt areas in Carbon County, and were among 3,893 animals tested by the State Veterinary Lab in Laramie. These infected deer were adjacent to areas known to be infected with CWD. This comes soon after infected deer were found in the Bighorn Basin of northern Wyoming, representing a new area of infection.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife reports that an additional 83 animals have tested positive for CWD as a result of the hunting season surveillance. This is as of November 7, the close of the third rifle deer and elk season. Hunters have submitted over 11,000 animals for testing. Positive breakdown is 65 mule deer, 1 whitetail deer and 17 elk. Of these positive, 24 were in new Game Management Units where CWD had not been detected before. A map of the new areas is available on the CDOW website.

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks reports a positive elk from the fall hunting season. This was a cow elk taken by a hunter just west of Wind Cave National Park. The only other positive elk from South Dakota was a target animal from Wind Cave National Park.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reports another positive buck mule deer from the LaSal Mountain area. The deer was taken during the rifle hunt and the hunter has been notified of the test results. This brings to six the number of deer that have tested positive for CWD since the disease was first found in Utah in February 2003. Three of the six deer came from the LaSal Mountain area, two were killed near Vernal and one was killed near Fountain Green in central Utah.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has modified their ban on the importation of captive cervids. The new ban permits importation of animals from areas where CWD has not occurred and only from facilities that have been testing all deaths for a period of 60 months (5 years). Additional information on the new rules and regulations can be found at the New Mexico Game and Fish web site.

USDA-APHIS has published a proposed rule in the November 4, 2003 Federal Register titled “Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities.” This relates to the ruminant ban from Canada and other areas. The deadline for comments is January 5, 2004.

Region 8 of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a panel of experts to establish recommendations for the disposal of deer and elk tissue infected with CWD. Among those on the panel are Colorado Division of Wildlife Director Russell George, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Executive Director Doug Benevento, South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture John Gabriel and EPA Region 8 Director Robbie Roberts. This panel will oversee two work groups assessing the "risks" and "best practices" for handling the disease. Although this panel and the results will initially apply to those states covered by the Denver office of the EPA’s Region 8, other regions could adopt them as well. Region 8 covers the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Montana and North Dakota are the only states in Region 8 that have not found CWD in wild cervids as of this date.

The Minnesota DNR hopes to collect 13,000 deer for CWD testing during the hunting season that opens Saturday, November 8. Last year they collected approximately 5,000 samples after finding CWD in elk on two game farms. The tests last year failed to detect CWD in the free roaming population of deer. Over 400 DNR employees and volunteers will collect samples at 135 check stations in the northwest, northeast, east-central and west-central regions of the state. As an incentive this fall, hunters who submit their deer for testing will have a chance to win one of about 20 rifles, shotguns, bows and muzzleloaders donated by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, the Bluffland Whitetails Association and various outdoor stores.

A third ELISA test has been licensed for CWD testing. This is the IDEXX test that has been approved by USDA-Center for Veterinary Biologics for use on the retropharyngeal lymph nodes of white tail deer only. The approval was issued on November 4, 2003.

A police officer in Michigan stopped to held a couple whose vehicle had broken down and found they had six deer and an elk in their trailer. The couple had purchased the animals at an auction in Ohio and wanted to keep them as pets at their home north of Grand Rapids. They were given the choice of euthanizing the animals or returning them to Ohio. The couple opted to return the animals to Ohio. It is unknown if the couple was aware of the Michigan ban on the importation of cervids. This is a perfect example of how unregulated interstate movement of captive cervids occurs; if the couple’s vehicle had not developed problems, these animals could have made it to their final destination without detection.

FYI – new posting 11-4-2003

Earlier this year a panel of CWD experts was established to review Wisconsin DNR's progress on CWD management. I've attached the report for your review. In short, WI-DNR was commended for their use of an adaptive management approach, constantly using the newest research information to alter their management approach, but challenges still remain, especially garnering public support for the CWD management plan and determining how to improve disposal methods for infected carcasses. I know everyone is busy, but I'd encourage reading at least the Executive Summary. This document represents another excellent piece of work out of Wisconsin. Click here for report

8/8/03

USDA Lifts Ban on Certain Ruminant Products from Canada

TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 8, 2003 – SCI, the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide, applauds Ann M. Veneman, Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, for announcing this afternoon that “USDA will no longer prohibit the importation of hunter-harvested wild ruminant products intended for personal use and it will begin to accept applications for import permits for certain products from Canada.”  For months, SCI representatives have been working with government officials to get the ban on hunted game meat lifted. 

 Saying USDA experts have thoroughly reviewed the scientific evidence, which “indicates no measurable risk to public health,” Secretary Veneman called for international dialogue to develop a practical, risk-based approach to trade. 

“This is great news,” said SCI President Gary Bogner.  “The USDA has heard the concerns of North America’s hunting community and the advice of wildlife biologists.  It has completed exhaustive research and acted both thoughtfully and swiftly.”

According to the USDA, hunters will need a “Veterinary Services Special Permit for the Importation of Hunter-Harvested Wild Ruminant Meat,” along with a valid Canadian export certificate for game meat, or a copy of a valid hunting license or valid hunting tag.  The permit can be downloaded from http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html or obtained by calling the APHIS National Center for Import and Export at 301-734-3277.

Merle Shepard, SCI’s Government Affairs Committee chairman, added, “Responsible and ethical hunting involves using as much of the harvested animal as possible.  While the USDA’s original concerns for public safety in the US are understandable, blocking the lawfully harvested importation of venison constitutes a tragic waste that thankfully has been avoided.”

The temporary ban was introduced as a safeguard on May 20, 2003, following discovery of a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalophy, or “mad cow disease” in a cow in Alberta, and affected hunter harvests even though there is no scientific evidence that BSE is readily transmissible to moose, deer, elk and other ungulates. 

In July the USDA published a memo clarifying the ban it imposed soon after finding the Canadian case of mad cow disease.  The memo stated that sportsman were able to bring their harvested and cleaned antlers, skull, plate, hide and cape back with them.  However, at the time game meat was still prohibited from importation. 

Last year, SCI produced and distributed through state wildlife agencies and outdoor sports retail stores Facts About CWD, a brochure educating more than one million hunters about Chronic Wasting Disease.

Mad cow disease and CWD are both members of the same family of diseases that affects the brain and neural tissue of those afflicted.  Both diseases are fatal to affected animals, and are caused by a mutated protein called a prion.  While mad cow disease can jump species and affect humans, years of study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, many universities and about a dozen state public health agencies has found no evidence showing that CWD can be transferred to humans.  For more information on CWD, go to www.sci-foundation.org/cwd.

Now that the USDA has acted, sportsmen and women are able to bring their lawfully harvested venison back home for their personal use.  “With deer season just around the corner,” finished Bogner, “this decision is just in time.”

The USDA’s announcement says a rulemaking process will “begin immediately for the importation of live ruminants and ruminant products,” and notes that it will begin to accept applications for import permits for boneless sheep or goat meat from animals under 12 months of age; boneless bovine meat from cattle under 30 months of age; boneless veal from calves that were 36 weeks of age or younger at slaughter; fresh or frozen bovine liver; vaccines for veterinary medicine for non-ruminant use; and pet products and feed ingredients that contain processed animal protein and tallow of non-ruminant sources when produce in facilities with dedicated manufacturing lines.

SCI – First For Hunters is the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide.  This chapter driven, nonprofit association is a tireless advocate for the world’s 45 million sportsmen and sportswomen, who, through legal hunting, annually drive more than $1.7 billion in funding to conserve all wild species.  For more information, call 520-620-1220 or visit www.scifirstforhunters.org.

CWD UPDATE
DECEMBER 20, 2002

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell has

issued a special exemption to the state’s ban on the importation of cervids. When he received a complaint from an elementary school class reference the cervid ban, he decided to issue the exemption. The class was concerned that Santa Clause could not come to New Jersey this year because his reindeer were cervids and all cervids were banned from entering the state. To insure that Christmas was not ruined for the kids of his State, Commissioner Bradley issued a special exemption for reindeer that can fly.

Three additional cases of CWD have been found in Illinois. One of the cases was in the same vicinity of the index case near Roscoe, Illinois in Boone County and one in neighboring Winnebago County. The earlier case had previously been reported to be from Winnebago County but was later determined to be in Boone County, just over the county line. The other case was approximately 30 miles east of Roscoe in McHenry County. These cases were found through hunter harvest surveillance. These latest findings bring the total of positive CWD animals in Illinois to 4.

A judge in Louisiana has upheld the states ban on the importation of cervids. A captive wildlife producer from that state had planned on moving several elk from his facility in Arkansas to Louisiana. The Arkansas Game and Fish Department had given the producer until December 31 to get rid of his elk. The ban in Louisiana prevented him from moving them to a fenced facility he had constructed in that state. The producer filed suit against the ban but it was upheld by the Louisiana judge. The producer is now planning on selling hunts for the elk and then killing any left after that.

The preliminary results from 846 deer collected from eastern Nebraska during the firearm season were all negative. The ELISA test failed to turn up any positive samples. All samples are being rechecked by the IHC test to insure none were missed. These animals were from the eastern third of the state.

CWD UPDATE
DECEMBER 13, 2002

An escaped, ear-tagged white tail deer from Walworth County, Wisconsin has tested positive for CWD. The animal is a 1 ½ year old buck that had escaped in March of 2002. DNR conservation wardens killed it on October 22. The DNR has stated that their CWD science team is evaluating this latest happening and will be making recommendations on management actions to take in the area soon. The facility the animal is the same facility that was recently depopulated as reported below.

The Wisconsin DNR is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement reference their CWD management plan. Drafts may be available by late winter. This compilation of data and literature should be a tremendous help to other states developing management plans or actions reference CWD and other diseases.

The captive cervid facility in Walworth County, Wisconsin that experienced a confirmed case of CWD in their white tail deer has been depopulated. State officials removed 118 deer from this facility and all animals will be sampled for CWD. An additional farm, in Portage County, will have its approximately 140 deer destroyed by the end of the year. A third farm, also in Walworth County, will be depopulated also, although CWD has not been found on the premises. This third facility did conduct transactions with both positive facilities and will be included in the depopulation efforts as a precautionary measure.

The National Wildlife Federation has issued “A Guide to Reporting on Chronic Wasting Disease”. This is a media guide that attempts to present the proper facts and contacts for the media to get the story straight about this disease. Although the document has a couple of factual errors; lists Alberta as having confirmed CWD in free-roaming populations as well as captive and states that the 50% infection rate in a Nebraska confined deer herd as elk, it should provide a good resource for the media and those of us working with the media. Additionally, the picture caption on page 3 should identify the animal as an elk, not a deer. To obtain a copy, contact the NWF.

The implementation documents for the National CWD plan are now available. Although the document is not the “official” stance of either USDA or DOI, they represent the best thinking available from these agencies and the states on actions needed to address the CWD issue. The documents can be downloaded from either the CWD Alliance web site at cwd-info.org/docs/Nationa...cument.doc or the NGPC web site at www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wild...ment.html.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE
December 9, 2002

The Bio-Rad ELISA test that had been previously approved for CWD testing for mule deer has been approved for use on white-tail deer and elk also. The Center for Veterinary Biologics approved this additional use of the test last week. The product has been approved for testing of retropharyngeal lymph nodes of all three species, for surveillance purposes. Distribution and use of this product in the United States is under the supervision or control of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services. Distribution in each state is limited to authorized recipients designated by proper state officials, under such additional conditions as these authorities may require.

Two additional captive elk facilities in Minnesota have been guarantied and the animals residing there will be destroyed and tested for CWD. This is the results of trace backs to these facilities from the one elk in Minnesota that tested positive for CWD. The animals on the two additional farms will be destroyed within the next two weeks and the owners compensated for their loss by USDA.

A group of elk breeders in Saskatchewan have filed a class action law suit against the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food of the Canadian Government stating that the government was negligent and remiss in permitting the import of captive cervids into the country that were infected with CWD and/or bovine TB. The claim is that it was the governments responsibility to protect the producers from such disease and they knowingly permitted the importation of diseased animals. They are asking for unspecified compensation for the loss of their cervids through the CWD control program and loss of livelihood.

The rifle season in Wisconsin resulted in approximately 33,000 deer being collected for CWD testing. Although not the 50,000 hoped for, the DNR has stated that this will give them a good idea of the presence and prevalence of CWD in that state. Deer license sales in Wisconsin were down by 10% by the end of the season, a lot better than the 33% just prior to the season.

The National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shephardstown, West Virginia has been tasked with the development of a training module for CWD. The module will include basic disease ecology, management, surveillance, testing and research reports. The NCTC is working with DOI, USDA and the states in the development of this module. Target date for completion is March of 2003.

The Japanese Agricultural Ministry is set to check all deer and other cervid animal populations raised on farms in Japan if any animal in the country dies of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has been stepping up measures to cope with CWD since an elk imported into South Korea from Canada was confirmed as infected with the disease in July of last Year. Ministry officials noted that CWD had not been confirmed in Japan yet.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife continues to detect CWD outside the established endemic area of northeast Colorado. The latest reports include the detection of CWD in 7 mule deer from five new game management units (11, 211, 181, 28, 161). Five were bucks and two does. Additionally, they recently announced the finding of CWD in unit 4. The disease has now been confirmed in Colorado in several locations on the west slope of the Rocky Mountains, including northwest of Grand Junction and south of Dinosaur National Monument.

A road kill deer picked up within the city limits of Rapid City, South Dakota has tested positive for CWD. The animal was a 2 ½ year old white tail buck. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks will move forward with more testing within Rapid City in the next few weeks to determine the prevalence of the disease in that area. This is the second positive free-roaming deer from South Dakota, the first being found last year near the Nebraska border. Additionally, one free-roaming elk from Wind Cave National Parks has tested positive for the disease.

Governor Johanns of Nebraska has approved regulations prohibiting the private ownership and importation of mule deer in Nebraska. This is in addition to the long-standing ban on the private ownership and importation of white-tail deer. The five captive facilities in the state, which currently have mule deer, are grandfathered in, however, they cannot add to the animals on their property except through natural reproduction within the fenced facility. Additionally, the animals currently held in captivity must be held on the current licensed property only or on property that is properly licensed immediately adjacent to that property. Captive mule or white-tail deer and their progeny cannot be released into the wild under the new regulations.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE
November 21, 2002

A five year old free-roaming elk from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota has tested positive for CWD. The animals was exhibiting the clinical signs of CWD and was collected for testing. Tests conducted at the Colorado State University Lab confirmed CWD. Source of infection in unknown at this time. In 1997, CWD was found in a captive elk herd adjacent to the park. The Park had recently initiated a $279,000 multi-year study on deer movement and density and CWD testing. Park Superintendent Linda Stroll committed to coordinating this study and any follow up action on CWD issues with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks.

The state of Kentucky has banned the import of cervids. The order, signed by the governor of the state, also strictly controls the movement of cervids within the state. The State Fish and Wildlife Department will also not import any additional elk for their recent reintroduction effort. Plans are being made to collect around 1,000 deer during this falls rifle deer season to test for CWD.

A second captive facility in Alberta, Canada has had an animal test positive for CWD. The latest was a white-tail deer farm. This makes the second captive cervid positive from Alberta. The earlier case was from an elk in that Provence. This makes the 42nd farm to test positive in Canada, 40 from Saskatchewan and 2 from Alberta.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued an order prohibiting rendering facilities from taking deer and elk parts from CWD positive deer or deer from known CWD areas. Most renderers have stated that they will cease taking all deer to prohibit an expensive recall of product if a positive shows up in the animals they rendered. This will mainly impact processing plants that dispose of their waste through rendering plants.

An elk calf that had escaped from a game farm in Wisconsin was accidently shot by a deer hunter. The hunter saw the animal though a patch of fog and shot it, thinking it was a deer. When the mistake was discovered, the hunter contacted authorities. This calf was one of four that had escaped from the game farm after a dog had damaged a fence and the elk escaped. No charges were filed against the hunter.

A second mule deer buck from the area of Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park in Saskatchewan has tested positive for CWD. This makes a total of five positives in free-roaming deer in Saskatchewan. All five have been mule deer bucks. Three have been from the Manito Sandhills area south of Lloydminster and the last two from the area near the park just north of Stewart Valley.

For the first time, Wyoming has confirmed CWD in mule deer west of the Continental Divide. One deer from the Medicine Bow Mountains northeast of Baggs and one from the Sierra Madre south of Saratoga, were confirmed with the disease this week. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will continue to test heads submitted by hunters from these areas for CWD.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE
November 12, 2002

Chronic Wasting Disease has been confirmed in a young female white-tail deer from near the town of Roscoe in Winnebago County, Illinois. The animal was shot because it exhibited the clinical signs of CWD and tests run by the NVSL were positive for CWD. This location is just a few miles from the Wisconsin border. The Illinois DNR plans to collect up to 3,500 deer for sampling during the upcoming fall deer season.

A sixth deer farm in Wisconsin has been placed under quarantine since trace-backs from a positive farm involve this latest addition to the quarantined farms. Farms have now been quarantined in Marathon County (1), Portage County (2), Walworth County (2) and Dane County (1). The positive farms were in Walworth and Portage Counties.

The Mayo Clinic of Minnesota has examined all 158 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease it had recorded between 1976-1996 to determine if there may be any connection to other TSE diseases. Looking for anything atypical, and especially anything that looked like Mad Cow disease, they found nothing unusual with the CJD cases that would indicate a connection to any other TSE.

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed funding studies to determine the transmissibility of scrapie and CWD to humans. Secretary Tommy Thompson announced the awarding of grants, totaling approximately 29 million dollars to several Universities and labs to conduct the studies. The National Institute of Health and the Harvard Medical School will look into the possibility of transmission to humans. Colorado State University will be studying the transmission of CWD from deer to deer and look at the possibility of developing a vaccine for CWD, and Chase Western University will be studying the effects of CWD on transgenic mice.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has lifted their ban on the import of white-tail deer into that state. In addition to lifting the import ban, the commission approved a process for testing for CWD in deer herds prior to granting a Trap, Transport and Transplant (Triple T) Permit for moving deer within the state. Applicants will be required to have test results from a number of deer that would be an equivalent to 10 percent of the number of deer to be trapped, and the number must be between 10-40 deer that show no positive tests for CWD before the state agency will consider issuing a Triple T permit. Permittees will also be required to permanently tattoo all moved deer with an identification number, and deer temporarily relocated for nursing or veterinary purposes may not leave the state for those purposes.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has permanently banned the import of cervids into that state. This permanent ban replaces a temporary ban put in place in August. The ban also includes all exotic deer species such as fallow, sika and axis deer. Reindeer are exempted from the ruling. Also exempted are cervids for approved research purposes.


A joint Legislative Committee in Wisconsin has extended the ban on feeding and baiting deer in that state until April 1, 2003. If not extended, the ban would have ended on November 20, in the middle of the Wisconsin deer season. The rule extension also permits the DNR to continue to hold extended deer seasons to combat CWD. The legislature will consider a permanent ban on baiting and feeding early next year when they meet in regular session.

More positive deer are being found in northwest Colorado as their deer and elk season continues. The latest findings are in areas around Craig, Meeker, Pagoda and Green Mountain Reservoir. Hunters have now submitted more than 8,000 animals for testing and tests have been completed on more than 6,500 of those. CWD has been detected in 50 animals, including 16 outside the area of northeastern Colorado where CWD has been detected for more than two decades.

The Center for Veterinary Biologics has certified a ELISA based test for CWD in mule deer developed by Bio-Rad laboratories of Hercules, California. This is the first commercial test kit for CWD approved by the CVB. The company is working with several diagnostic laboratories and state wildlife agencies to obtain the data to get the test kit approved for white-tail deer also. The ELISA based test can produce results in a short time frame (1 week or less) and will provide a quicker turnaround time than the IHC test. All animals showing positive results on the ELISA test will be confirmed with an IHC test.

The New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has dedicated approximately $1 million to the study of scrapie and CWD in that country. Although neither disease has been found in New Zealand, increased surveillance is necessary to achieve international requirements for disease free status. New Zealand has never had a case of CWD but has been exposed to the risk of the disease through the importation of elk from Canadian herds subsequently found to hold positive animals.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE
October 30, 2002

An additional captive elk facility in Nebraska has had an elk test positive for CWD. This facility is located in Sioux County, Nebraska and participated in the recent buy-out in the endemic area. This brings the total of captive positive facilities in Nebraska to 4. Three of these have been depopulated and the third was quarantined for three years with no additional positives. The quarantine on this facility was lifted in the spring of 2001.

CWD appears to be having little effect on overall deer permit sales in Nebraska. Through October 29 archery permit sales are up 14%, muzzleloader sales are up 15% and total deer permit sales are unchanged from last year. In the Pine Ridge and Upper Platte Units (endemic area for CWD), sales are down, 25% in the Pine Ridge and 29% in the Upper Platte. The regular firearm season does not open for another two weeks so these figures could change.

Regulations that restrict the use of bait for hunting deer, elk, mountain sheep and pronghorn in the state of Nebraska have been finalized and filed with the Secretary of State’s office and such activities are now illegal. Regulations adopted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Board of Commissioners in August which prohibit the private ownership of mule deer are pending executive approval.

Saskatchewan Environment has received confirmation of another case of CWD in wild deer. The latest positive sample was found in a two-year-old mule deer buck taken this fall near Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, north of Swift Current. This is the fourth case of CWD discovered in the province's wild deer. Up to this point, all of the positive cases had been found in the Manito Sandhills near Lloydminster. This case is approximately 120 miles south and a little east of the other cases. Over the past four years Saskatchewan Environment has tested approximately 5,500 animals from across the province.

Wisconsin DNR Law Enforcement has begin inspection of 590 captive deer facilities in that state. This is part of DNRs ongoing effort to control the spread of CWD. At each location, wardens will inspect the structural integrity of fences, visually inspect each deer and look at sales and purchase records. The 590 facilities to be inspected are those that are regulated by the DNR. There are an additional 400+ captive cervid facilities in the state regulated by the agriculture agency.

A fifth deer farm in Wisconsin has been placed under quarantine for receiving animals from one of the facilities that had white-tail deer test positive for CWD. Additionally, staff of Wisconsin DNR have been searching the area around the second farm to have an animal test positive for deer that reportedly escaped from that facility. Game Wardens have shot four deer that are suspected of escaping from the facility under quarantine. One of the animals shot had an ear tag.

Approximately 6,000 hunters in Wisconsin submitted deer heads for CWD testing after the first week of fall hunting. Officials estimate approximately 27,000 deer harvested during the same time period. License sales for this time period are down approximately 22% over the same time last year. In neighboring Minnesota, deer license sales are down about 10% from last years figures.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has set a goal of testing 6,000 deer this fall for CWD. They have initiated a public relations effort to get hunters to submit the heads of their harvested deer for the surveillance. Although the disease has not been confirmed in Missouri, Department biologists believe it is necessary to conduct surveillance to detect the disease if it is present in the free-ranging deer population of the state.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have announced that they will test 500 deer during the fall firearms season this year. Their hope is to find nothing but are laying plans for the collection of a small number of animals this year and for larger numbers in the years to come. They are concerned due to the fact that 44 deer from a game farm in Minnesota were allowed into the state by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry last year. Of these imported animals, 15 had died from natural causes, 20 were killed and tested for CWD and 9 are awaiting euthanasia and testing. All tests to date have not detected CWD.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will conduct surveillance for CWD for the first time this fall. They plan on testing 700 deer from the hunting season. CWD has not been detected in Maine but officials want to test animals to be sure it does not occur there. Additionally, they will be distributing informational pamphlets on CWD and asking hunters and others to report any sick looking deer for additional investigation.

Wisconsin DNR has announced that they are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement on proposed rules for managing CWD in their state. The EIS will apply to free-ranging cervids only. The proposed permanent rule to address CWD will be of considerable magnitude and scope and given the far-reaching environmental and socio-economic factors, it is necessary to prepare an EIS according to Kurt Thiede, regulation policy specialist with the DNR. The EIS will address several factors, including; extended deer seasons, earn-a-buck hunt requirements, special registration requirements, baiting and recreational feeding and use of aircraft to assist in reducing deer population numbers. Target date for the first draft is February 14, 2003.

A Walworth County, Wisconsin deer farmer whose farm has been quarantined because of the finding of CWD on his farm is under investigation for illegally buying and selling deer. A search warrant filed in Dane County alleges that the farmer sold several earlier this year without a license to do so, that he sold deer to individuals not licensed to buy them, attempted to get people he purchased deer from to remove the required identification tags, asked other sellers to alter records and attempted to sell deer after his facility had been placed under a quarantine.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE
October 17, 2002

Research conducted by USDA-ARS on the genetics of CWD infected white-tailed deer from Nebraska indicate that genetics does not have anything to do with the susceptibility of white-tail deer. The genetic makeup of 114 infected and non-infected animals were classified at Pullman, Washington. Results indicate that there are 6 major genotypes and 5 minor genotypes in the deer studied. All major genotypes were represented in the CWD population. We can conclude that CWD is not likely to be a genetic disease in white-tail deer.

Governor John Hoeven of North Dakota has issued an emergency order barring the importation of elk and deer carcasses from areas known to have CWD. The ban effects whole carcasses, the spinal cord and head. Processed meat and taxidermy heads can still be imported. The order was issued after a North Dakota hunter brought back an elk carcass from Colorado that tested positive for CWD.

A fourth captive deer farm in Wisconsin has been quarantined due to trace backs from the one positive CWD deer in a Portage County facility. The latest facility placed under quarantine is located in Dane County, just a few miles from the eradication zone where free-ranging white-tail deer have been confirmed with CWD.

A second deer farm in Wisconsin has had a white-tail deer test positive for CWD. This facility is located in Walworth County in the southeast part of the state. This brings the total of known CWD positive farmed deer to two for Wisconsin. The new case is approximately 80 miles from the Wisconsin eradication zone where free-ranging white-tail deer have been found with CWD.

A panel of experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has evaluated the Wisconsin DNR efforts to combat CWD and issued their findings. Their main findings are; 1) support of the DNR efforts to eradicate 25,000 deer in the eradication zone around Mt. Horeb, 2) the human health risk of eating venison infected with CWD is very, very low; and 3) deer hunters should not rely on testing to judge the safety of venison.

Archer and muzzleloader hunters in Colorado are passing on CWD testing of their harvested animals. So far, only about 1 in 5 of the successful hunters are submitting the heads of their animals for testing. 1,469 samples have been tested with 18 hunter killed animals and 2 officer killed animals testing positive from or close to the endemic area. The story for elk hunters is different as 700 samples were received in the Colorado State University Lab the first few days of the elk season.

Governor Scott McCallum of Wisconsin has announced that agreement has been reached with USDA-APHIS to help provide for additional testing of deer for CWD for hunters. USDA has facilitated finding additional laboratory capacity for up to 200,000 samples this fall. Wisconsin DNR will test 50,000 samples at state expense. Other hunters may have a sample taken by their veterinarian and the veterinarian will send the sample to one of the participating laboratories. The tests will cost the hunter between $25 - $75 each.

A emergency task force in Colorado, convened by Governor Bill Owens, will make several recommendations to the Governor reference the state’s efforts to combat CWD. One of the major recommendations will be for mandatory double fencing around deer and elk ranches exposed to CWD. Other recommendations include continuation of efforts to expand the capacity of testing facilities and continued research and funding for a rapid CWD test.

The count keeps climbing in Wisconsin. There were 358 deer harvested in August and 9 of these tested positive for CWD. This gives a total of 40 positive of approximately 1500 tested for an infection rate of 2.6%.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE
September 13, 2002

Testimony of a former deer hauler who has turned states evidence in an investigation of the illegal movement of cervids has reveled some disturbing information. This informant had hauled numerous loads of illegal deer and elk that were shipped to various states by brokers working out of Michigan. These deer and elk were unmarked and untested and are valuable to hunters due to the fact that any animal that shows signs of captivity cannot be entered into most record books. Hunts behind high wire for trophy size animals go for between $40,000 and $50,000, making it a high profit business.
The majority of the deer moved by the informant were free-ranging deer caught in Ontario and brought into the U.S. at a border crossing in Montana where the guards did not check closely. The animals were moved at night to prevent law enforcement checks and keep the animals cool. Major destination states were Texas, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Mississippi. Two sets of papers were carried by the driver, one for law enforcement and one for the rancher receiving the animals. Veterinarians were paid to falsify the papers to get the shipments through the borders. Information provided by the informant indicates that approximately 25,000 illegal deer a month are shipped in the United States.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has approved a buy-out plan submitted by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. This plan will permit the buy-out of any captive cervid producer in the Nebraska endemic area, located in the Panhandle area of the state. This is similar to the effort undertaken in the Colorado endemic area a few months ago. It is estimated that the majority of producers in the area will participate and over 1,000 elk will be euthanized and tested.
The goal of this effort is to remove captive cervids from the endemic area to prevent the spread of the disease to other captive populations.

The University of Nebraska system has announced that they will be closing the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in North Platte, Nebraska. This is in response to budget cuts from the Nebraska Legislature during a recent special session. This follows the closure of the Scottsbluff Veterinary Diagnostic Lab last year. The only remaining publically operated lab in Nebraska is now located at the main campus in Lincoln.

Tests conducted on one of the three Wisconsin men who died from brain disease confirmed that he died from Pick’s disease, a brain disease more common than Creutzfeldt-Jacob. The Centers for Disease Control have obtained brain tissue from the other two men and will be conducting tests to determine cause of death. Results are not expected for another two weeks. These are the men who had eaten venison at a wild game feed and the media frenzy caused a stir among hunters in the Midwest.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife has confirmed that a mule deer killed near Chatfield has tested positive for CWD. This is in the southwestern part of the Denver metro area and is the southern most occurrence in Colorado. According to Dr. Mike Miller the finding was “disappointing but not surprising”.

The Minnesota DNR has collected 47 deer from Aitkin County, where CWD was confirmed recently in a captive elk. They have submitted the brain stems to NVSL in Ames for testing. They plan on collecting a minimum of 500 deer from hunters in the vicinity this fall to determine if the disease has jumped from captive to free-ranging animals.

The Georgia Outdoor News magazine is offering a reward of $1,000 to the first person who provides information to the Turn in Poachers hotline that helps the Law Enforcement Section fo the Georgia Department of Natural Resources make an arrest on charges of transporting deer or elk into the state without a permit.

Experiments are underway in Colorado, Wyoming and Iowa to determine if CWD is transmissible to cattle. Preliminary data have shown that it is extremely difficult to infect cattle with CWD. Only a few cattle became ill after having the CWD pathogen injected directly into their brain. Cattle that have lived in close contact with infected deer and ingesting infected deer brain matter have not developed the disease during the first five years of a ten year study. Based on this information and other research, it appears that there is a substantial biological barrier to transmission of CWD from deer to cattle.

The implementation document for the “Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies and Tribes in Managing Chronic Wasting Disease in Wild and Captive Cervids” has been submitted to Dr. Bobby Acord, Administrator of APHIS and Dr. Steve Williams, Director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This document details the efforts needed by States, Tribes and Federal agencies in combating CWD. It assigns specific tasks and indicates budget needs. The document will be posted on the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission web site after it is released by Drs. Acord and Williams.