Post by: Boss .300 winmag on March 20, 2015, 03:25:01 PM
During a ten year period in Wisconsin CWD (closely related to Mad Cow Disease) the incidence of CWD in deer increased from 1/2% to 5%. And that was after the state spent millions killing deer in an attempt to reduce the disease. These types of diseases, prion diseases, are not well understood. There is some evidence that the disease may survive for many years in the soil after contamination, and that fires are not known to eliminate it. This epidemic is rapidly spreading and is the result of wildlife management based upon maximizing species for sport hunting and the elimination of predators.
http://wyomingwildlifeadvocates.org/ (http://wyomingwildlifeadvocates.org/)
tyu
Wyoming Wildlife Advocates
A new analysis and map created by Wyoming Wildlife Advocates indicates that the always-fatal Chronic Wasting Disease that infects deer, elk and moose has spread perilously close to Yellowstone National Park.
The map, based on data from Wyoming Game and Fish Department and several scientific sources, clearly shows the expansion of the disease during the last 14 years. During that period CWD has advanced across the state at an average of 1.8 million acres per year.
The map indicates the presence of CWD in WGFD designated hunt areas. Once an infected animal is detected in any of the state’s hunt areas, that area becomes part of the endemic zone, which now overlaps portions of 21 of Wyoming’s 23 counties.
The map also shows the proximity of the endemic zone to Yellowstone National Park and the state-operated elk feedgrounds. In 2014, an infected deer was found in a hunt area only 32 miles from the southeast corner of Yellowstone. Infected animals recently have been found in hunt areas as close as 35 miles from a state elk feedground southeast of Pinedale.
CWD is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease affecting mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose and elk. The disease is infectious between and among deer, elk and moose. It is similar to Mad Cow Disease and has no known cure. It is capable of significantly reducing deer and elk herds.
Biologists fear that once the disease reaches any of the state’s 22 elk feedgrounds or the National Elk Refuge, it could spread rapidly with potentially devastating results.
"If CWD became established in Western Wyoming. . . . the potential effect would be greater . . . where large numbers of animals are concentrated on feedgrounds,” the Bridger-Teton National Forest recently stated. Even while allowing winter elk feeding on Forest Service lands they admit that, “the loss would be irretrievable because, in addition to always being fatal to infected animals, chronic wasting disease contaminates the environment for long periods of time."
Conservationists have long urged the agencies to phase out artificial winter feeding, including on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole. However, the refuge is concentrating and feeding 8,390 elk this winter (2014-2015) in defiance of the advancing lethal threat of CWD.
The 2007 NER and Grand Teton National Park 15-year plan to manage bison and elk on the refuge calls for reducing the number of elk fed to 5,000 and bison to 500. Now eight years into the plan, the agencies have actually increased the number of animals fed, according to NER and WGFD numbers.
Experts counsel that spreading out the deer and elk herds naturally, and allowing predators to attend the game herds and cull the sick animals, is the best path forward to manage for healthy free ranging wildlife.
"Predation by large carnivores can effectively, naturally, and cheaply control the spread of disease among prey species,” according to David Mattson, a former research scientist with the US Geological Survey.
“Mountain lions are known to selectively kill mule deer and elk infected with CWD. Grizzly bears and wolves likely do the same,” Mattson said.
WWA urges quick action to address the looming CWD issue.
“If we want to minimize the effect of CWD on the Greater Yellowstone herds, the time to act is now,” WWA Executive Director Kent Nelson said. “Failure to do so risks very real damage not only to wildlife but also to the tourism- and wildlife-dependent economies of the area”
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Posts: 1
Post by: bigfoot13 on March 20, 2015, 03:42:12 PM
Thanks.
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on March 20, 2015, 03:45:23 PM
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease of deer and elk that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. It is characterized by loss of body condition, behavioral abnormalities and death. CWD is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), and is similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep.
Infectious agents of CWD are neither bacteria nor viruses, but are hypothesized to be prions. Prions are infectious proteins without associated nucleic acids.
Although CWD is a contagious fatal disease among deer and elk, research suggests that humans, cattle and other domestic livestock are resistant to natural transmission. While the possibility of human infection remains a concern, it is important to note there have been no verified cases of humans contracting CWD.
CWD can reduce the growth and size of wild deer and elk populations in areas where the prevalence is high, and is of increasing concern for wildlife managers across North America. The disease was long thought to be limited in the wild to a relatively small endemic area in northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming and southwestern Nebraska, but has recently been found in several new areas across the North American continent. The disease also has been diagnosed in commercial game farms in several states and provinces.
Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions and Map for an up to date summary of CWD distribution.
Click these links for more information
CWD Videos
FAQ
Overview
CWD Timeline
Map
Magazine Articles
© Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance
Web site development by Pyron Technologies, Inc.
Post by: Curly on March 20, 2015, 03:47:53 PM
Post by: pianoman9701 on March 20, 2015, 04:04:12 PM
Post by: bigfoot13 on March 20, 2015, 04:12:44 PM
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on March 20, 2015, 04:40:24 PM
http://wyomingwildlifeadvocates.org/ (http://wyomingwildlifeadvocates.org/)
Post by: bigfoot13 on March 20, 2015, 04:48:58 PM
"Click these links for more information
CWD Videos
FAQ
Overview
CWD Timeline
Map
Magazine Articles
© Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance
Web site development by Pyron Technologies, Inc."
Post by: lokidog on March 20, 2015, 06:04:37 PM
Post by: dreamunelk on March 20, 2015, 06:08:45 PM
Post by: 4fletch on March 22, 2015, 02:14:37 PM
Don't think they aren't considering that for controlling hoof disease.they could
Post by: Bob33 on March 22, 2015, 02:21:50 PM
Great. Now they are going to use the excuse that wolves and grizzlies target elk with cwd so they will use that to try to allow more predators. >:(Now?
That's been around for more than 10 years.
www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/news.detail/ID/34b9f5502d2485d8db29e78d4baeb68b (http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/news.detail/ID/34b9f5502d2485d8db29e78d4baeb68b)
Date: December 22, 2003
Source: Denver Post
Contacts:
Theo Stein
tstein@denverpost.com
Denver Post Environment Writer
The spread of chronic wasting disease toward Yellowstone's famed game herds alarms wildlife lovers, but two top researchers think biologists will discover a powerful ally in an old frontier villain.
The wolf.