Published -- 10/23/02
Written by Frank Carbone Jr.

Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and elk continues to be a concern in ten western and mid-western states and two Canadian Provinces that have been affected. Other states, including NYS, are taking precautions to prevent the disease from affecting apparently healthy deer herds. CWD is caused by a “wild protein” that causes spongy holes to develop in the brain of deer and elk. The animal then stops eating and eventually dies.

“Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease found in deer and elk. CWD belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases. The disease is progressive and always fatal. There is no treatment for the disease. At this time, no human link has been found to CWD. It is not known exactly how CWD is spread; the origin of the disease, or the extent or prevalence of CWD in wild deer and elk across the country.”

CWD is similar to Mad-cow Disease that was found several years ago in Europe and apparently is under control after many cows and sheep were destroyed and incinerated to prevent the spread of the disease into healthy cattle and humans. Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease is another prion type disease that affects the brain of humans. Several human deaths in Montana were suspected to be caused by a prion type disease. If a deer or elk is suspected of having the disease the entire carcass must be incinerated to 1600 degrees in order to destroy the prion.

Some of the states are offering programs to test deer or elk taken by hunters. But this takes time and money. Some hunters in certain affected states are reluctant to hunt deer and elk this season and still some are taking deer and elk and don’t seem to be worried about CWD.

In some cases meat processing facilities are reluctant to process deer and elk carcasses from hunters. They feel that it may be necessary to use a separate facility to process deer and elk. This can be cost prohibitive to small businesses.

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There appears to be noticeable increases in transmissable diseases in humans and wildlife e.g., West Nile Virus, Lyme and tick related diseases and now CWD. I recently read a report that the United States had given Iraq West Nile Virus cultures about 20 years ago. We can only hope that our public servants in county, state and federal government are doing their jobs and protecting the health and safety of all Americans.
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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) recently issued a temporary regulation to prevent the introduction of chronic wasting disease (CWD) into NYS. This includes a continuing ban on the import of certain species of deer and elk. This is the third temporary regulation issued by the DEC to protect the health and welfare of NYS’s white-tailed deer herd.

The new regulation clarifies the prohibition of feeding wild white-tailed deer in NYS. Practices that can help sustain deer during winter months without posing a disease risk associated with the feeding of wild deer will be exempt under the regulation. This includes habitat management, the provision of wildlife food plots and the cutting of browse to feed wild deer.

The latest DEC press release stated that "Although there are no known cases of CWD in NYS, the disease remains a concern and we are continuing to take action to prevent its introduction into the State,"

DEC Commissioner Erin M. Crotty stated, "We strongly urge hunters and anyone who handles deer to review and follow this new regulation to ensure that our State's deer herd remains healthy."

Chronic wasting disease has been diagnosed in captive elk and deer herds or wild and free ranging herds in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan or Alberta.

The new regulation, which is part of the DEC's comprehensive disease management effort also includes:

- a ban on the importation of the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils or spleen from wild deer or elk taken in states or Canadian provinces where chronic wasting disease has been found. This ban also applies to captive or captive-bred deer or elk from anywhere outside New York.

- specific procedures for handling the carcasses and parts from wild deer or elk taken in states or Canadian provinces where chronic wasting disease has been found. This includes boning all meat, keeping meat from individual animals separate, and labeling all parts before they can be imported. The procedures also apply to carcasses and parts
from captive or captive-bred deer or elk from anywhere outside New York. An exemption allows travelers passing through New York to transport deer and elk carcasses, provided no parts are disposed of or remain in
New York State.

- a ban on the liberation or release to the wild of any captive or captive-bred deer or elk. An individual also is required to have a permit or license from DEC to liberate or release to the wild any white-tailed deer.

- a prohibition on the feeding of captive or wild deer or elk with any material that contains protein derived from mammalian tissues.

The new regulation contains specific information on exactly what activities are not considered to be feeding deer, the type information that must appear on the labels required for importing parts of deer or elk, and which parts may be imported with proper labeling. Hunters can import packaged boned-out meat, hides, capes, cleaned skull plates,
antlers, and finished taxidermy mounts. The full text of the new regulation can be found on DEC's website at:
"http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/regs/part189.htm"

Chronic wasting disease continues to be a significant problem in deer and elk in western states and has been detected in wild, white-tailed deer as far east as Wisconsin. In those states that now have CWD, an enormous amount of time and effort is being expended to either eradicate the disease or confine the disease to a limited area. However, these approaches have not yet proven successful. As a result, the DEC is focusing its disease management efforts on measures to prevent CWD from being introduced into the State.

In July, 2002, the DEC began sampling wild white-tailed deer to determine if chronic wasting disease is present in New York's deer herd. The analysis of all the samples collected will be completed soon. To date, chronic wasting disease has not been found in New York. The results of DEC's sampling program for CWD can be found at:
"http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/deer/cwd.html"

The DEC is collaborating with the State Departments of Agriculture and Markets and Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services and the
USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, and the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University to develop and implement a comprehensive Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan for New York. The goal of this plan is to prevent the disease from entering New York.
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With all that is happening in the Washington D.C. area with respect to the sniper killings, there are still some folks out there who feel that by restricting law-abiding folks from owning firearms then somehow the criminals will not get their hands on firearms. The really troubling part is that some of these same folks are public servants at different levels of government. In my opinion this can be very dangerous especially to those of us who feel that it is our civil right to keep and bear arms. If they don’t want to keep and bear arms that is their right but please don’t infringe upon my rights. We can’t be sure but in my opinion and a few others the sniper attacks in D.C. may be (a) foreign terrorist(s). Either way one looks at it -- it is terrorism. As for me we should all be prepared and on alert.

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There will be a meeting on Orange County’s evacuation plans scheduled by Orange County Legislators Tony Marino, Bonnie Kraham and Jeff Berkman. This will be the third of three meetings that have been held in different parts of Orange County. This particular informational meeting will be held on October 23rd, 7:00 PM at the Little Britain Grange in New Windsor on Route #207, just east of Drury Lane.

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If you’re planning to hunt or just getting out to enjoy the Fall woods remember to wear some fluorescent orange.