CWD in MN

[Mayfly]

crazy talk:
 You can't blame a fish farm for bighead carp infestations
 You can't blame eurasion milfoil infestation on a fish aquarium petshop
 You can't blame buckthorn invasion on a garden nursery
 

Yes indeed... but 2+2 did equal 4 last time I checked. CWD in Illinois and WI were both linked back to these types of farms as well. But then again, I think we will prevail 

[Auggie]

      MNO I am not saying that at all. It could have come from that facility. But it also could have come from a neighboring state via the transportation of hunter killed deer or elk. You see full carcass animals in vehicles coming from the west quite often. Or it could have come from an infected animal that crossed the border from WI. Nobody has any idea how it affects an animal in its early stages. When moose get brain worm they travel long distances out of their core range. What is to say deer and elk don't do the same when they are infected with CWD. My point is that blaming farmed cervids for the spread is not going to make the problem disappear. If you are going to try and take somebodies way of making a living away from them, you better have some solid evidence. The TB out break in Northern MN in all likelihood was transported here by infected cattle. But we don't see a big outcry for stopping cattle farming. Raising deer and elk is no different than raising cattle. There are rules and regulations in place in the cervid industry right now to help stop the spread of disease. Not only CWD but a host of others.

[Mayfly]

The TB out break in Northern MN in all likelihood was transported here by infected cattle. But we don't see a big outcry for stopping cattle farming. Raising deer and elk is no different than raising cattle. There are rules and regulations in place in the cervid industry right now to help stop the spread of disease. Not only CWD but a host of others.

Well, like the TB deal its obvious where it comes from. I just wonder what if anything can be done. Then again... Just like any virus/disease there really is no way to stop it so it will prevail. Life will go on. I don't see this as a threat to the state but I feel bad for the area that this was found.

[deadeye]

Auggie,
Yes, the cattle farmers were blamed for the TB out break.  Then steps were taken to eradicate the it and prevent it's reintroduction.  The same plan should be used for CWD.  I didn't see anyone suggest a ban on cervid farming (other than your statement "If you are going to try and take somebodies way of making a living away from them") so that's probably not a good argument here.  (I suspose one could reason that by blaming them it indicates they should be banned).
I do agree with your statement "There are rules and regulations in place in the cervid industry right now to help stop the spread of disease. Not only CWD but a host of others."  Maybe we need to take another look at these laws to see if there is something that can help the situation.
I'm glad there are couple of you guys standing up for the cervid farmers.  That way we all get both sides of the story. 
Thanks for all your in put Auggie, I don't want to put anyone on a "bad" or "good" side of this issue.  As stated befor, we are all sportsman and typically want what we feel is best for the wildlife we persue.

[Auggie]

      Ken, you are comparing two completely different things. Invasive exotic species to a disease. While an alternative farming practice may be to blame for the introduction of said species, they have been spread by us, the sportsmen and women. With CWD there is no evidence to support it started with cervid farming. Nobody will prevail. It is a lose lose situation. All of the other industries mentioned are thriving today and life has went on.
     Deadeye, that is exactly my reasoning. Every time the subject of CWD comes up the finger is pointed at the cervid farmers. Then the uproar to shut them down follows closely. If not stated here, it is implied and in the thought process of several of those that oppose the industry. I guarantee it will come up, if not here the media will get it fired back up everywhere else. The cattle farmers were blamed along with the cervid industry for the TB outbreak. But you didn't here an outcry to shut cattle farming down. That is all I am saying.
      I am not sure what other regulations we can impose on the industry. It is pretty fool proof as it stands, but there may be some room for improvement. Between the testing and disease status system in place, tagging and transportation records and regulation, inventory records that need to be vet verified, and current inspections by the MN BOAH, along with fees paid by the growers to fund some of this it is very well covered. That is unless a live testing procedure can be developed. I might add that some feel this (live testing for CWD)is not to far off. I can't imagine any of the growers want to see it spread either. It basically makes your herd unable to be sold or moved. And remember many of the growers are avid sportsman as well. When I see some more information from the BOAH I will gladly pass it on to all of you. I am sure we as growers will be receiving more information shortly. I see the opposite side of the fence, and I respect the fact that others may want to form an opinion. It just seems as though that opinion is formed by many without all the information to support it logically.
     I also can't see the reason behind the pointless slaughter of the wild herd in that area to find only a small percentage of animals are even infected by a disease we can't control anyway. Even if we killed every single deer in that area, which I might add is impossible, it could still be transmitted to other animals that move into the area. That is based on what we think we know about the transmission of the disease. Why throw millions at something we have no control over. It may not have been decided yet, but you can bet it is on the way. Sharp shooters and testing. Millions spent. The farmed herds in that area are doomed already. If they are not forced to slaughter they will anyway because they will not be able to move the animals from their farms. I too feel bad about it being found in MN. Particularly bad for that area. But it was just a matter of time before a positive was found. Everybody knew it. As I stated earlier, nobody wins in this lose lose situation.

[Mayfly]

http://www.twincities.com/outdoors/ci_17233160

Lawmaker wants review of elk, deer farm rules
By Chris Niskanen
cniskanen@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 01/29/2011 07:50:23 PM CST

A prominent Minnesota legislator wants a review of rules governing elk and deer farms after chronic wasting disease recently was discovered in a wild deer in southeast Minnesota.

Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, chairs the House Environment, Energy, Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. He said last week he wants his committee to review state regulations for "farmed cervidae," which refers to deer and elk ranches.

"We're going to have a discussion of the role farm cervidae is having in the current situation and the reality that this deer probably got infected by the farmed cervidae that was nearby," McNamara said.

The wild deer that tested positive for CWD was shot by a hunter near Pine Island. The location is three miles from an elk farm where four domesticated elk tested positive for the fatal disease in 2009. That elk herd was destroyed.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials said it is impossible to determine where and how the wild deer might have contracted the disease. The nearest population of CWD-infected wild deer is 150 miles away in Wisconsin.

But the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has been critical of state oversight of farmed deer and elk herds, saying fencing regulations are lax, and escaped animals often aren't reported.

State law requires elk and deer producers to have 8-foot fences, but McNamara said he wants to know why producers are not required to have double fences.

"We're going to have a discussion of that," he said.

He also said he doesn't agree that the DNR's management of CWD, including culling herds for additional testing, is paid for by revenue generated by deer license sales.

"I don't know if it's fair that deer hunters should pay the whole bill here," he said.

McNamara said hearings on the CWD issue will be held in the next two to three weeks while the DNR collects information on the problem. He said deer hunters, DNR experts, Pine Island-area landowners and deer and elk farmers will be invited to testify.

"We have to take this problem very seriously," McNamara said. "Not just for deer hunters, but everyone who watches them and photographs them. It's serious stuff."

[Go Big Red!]

Check out my post on the "Big Game" forum page regarding the MN DNR's first step in controlling the spread of CWD. 

I say we have a MNO road trip and help out with the thinning cause.

[deadeye]

I'm in. We can all meet at Auggies and then head over.  Just kidding Auggie.  Looks like you were right, they do blame the farmers. 

"Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, chairs the House Environment, Energy, Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. He said last week he wants his committee to review state regulations for "farmed cervidae," which refers to deer and elk ranches.

"We're going to have a discussion of the role farm cervidae is having in the current situation and the reality that this deer probably got infected by the farmed cervidae that was nearby," McNamara said."

[nontypicalhunter]

I'm in. We can all meet at Auggies and then head over.  Just kidding Auggie.  Looks like you were right, they do blame the farmers. 

"Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, chairs the House Environment, Energy, Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. He said last week he wants his committee to review state regulations for "farmed cervidae," which refers to deer and elk ranches.

"We're going to have a discussion of the role farm cervidae is having in the current situation and the reality that this deer probably got infected by the farmed cervidae that was nearby," McNamara said."

Exactly what SHOULD NOT happen!

[Auggie]

Here we go again.
Deadeye, I didn't see the post but if it involves shooting some deer you are welcome to meet here and I will drive the rest of the way. At least they will not be taken by contracted sharpshooters. While I think 900 samples are a waste of time I will be glad to put some more backstraps in my freezer.