MI Officials stand behind baiting ban

9/17/2008, 6:32 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan wildlife officials Wednesday stood behind their decision to ban deer baiting in the Lower Peninsula despite pressure from a few lawmakers.

The Department of Natural Resources has banned baiting since late last month, when a deer was found with chronic wasting disease in a private Kent County facility. There's no evidence the disease has spread to free-ranging deer.

Three Democratic state lawmakers have sponsored resolutions asking the Department of Natural Resources to lift the ban.

The DNR said in a statement the ban will help preserve a healthy deer herd. Disease can be spread through deer saliva and other secretions. The DNR said congregating deer at bait sites increases the chances of spreading disease.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Agriculture announced a procedure for releasing privately owned cervid ranches and farms from a quarantine that prevents them from moving animals elsewhere. Cervids are hooved animals such as deer and elk.

The department said it would systematically review and release facilities that neither sent deer to the Kent County facility or received deer from it.

Those that have participated in the state's chronic wasting disease certification program for at least five years, and in the bovine tuberculosis accreditation program, will be first to be considered for release.

Operators should consider their facilities still under quarantine until receiving official release notification, said Dr. Steven Halstead, the state veterinarian.

Editorial: Aggressive measures to prevent spread of deer disease are warranted

by The Grand Rapids Press Editorial Board
Tuesday September 09, 2008, 9:00 AM

WHY IT MATTERS
Keeping Michigan's deer herd healthy benefits the economy and honors the state's hunting heritage.

Deer hunting is big business in Michigan as well as a part of the state's hunting heritage. The recent discovery here of a deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD) rightly set off alarms. State officials responded swiftly, aggressively and appropriately by imposing restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the contagious and fatal neurological disease.

A three-year-old whitetail deer culled from a private Kent County deer farm tested positive for CWD two weeks ago. Infected animals display abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and a progressive weight loss until they die. So far, the Kent County case is the first and only one in Michigan. More than 50 other deer taken from that Kent farm were disease-free. That's certainly good news. But that one positive case should prompt an abundance of caution during the upcoming deer-hunting season. State officials, deer-breeders and hunters must all be extra vigilant about signs of CWD -- on private deer farms and in the wild.

A healthy deer herd is important to Michigan's financial health. Deer hunting annually has a $500 million impact on the state's economy, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
The diseased deer triggered the state's CWD surveillance and response plan crafted six years ago by the DNR and the Department of Agriculture. It was designed to kick in if CWD was found within 50 miles of Michigan's border. The policy calls for the immediate end to baiting and feeding of deer within the entire peninsula in which the infected animal was detected -- in this case, the Lower Peninsula. Deer baiting, which encourages the animals to congregate, is believed to be one of the major ways CWD is spread. Putting out piles of fruit, or vegetables, or even salt licks is no longer allowed.

Carcass handling restrictions are also mandated in CWD "hot zones." That means hunters who kill deer in Algoma, Alpine, Cannon, Courtland, Nelson, Plainfield, Solon, Sparta and Tyrone townships must bring their kills to DNR check stations for CWD testing. It should also mean that state officials make sure these check stations are plentiful and convenient for hunters to access. Hunters already unhappy with the restrictions being imposed, shouldn't be given any reason not to comply.

The DNR must also be aggressive in enforcing the restrictions and prosecuting those who blow them off. The consequences of lax enforcement or spotty adherence could endanger the state's deer herd. CWD is contagious and always fatal. When the disease turned up in Wisconsin in 2002, it cost millions of dollars for testing and eradication efforts as well as the lives of thousands of deer.

Michigan's restrictions will likely be in place for the duration of the 2008 hunting season. DNR and Department of Agriculture officials wisely are planning meetings around the state to answer questions pertaining to CWD and the state's response to it.

The first meeting today in Grand Rapids should make clear that when it comes to combating CWD, it's better to be safe than sorry. The precautions the state has taken do not seem unreasonable.

E-mail a letter to the editor for publication online and in print: pulse@grpress.com

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/opinion/index.ssf/2008/09/editorial_aggressive_measures.html

Chronic wasting disease puts future of deer hunting at stake

News from West Walker Sportsman's Club - Public Informational Meeting about CWD.

The Grand Rapids Press
Tuesday September 09, 2008 11:11 PM
By Ben Beversluis

Nothing less than the presevation of the Michigan Deer herd and hunting way of life is at stake in the fight to control chronic wasting disease, state officials told an area crowd Tuesday Night.

Because so much is unknown about the disease that damages the brains of deer and ultimately kills them, the state is erring on the side of caution, Department of Natural Resources wildlife veterinarian Steve Schmitt told about 200 people at the West Walker Sportsman's Club.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2008/09/chronic_wasting_disease_puts_f.html

A farmer's perspective on CWD

A farmer's perspective on chronic wasting disease
Posted by Tom and Deb Nevins Reader Viewpoint September 11, 2008 08:27AM
Categories: Letters & Viewpoints
Tom and Deb Nevins operate Valley Elk Farms in Plainwell. They wrote this Viewpoint essay in response to news coverage of chronic wasting disease in deer.

In recent days there has been a great deal of news regarding the chronic wasting disease found in a whitetail deer here in Michigan. All of it so far has been negative to say the least, regarding those of us who are farming these animals. Farmers who raise these animals see this matter quite differently and feel our opinions and position should be heard and considered along with what has been published so far, which is designed or tending to discredit our businesses.
According to all media published since the discovery of CWD in a single captive whitetail deer in Michigan, all blame for its presence has been placed squarely on the Cervidae (family name for deer, moose, elk and caribou) farmers. In an article published in the Grand Rapids Press, the owner of the farm with the sick deer said, "I'm hoping to find out like everyone else, it's still a very emotional situation. We did everything by the book."

He ran a clean operation, bottle feeding and hand raising his babies for the last four years, all the while following all the state protocol. The death of all 52 of his deer has been very difficult and he is still reluctant to talk about it.

That being said, we have to question other possible sources of where the CWD came from because the doe that had the disease was born on the farm where it was discovered and the only animal to test positive from that herd. One theory could be that CWD was already in the wild deer and the wild deer are infecting the captive deer, not domestic deer and elk passing it into the wild, which thus far has been the only explanation.

CWD may have arrived by some other means we may not be aware of, other than through a Cervidae farmer. For example, is it possible that CWD is transported by birds or mammals that eat carrion? Did a turkey buzzard, vulture, crow or coyote eat an infected animal from another state and bring the disease here? Several diseases are transported and transmitted that way so we would think it could be a possible alternative. Another possible source of movement for CWD would be the deer themselves, simply walking across the border from other states or Canada. Though the borders are closed, it's certainly possible for deer to travel across them carrying the disease and no one would ever know.

If either of those theories is true, then it could also be said that rather than banishing deer and elk farmers, we should be praised for our efforts at testing and reporting sick animals. Because we are the ones doing most, if not all of the testing and are honest about reporting the results, it may just APPEAR that the disease is being spread by farmed Cervidae because we are the first to report a case. Then as the testing goes on, the disease is found in the wild where it may have been BEFORE it got to the captive farms, becoming the origination point of the disease. We are in theory helping rather than harming the environment by alerting the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Department of Agriculture of the disease so they can then begin to manage and monitor the wild deer and elk more closely.There has also been much speculation about the DNR and the department of agriculture not doing enough to regulate us and keep these diseases out of this state. Let us tell you about the regulations required of a Cervidae farmer. There is in place a CWD monitoring program that began in 2002 and we have been following the protocol, which has changed and evolved a great deal over the years. The program involves us having every animal that is slaughtered or dies tested for CWD and we have seven years of negative tests on the books. In 2002, the department of agriculture also implemented a ban on all imports of deer and elk into the state and that ban has been continued to date.

Currently, with the recent discovery of CWD in a deer in Kent County, we are under a mandatory lock down on our farms, which means we can't move any of our animals off our property. This happens to be the busiest time of year for us so it has turned into a true hardship. We have been required to extend the the height of our perimeter fences to 10 feet to ensure that no deer can jump in or our domestic animals jump out. This has turned out to be another huge financial burden on us but again, we are complying. We are also required to test for TB every two years and a veterinarian is hired to come to our farm, twice. The first time to administer the serum and three days later to read the results. Again, this is totally at the farmers expense to meet this regulation.

We inspect all perimeter fences once a week and must submit reports. We have been required to re-tag all of our animals with new electronic ear tags, along with the numbered dangle tags. Every year we are required to submit a report to the DNR listing the movement, birth or death of every animal on our farm. And just this past year, the cost of a permit to farm elk or deer has increased 600 percent and will have to be renewed every three years along with the TB tests! So to say the DNR and department of agriculture have not kept an eye on us is an understatement! Historically, farming is one of the oldest and most noble of family traditions. Our farm, in fact, is a centennial farm that has been in our family for more than 100 years. We have raised cattle, pigs, horses and just about all other types of farm animals at one time or another. In an effort to continue to farm, and to add to our love of wildlife, deer, elk and hunting in general, we decided to raise elk 19 years ago. The purpose was not necessarily to get rich, as many seem to think, but to be able to be around this noble animal and continue to farm -- having the best of both worlds in our view.

As with all animals that were once wild and then began to be raised for food and sport, our elk are now domesticated. Every elk we own was born and raised on this farm for the sole purpose of being eaten or sold to someone else, just like cattle and hogs. We have honed in the genetics of these animals for large antler growth and own one of the largest bull elks in the United States, winning every competition he's been in since the age of two. (He scored 550 this year for those of you interested.)

We breed here specifically for those big antlers and sell those animals to the numerous hunting lodges and preserves in Michigan. We beg to differ with those of you who think it is wrong for a person to spend their money to visit one of Michigan'’s beautiful lodges to hunt for deer or elk. Often, the folks who take advantage of these facilities do not have their own land to hunt on, their busy live’s may not permit the time required to hunt them in the wild, or they have been on many hunts in the wild and have come up empty handed, so they turn to the hunting preserves to get their prize elk or deer, where the animals on that preserve were raised solely for that purpose.

If you disagree with the passion many people have for hunting and taking trophies, that’'s a personal issue for you. What other people do with their free time and money for entertainment is their business, not something to be tampered with or changed because of a differing opinion! In truth, the way the animals are killed on a preserve is probably more humane than what happens to them at a slaughterhouse.

The preserves are generally no less that 1,000 acres -- many are much bigger -- so when an animal is released into one of these areas, they will return to a wild state of mind, so there is definitely a hunt. The hunters take a great deal of pride in a one-shot kill, be it with a gun or bow and arrow so there is no suffering. They then take THE ENTIRE ANIMAL to use in one way or another. Local taxidermists get the added business of mounting the heads and the local processors are given the carcass to process into steaks and other cuts of meat, not to mention all the other amenities they pay for when here. Hunters have every right to vacation where they choose and do what they wish and hunting on a preserve is but one of those options.
As for the meat, there is more demand than we can supply. It's lean, delicious, nutritious and without added hormones, antibiotics or steroids. Our elk are pasture fed and supplemented with hay and grain every day. It is a very healthy alternative to beef and pork and we raise our animals solely for this purpose. Just because they also live in the wild is no argument for banning our farming practice or causing us undo hardship and expenses.We encourage those of you who view the Cervidae farmers as greedy and irresponsible to consider the bigger picture. We care as much about the health of our animals as anyone and do not want CWD or any disease in the state of Michigan. Many Cervidae farmers are also avid hunters in the wild and would not do anything to harm the environment or hunting opportunities here in Michigan.

We are families, farmers and hard-working people who happen to enjoy raising an alternative type of livestock. We welcome anyone (and there are many) to our farm to view our elk and tour the facilities. We are good people doing what we love and know how to do, which is farm.
So before you pass judgment and accuse us of destroying or threatening the wild herds in Michigan, look at all the facts. Due to population increases all over the world and less natural habitat for wildlife, diseases will be in the picture. We farmers as well as the state and federal agencies will, and always have, done everything we can to eradicate these diseases.
We need to continue to be vigilant in our testing of both captive and wild Cervidae here in Michigan and across the country. Our time, money and resources need to be spent researching CWD, finding test procedures that produce results prior to the death of an animal, determine every possible way it can be transported and spread and work together to keep this and ALL diseases out of our beautiful state.

Michigan is home to about 600 private deer and elk facilities that hold roughly 26,000 captive deer and 2,850 captive elk. Those animals are worth about $60.4 million according to a survey done this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Banishing these facilities will not stop diseases from spreading but will run businesses and many fine people out of Michigan.

Tom and Deb Nevins operate Valley Elk Farms in Plainwell.

http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/09/a_farmers_perspective_on_chron.html

Editorial: Quarantine, baiting ban address separate issues

Traverse City Record-Eagle

Editorial published September 12, 2008 10:01 AM

It took the scare of CWD to make long overdue actions a reality.

Read the full article:
http://www.record-eagle.com/opinion/local_story_256100137.html

CWD Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWD?
CWD is a neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in deer and elk. The disease belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases. The disease attacks the brains of infected deer and elk and produces small lesions that result in death. While CWD is similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep, there is no known relationship between CWD and any other TSE of animals or people.
For more information on CWD please visit www.michigan.gov/chronicwastingdisease.

Where has CWD been found?
The disease also has been diagnosed in commercial game farms in Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, New York, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada and in an elk herd in Korea. In Michigan, the disease was confirmed on 8/25/2008 in a Kent County deer breeding facility.

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 it has recently been found in new areas of these states, as well as in wild deer and elk in western South Dakota, and wild deer in northern Illinois, south-central New Mexico, northeastern and central Utah, south-central and south-eastern Wisconsin, central New York, north-east West Virginia, Kansas and west and south-central Saskatchewan. Also, a CWD positive moose has recently been discovered in the endemic area of Colorado.

Where was the CWD deer in Michigan?
The deer was in a deer breeding facility in Kent County. The owner sent the culled deer to MDA for required testing. The deer was a three-year-old white-tailed doe.

Now that CWD has been found in Michigan, what is the DNR and Michigan Department of Agriculture doing?

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and DNR are following the steps outlined in the Michigan Surveillance and Response Plan for Chronic Wasting Disease, which was developed in 2002 to address this nationally emerging disease. Since the development of the plan, MDA and DNR have had a surveillance program in place to detect CWD in captive or wild cervids. In August 2008, CWD was discovered on a privately owned cervid facility in Michigan.
Confirmation of CWD in Michigan began the implementation of the response aspect of the plan.

As outlined in the plan, the following steps have or will occur:
• MDA has quarantined all privately-owned cervidae facilities, prohibiting the movement of all – dead or alive – privately owned deer, elk or moose, until more testing is done.
• The DNR is working with landowners to collect deer from the vicinity of the facility to assess whether CWD is present in free-ranging deer.
• A ban has been enacted to prevent all feeding and baiting of deer and elk in the Lower Peninsula in an effort to reduce the possible spread of CWD.
• Possession of any wild free-ranging deer is now illegal. Taking an unhealthy deer from the environment and attempting to rehabilitate it has the potential to increase the spread of CWD.
• A CWD surveillance zone has been established for the nine townships surrounding the privately owned facility.
• For the 2008 deer hunting season, all deer harvested within the CWD surveillance zone must be taken to one of the DNR deer check stations within the CWD surveillance zone.
• All deer harvested in this zone must be tested for CWD.
• For deer harvested in this CWD surveillance zone, only boned meat, cape and clean skull plates with antlers may be removed from this nine township area.
• DNR employees will collect the head of all deer as they are brought in.

Where is the CWD Surveillance Zone?
The new CWD surveillance zone includes the townships of Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield, and Cannon, which are all located in Kent County.

Does CWD pose a health risk to humans?
CWD has never been shown to cause illness in humans. For more than two decades CWD has been present in wild populations of mule deer and elk in Colorado. During this time, there has been no known occurrence of a human contracting any disease from eating CWD infected meat. However, public health officials recommend that people not consume meat from deer that test CWD-positive. Some simple precautions should be taken when field dressing deer in the CWD surveillance zone:
• Wear rubber gloves when field dressing your deer.
• Bone out the meat from your deer.
• Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.
• Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed.
• Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field dressing coupled with boning out of a carcass will essentially remove all of these parts.)
• Request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal.

Is the meat safe to eat?
While the agent that produces chronic wasting disease in deer and elk has not been positively identified, there is strong evidence to suggest that abnormally shaped proteins, called prions are responsible. Research completed to date indicate that the prions accumulate in certain parts of infected animals-the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils, and spleen. Based on these findings, hunters are recommended to not eat meat from animals known to be infected with CWD. Hunters in CWD areas are also advised to bone out their meat and to not consume those parts where prions likely accumulate.

How can CWD be treated and controlled in wildlife?
There is no treatment for CWD; it is fatal in all cases to the members of the deer family that it infects. CWD transmission can be controlled by limiting contact between infected and non-infected animals.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture are working to maintain the integrity of Michigan’s white-tailed deer and elk herd. Surveillance, cervid importation restrictions, and required CWD testing of suspect animals continue to be the key to CWD control.

Why should people outside of the CWD surveillance zones care about the disease?
A healthy white-tailed deer population in Michigan is important. Chronic wasting disease is a statewide issue for the following reasons:
• Chronic wasting disease can spread through the deer herd.
• All deer infected with CWD die from the disease.
• White-tailed deer are native to Michigan and it is important to preserve our native wildlife.
• Any regional threat to a healthy deer population is a statewide concern.
• A healthy deer herd is important for hunting traditions. Michigan has more than 725,000 deer hunters who have harvested an average of 450,000 deer annually during the past decade. Deer hunting contributes more than 10 million days of recreation every year.
• Deer hunting annually generates more than $500 million dollars impact to the state’s economy. A healthy deer herd is critical to the state’s economy.
• Without appropriate management within the current CWD surveillance zone, the disease may spread to other areas of the state.

How is CWD transmitted?
It is not fully understood how CWD is transmitted between deer. Data to date suggest that it may be transmitted both directly through animal to animal contact as well as indirectly through a contaminated environment. A recent study from Colorado State University, published in the journal Science, proved that CWD prions exist in the saliva of infected deer. Additionally, a recent study from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, suggests that the CWD prion can remain infectious for several years in certain types of soil.

Can CWD be transmitted to cattle?
To date, there has been no documented occurrence of cattle contracting CWD from free-ranging deer or elk. Further, in long-term studies where cattle have been housed in pens with CWD-infected deer and elk, transmission has not occurred. In studies where cattle had CWD-positive material injected directly into their brain, many of the cattle developed CWD. These experiments show that CWD can be transmitted to cattle, but through a very unlikely and extreme route of exposure. In similar experiments where cattle were fed brain material from CWD-infected deer and elk all animals have remained healthy. Since it is hypothesized that animals are infected with CWD by the oral route, this set of experiments may simulate a more natural route of exposure.

How can you tell if a deer has CWD?
Infected animals may not show any symptoms of the disease for a long period of time, even years. In the later stages of the disease, however, infected animals begin to lose bodily functions and display abnormal behavior such as staggering or standing with very poor posture. Animals may have an exaggerated wide posture, or may carry the head and ears lowered. Infected animals become very emaciated (thus wasting disease) and will appear in very poor body condition. Infected animals will also often stand near water and will consume large amounts of water. Drooling or excessive salivation may be apparent. Note that these symptoms may also be characteristic of diseases other than CWD.

What should I do if I see a deer that shows CWD symptoms?
You should accurately document the location of the animal and immediately and call the Rap Line (1-800-292-7800). Do not attempt to contact, disturb, kill, or remove the animal.
For more information about how Michigan is working to prevent CWD from infecting Michigan’s wild cervid populations and control CWD in deer and elk facilities, see the Emerging Diseases Web site and in particular the Michigan Surveillance and Response Plan for CWD of Free-ranging and Privately Owned/Captive Cervids Contingency Plan at www.michigan.gov/chronicwastingdisease.

Information Obtained from Michigan DNR Document 8/2008

CWD - Town Hall Meeting 9/9/2008 @ 6:30 pm

On Tuesday September 9th at 6:30 PM there will be a Town Hall Meeting at the West Walker Sportsman's Club located on Leonard Street in Grand Rapids.

The meeting is open to the public with officials from various state agencies.

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the question "Is There A Threat?"
-What is being done
-What are the health risks
-What Future Actions Need To Be Taken.


HHS Pro Staff