[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/cwd-coming-to-a-county-near-you\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/cwd-coming-to-a-county-near-you\/","headline":"CWD: Coming to a County Near You!","name":"CWD: Coming to a County Near You!","description":"It\u2019s inevitable, like cancer, CWD continues to spread across the nation and has no known cure.\u00a0 Chronic Wasting Disease is...","datePublished":"2015-07-17","dateModified":"2018-10-24","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CWD-Deer-e1437147870246.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CWD-Deer-e1437147870246.jpg","height":702,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/cwd-coming-to-a-county-near-you\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1790,"keywords":["News"],"articleBody":"It\u2019s inevitable, like cancer, CWD continues to spread across the nation and has no known cure.\u00a0 Chronic Wasting Disease is here to stay.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not already in your state, it\u2019s only a matter of time.\u00a0 CWD has been around since the 1960\u2019s, but has recently been spreading to satellite locations across North America at a rapid pace.\u00a0 Currently 27 states and provinces have tested positive for CWD, most commonly across the Midwest.\u00a0 With CWD making unexplained leaps and bounds across the country it\u2019s critical that state agencies and hunters understand the risks and challenges involved with this industry threatening disease.Recently, CWD has jumped across Wisconsin to a deer herd in Eau Claire County, of which several deer escaped the previous month (Eau Claire County borders the famed Big Buck Capital of the World – Buffalo County, WI).\u00a0 Also during 2015,\u00a0\u00a0Texas, a state that has long since avoided CWD despite being the epicenter of captive deer breeding in the USA, a white-tailed deer tested positive in Medina County.\u00a0 Michigan also joined the ranks of CWD positive states\u00a0in May, 2015. \u00a0Arkansas was the latest state to join the unfortunate list in October of 2015. This is a growing and scary trend. Chronic Wasting Disease prevalence in North America. Chronic Wasting Disease AllianceChronic Wasting Disease is 100% fatal and this protein-gone-wrong should scare the crap out of you, especially if you are a hunter or even if you rely on the economic stimulus hunting provides to small town USA.\u00a0 CWD holds the potential power to cripple the hunting industry the same way the great stock market crash of 1929 crippled America.There is no greater acting force than fear, which is exactly why I\u2019m here to scare you . . . because fear invokes action.\u00a0 Being from Wisconsin, the fear was great in 2002 and dramatically impacted hunter participation to the tune of over 100,000 less license sales than the previous year.\u00a0 That\u2019s over $2 million lost in license sales alone, not to mention the economic boost hunters provide to local gas stations, hotels, resorts, sporting goods stores, taverns, and other local amenities small and big towns provide.\u00a0 Clearly, this scared people.\u00a0 So why is it now that people seem to shrug it off and accept it? \u00a0This may not be the case of the newbie states, but it is in Wisconsin. \u00a0Perhaps it\u2019s because there is no cure or effective containment method for this disease.\u00a0 Or perhaps it\u2019s because it has not been shown to infect humans or livestock yet.\u00a0 So why should we be afraid of this disease?It is not wrong to be scared, but to be\u00a0scared to level of non-participation only aids in the spread of the disease, a la Wisconsin 2002.\u00a0 Hunters play a critical role in the battle to control Chronic Wasting Disease, however, they\u00a0are not the only ones needed to slow the prevalence of CWD as history has shown.\u00a0 Below you will find some of the unique and scary challenges CWD presents.There is no effective control method. Once the prion is there, it\u2019s there, and it does not die.The infectious prions (protein-gone-wrong) can lie dormant in the soil for over five years.The prions can be absorbed and transmitted through plants and spread through feces and saliva. With those kinds of qualities, there\u2019s no stopping it, just slowing it.It threatens a\u00a0multi-billion\u00a0dollar industry supported by tradition, passion and adventure. Just think about how your life would change without hunting\u00a0related activities?States need to learn from each otherWisconsin and Illinois have been at the forefront of Chronic Wasting Disease within white-tailed deer populations across the U.S. since it was first discovered in 2002 \u2013 this was the first time it was discovered east of the Mississippi and in wild white-tailed deer.A Case StudyThe following information takes a look at two different CWD management techniques that took place in Illinois and Wisconsin during the same time frame: 2003 \u2013 2012.\u00a0 The article in reference can be found in its entirety here: The Importance of Localized Culling in Stabilizing Chronic Wasting Disease Prevalence in White-tailed Deer Populations.Before we begin the discussion take a look at the following graph.\u00a0 Something should jump out at you immediately. Annual chronic wasting disease prevalence in Illinois and Wisconsin. What do you notice?\u00a0 Where did things take a turn for the worse in Wisconsin?\u00a0 You should have noticed something happened in 2007 and continues to escalate\u00a0on an exponential-like curve since then.\u00a0 So what happened in Wisconsin?The government\u2019s attempt at complete herd eradication near the infected areas severely limited the deer population while doing little to prevent the spread of CWD.\u00a0 It was however, maintaining it as the graph shows, as was Illinois\u2019 approach.\u00a0 During 2007 government culling was severely reduced due to disgruntled hunters and landowners.\u00a0 \u00a0The result was a significant increase in CWD prevalence surrounding the epicenters in Dane and Iowa counties.Now let\u2019s look at Illinois\u2019 approach.\u00a0 Why has there been significantly different results?\u00a0 Is it because the state line magically stops the spread of CWD?\u00a0 Yeah, that\u2019s probably it.\u00a0 Well, it actually kind of does in a non-physical, more philosophical way. Enter politics.\u00a0 The different political approach taken by each state dramatically impacted management decisions with regards to the disease.\u00a0 So maybe the state line is sort of magical\u2026I mean, look at the graph.\u00a0 Clearly they are doing something right in terms of effectively managing CWD prevalence given there are no cures or vaccines to destroy it within the environment.The differing methods of the two neighboring states is the reason why we see the enormous difference in CWD prevalence rates today.Wisconsin\u2019s method (2003-2007) \u2013 attempt to completely eradicate every animal within a 411 square mile area utilizing government culling and increased hunter harvest opportunities.Illinois method (2003 \u2013 2012) \u2013 localized deer culling (sharp shooting) efforts where CWD was found (based on the Public Land Survey System of 24 sq. mile units). Simply put, they targeted the disease epicenters (smaller area, less deer killed, less disgruntled hunters, effective disease control). This approach has proven effective by maintaining a 1% prevalence rate over the years.Wisconsin severely reduced government culling back in 2007 and has since stepped back to a \u201cmonitor and surveillance\u201d approach, relying on hunter harvest as the only means of proactive control. Since 2007, CWD prevalence rates in Iowa and Dane Counties have risen to over 20%.Open for DiscussionDisclaimer: These are simply my opinions as a hunter with a biological interest based off of the facts and information I have understood.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t agree, feel free to leave your comments below.Sitting in southeastern Wisconsin, I have a real fear and vested interest in the way Wisconsin has gone about maintaining\/limiting this disease that is here to stay.\u00a0 They now plan to continue a nearly hands-off approach moving forward.\u00a0 Does science mean nothing?\u00a0 Did we not just pay a lot of money for a \u2018Deer Czar\u2019?\u00a0 Back in 2002, this was new and scary and nothing was known on effective control methods of Chronic Wasting Disease, thus, I cannot lay blame on Wisconsin for how they initially handled control efforts.\u00a0 Despite becoming extremely unpopular amongst many landowners, it was a learning process. \u00a0Don\u2019t they say you should learn from your mistakes?\u00a0 This is where my disappointment lies.\u00a0 It has now been 7 years since the Wisconsin public got their way, and government culling efforts were abandoned.In my opinion, both the state and we as hunters of the state were wrong.\u00a0 Wisconsin took the \u201ckill all\u201d approach, while Illinois took the \u201csystematic killing\u201d approach.\u00a0 This ultimately led to one state of hunters accepting the control methods and the other being extremely ticked off about actions severely harming the sport and animal they loved.\u00a0 Both methods were successful leading into 2007, but only one prevailed.Public support is a very important factor.\u00a0 This is not the time nor disease for Wisconsin to still be stuck in the \u201cmonitoring\u201d stage.\u00a0 It\u2019s been seven continuous years of rising prevalence rates . . . something needs to change and I\u2019d say looking to Illinois would be a good start.On the Bright SideFor Wisconsin, there isn\u2019t much of one.\u00a0 For other states however, they now know what to do (IL) and what not to do (WI).\u00a0 That\u2019s a tremendous advantage for the states who have recently contracted CWD such as Michigan and Missouri.\u00a0 They can act immediately and hopefully limit the spread and prevalence amongst their state, while still maintaining public support and successful hunting seasons.\u00a0 As of now, Chronic Wasting Disease is here to stay and spread.\u00a0 How we as hunters educate and inform others will have a lasting impact on how the future of this disease plays out."},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/cwd-coming-to-a-county-near-you\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"CWD: Coming to a County Near You!"}}]}]