CWD found in Arkansas Deer; prevalence high
- Thread starter AT Hiker
- Start date
BSK
Well-Known Member
It's coming to TN soon, and that's very bad news.
CBU93 posted about this Monday down a few threads,it didn't get much response ,folks its a game changer to me.Who would take a chance of dressing out a deer knowing there's a chance you maybe could slip and get a cut and maybe infected with some thing that there is no cure for?, meat donations may have to come to a end and a lot of other stuff too :cry: .
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Always assumed the greatest chance of contamination was in the brain/ spinal cord tissues... I know it can travel along the olfactory nerves to the nasal passages... Any studies confirming or denying whether it can travel down motor neurons into muscle groups?
Bottom line, once it's endemic, you've already exposed yourself if you cut the head off to send for testing (or save the antlers short of sawing them off individually at the burrs). I would suppose those at greatest risk are processors and taxidermists.
Scary stuff... but it can be contained.... the area we elk hunt in Colorado is still CWD free although it's endemic in many other parts of the state for decades. (probably due to geographic isolation of the mountain range locales).
Bottom line, once it's endemic, you've already exposed yourself if you cut the head off to send for testing (or save the antlers short of sawing them off individually at the burrs). I would suppose those at greatest risk are processors and taxidermists.
Scary stuff... but it can be contained.... the area we elk hunt in Colorado is still CWD free although it's endemic in many other parts of the state for decades. (probably due to geographic isolation of the mountain range locales).
BSK
Well-Known Member
A few years ago the TWRA did some pretty intense testing and found none in the state. But if it's in VA and AR, it will come to TN soon.
When it gets here it won't change the way I hunt, but it will change the way I manage (much higher natural mortality rates, and doing nothing that can concentrate deer at a particular spot, like feeding or salt licks).
Luckily, so far, no human has gotten Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (CJD) from eating or handling a CWD infected deer, unlike those infected by eating cattle infected with Mad Cow Disease (MCD). But I would certainly be extra careful not to cut through spinal or brain tissue while processing meat.
When it gets here it won't change the way I hunt, but it will change the way I manage (much higher natural mortality rates, and doing nothing that can concentrate deer at a particular spot, like feeding or salt licks).
Luckily, so far, no human has gotten Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (CJD) from eating or handling a CWD infected deer, unlike those infected by eating cattle infected with Mad Cow Disease (MCD). But I would certainly be extra careful not to cut through spinal or brain tissue while processing meat.
TN Whitetail Freak
Well-Known Member
I got a feeling Arkansas knew about this a long time ago. With the elk and deer and have unsuccessfully tried to extinguish it now the reality of the losing battle has force them to come public in hopes of outside help
