CWD

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Both the always truthful CNN and Fox, and other's, are now claiming eating a animal\deer infected with CWD can spread to humans? Get that we for now don't have it here, but it is damm close?
Anyone else see this info and what thoughts?
 
Sorry long message but I live down south and have been seeing this coverage as well. Gonna vent.

I hunt deer in West Virginia, as well as my native Ontario. Also hunt elk in Colorado frequently in a known CWD area. I have had or have known of a number of elk tested over the last 8 years and all tested negative. Colorado Parks and Wildlife offer the testing for free if you drop the head/skull off. Ive never seen an animal exhibiting signs of the disease. Here in WV, CWD exists in the deer herd a few hours north east of my hunting properties and is a cause for caution.

I have some pretty strong opinions on the subject but am an engineer not a neuro scientist. Here goes:

This recent media hype about CWD as a mutant disease, deer attacking, etc, is total bullshit and is a move to scare people away from consuming wild game. If you stop eating it, you likely will stop hunting it and there you go. Anti's win the long game. And rest assured that when the hunting ends, fishing will indeed follow. Your liberals and my democrats will be thrilled -'Well dont need guns anymore, better turn them in just to be safe."

These people are generally speaking, irrational lunatics. But if they can use "science" to scare the semi-sane among us to avoid eating wild game, well all the better. No thinking person takes PETA seriously, but CNN and FOX....well that's a different flavor of Koolaid to some people.

While our hunter participation numbers drop, I have seen a recent trend over the last few years whereby I increasingly get requests for venison from non-hunting friends and aquaintances that decided they wanted a more free range and organic source of meat. They are scared of the chemicals etc that CNN and FOX have told us are in our store bought beef. FIne by me, the limit on deer down here ranges from 5-9 per year and I stay busy in the woods as a result. Outsource your killing to me instead of Loblaws.

This disease CWD is not new but isn't well understood either from what I can find. Its been around for quite a long time (10+years) and you are correct that Ontario may not be immune in the future. Apparently the disease is somewhat similar to mad cow disease. Nobody has ever contracted CWD from eating venison. Do I need to repeat that? This has NOT happened per the US CDC. CNN are scaremongering to get us to stop hunting.

Steps have been taken to control the spread - You cant bring in or out of Ontario whole animal carcasses anymore. That includes the head/skull. It has to be cleaned up. I have to butcher my Ontario buck before hauling south, and my brother has to butcher his WV killed deer before hauling north to Ottawa. Many states adjacent to known CWD areas have banned hauling whole carcasses interstate for the same reasons. Smart move that makes sense.

Minimizing risks from the disease appears to be avoiding spinal fluid and brain material contact. To that end, every butcher I know that processes game now de-bone the carcass and cut from that. In other words no more loin chops or bone in steaks. And no more splitting the spine lengthwise with a saw. This has been happening for 10 years or so down here and my local area is not a CWD zone. Its just how the processors cut now. Again, makes sense. We don't know what we don't know, why gamble? Leave the bones on the carcass.

Cooking recommendations remain as usual - cook everything well done. Your call, I cant do that to a great piece of deer or elk but that's my business. All I can say is I will take my chances on game I harvested and processed anytime over what is on the shelves in the stores. I think your risk of contracting salmonella from under-cooked chicken is a lot higher than anything to do with CWD. Ive never seen a deer or elk acting the way CNN describes and if I did see an animal acting weird I obviously would not shoot and consume it. I'd shoot and call the state biologists in.

I'm reading that our deer hunting addiction to shooting trophy racks and managing the herds to produce large bucks could in fact be contributing to the spread of the disease. Younger deer like 1.5 year old bucks when protected from harvest will migrate and spread out to establish new core areas. This spread and the widespread use of feeders, etc. that concentrate deer together frequently, is apparently potentially a cause of the spread. Transmission is suggested to be via bodily fluid exchange, saliva etc. With the much lower deer density in Ontario, you have some insulation from the spread I think but again this is not well understood.

There is another disease that has really hammered the deer down here in some areas that I want to make sure isnt confused with CWD. There is a disease caused by a type of midge that strikes deer (and sheep) during drought and heatwaves that is really nasty. Deer waste away to nothing on their feet and get an incurable thirst, salivate like they have rabies etc. You find them dead near water sources. Locals call it blue tongue but the disease is actually EHD and its well understood, not transmittable to people etc. Dont confuse the two afflictions. EHD breakouts happen and when they do wow do they hammer the herd. Last serious one here was 2012.

My nickel - or dollar!

H
 
this isn't fake news...
most big game hunters know there are risks of eating game meats...the most common are the different types of parasites/worms...I know of just one case where an hungarian hunting family of 4 ate fresh quebec caribou meat...the one daughter I personally know was sick for almost a year...UWO LHSC doctors finally diagnosed her liver was badly infected with living parasites linked back to the caribou meat...the meat she ate was not fully cooked...I remember visiting her in the hospital after her liver removal surgery...she indured terrible pain and suffering...she was so sick and extremely tired leading up to her surgery...thankfully the doctors got it right...and yes thankfully she is alive today..

from bears to moose to rabbits there can be parasites in these game meats...
thats why hunters are encouraged to freeze your meats and fully cook your meats to help prevent the risks...freezing for minimum 3 months helps...and then there is studys say it doesn't? well i do ...cooking to well done is a good idea...

I try to harvest healthy looking animals...we made a stalk once on a bull moose..he ended up being sick looking, skinny and stupid..probably had the brain worms...
 
USA Today started walking back some to the more insane aspects of the zombie deer reports. That said you are correct, this is a real condition, just not quite as described. Wow on the caribou meat. I also freeze for a number of months, especially bear meat, and crank my freezer as low as it will go.
 
happy to read @Elmerfudd your a bear hunter and you eat the bear meat...I really enjoy our ontario spring bear hunting..and the meat is very good..
I don't hunt over bait...i enjoy the spot n stalk/shoot approach...and have been selective on the bear i harvest...last spring hunting remote hearst to longlac area where the numbers are less but the size really makes up for it...very healthy population for sure..
I wanted to ask ya if you ever encountered fresh bear scat to have black beetles (insects)?..when i was hunting and scouting checking bear sign specifically bear scat.. some piles of fresh warm scat had full of live black beetles and some don't..it was a little concerning..this is the end of May and the bears are out of there dens feeding on the fresh green grass growing in the open areas along old logging roads..
Ya it makes me wonder a little?...I was meaning to call the local MNR in Gearldton and inquire about it..but haven't ...anyway I use a very good butcher in hearst that does a great job on butchering know how (cut/wrapped) the fine cuts of bear meat and then frozen for pickup on the way home ..he also hunts spring bear & moose and eats the bear meat...next time i will ask him about the beetles in the scat...
 
Mick - bear is our favorite game meat. Honest! I really can’t tell it from beef. Only hunt in spring in northern Quebec near Alma. It’s so thick up there that spot and stalk just won’t work. I see plenty crossing the logging roads while driving but shooting one that way wouldn’t be fair notwithstanding the illegality as well. Very selective, the last 3 I killed over bait were 395-400 class on the scale. The bear density is crazy so patience pays dividends. Pike and speck fishing round out the fun.

I have never seen what you describe re the bugs/scat and I’d be curious what MNR biologists say. Suspect the beetles are scavenging. Only obvious parasite I’ve ever seen in a bear was tapeworm in the body cavity of a bear I shot here in WV in the fall season that was becoming a nuisance around my house.

Starting to see bears frequently during deer season above Orillia where we hunt. Wish they would change the regs a bit as though I’m Cdn (from Hamilton) I can’t hunt those bears without an outfitter. There really are too many up there and coupled with the protections the wolves and coyotes have in the QE wild lands the fawns take a beating I expect.
 
Hi guys !

The CWD post is getting sidetracked.... no offence. BTW... I love bear meat too ! Gladly gift you some thing …. ? LoL ! You like venison ? LoL !

I feed my dog the Dick Van Pattens Natural Balance LID kibble "Venison & Sweet Potatoe " mix. I recently found out that it is in short supply because of CWD in the meat that they use.

My grrrrrrrrl is nutz enough the last thing she needs is some kind of mad cows disease.
 
There is real evidence that other animals can contract and carry CWD. I would definitely avoid any pet food with venison from unknown sources. Yeah we kinda went off in another direction....LOL
 
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