Well let's ban cattle trailers!

Forgive my ignorance but are yall talking about bringing deer into the state?

Illegal transport of live deer

I reckon if I shoot a deer next year it'll most likely be the last one I eat. Zombie Apocalypse on it's way.

I'll give my version of CWD. I studied it a LOT back 30 years ago when a lot of the info/publications were still available. Seems like a LOT of that info has been sanitized or lost.

CWD owes its existance to the state of Co, from research done at the Foothills Wildlife Research Station at Ft Collins. In the mid 60's they studied mule deer in a pen that had previousely held Scrappie infected sheep. Scrappie is a TSE disease like Mad Cow/ Jk/Kuru/CWD. The researchers released deer from that enclosure back into the wild, mostly north of Ft Collins...an area that is now the epicenter of the disease in the wild. They also traded/sold/shipped deer to several other research places, to private individuals, and a zoo in Alberta Canada. They moved em by truck and trailer.

The disease infected local mule deer, then elk, then whitetail deer. 90+5 of the movement of CWD across the US can be directly attributed to use of a truck and trailer. In the early years one could backtrace ALL INSTANCES of CWD in the US straight back to Ft Collins. It ain't a naturally occurring disease in the US. Colorado and some biologists would have you believe otherwise, but it simply dosen't pass the bs smell test.

There is more unknown about CWD than thee is known. What is known is that once in the soil it is there. Ft Collins researchers cloroxed and BURNED the soil in he pens and newly introduced deer came down with the disease. It can also be transmitted by deer to deer contact. Little else is actually PROVEN to be a way of transmission, but there has not been a lot of money for research. If it effected cattle worse than it does there would be an uproar from the cattle industry for more research and restrictions in deer movement.

If it shows up anywhere near where I hunt I will stop eating venison immediately.

ya'll old guys do remember all the scientists and tobacco sellers telling us cigarettes wouldn't harm you.

I thought the same thing by cattle going state to state, have a good friend that transport cattle and some times he stays over night here I told him dont bring that stuff here. Thats when he looked at me like a light went off. We talked about that for hours.. folks need to start buying heritage beef and pork. From local producers and put the money back in the area and it will stop alot af trash getting in our animals. But that might cost more than Wal-Mart so it will never happen...

corn

You missed his point. Cattle do not spread it. People putting deer in the back of cattle trailers and transporting them illegally across state lines for "breeding" exacerbate the spread.

If it can be transmitted by deer to deer contact then no regulation/law will stop it once its established. I've watched deer groom each other, fight and play too so doing away with a food source wouldn't accomplish anything

For anyone that is in their vehicle a lot and likes to listen to podcasts - listen to Steven Rinella's "the MeatEater podcast" episode 70.

It will make you more educated about CWD and what we're up against---which is a lot!

Meat Eater Podcast Episode 70 - CWD

From what I can tell there is no stopping the spread of it. The question is how do we deal with it? We, in Alabama do not want psycho panic legislation that restricts our already obnoxiously restricted freedoms. And... we still want to go hunting with our children, family, and friends without having to do some rigamarole on a Sunday morning where we have to turn in a deer head to an underpaid and overworked gamewarden. Let's figure this thing out before it officially gets here.

Someone will get rich if they come up with a way to test a fresh kill on the spot for CWD. I mean who wouldn't use it?

I once asked the question of "What is Alabama doing to actively prevent the transmission of CWD into the state", and was met with the response of "It's illegal to bring deer in". Yeah, that will stop them. Truth be told, there is no telling how many deer are illegally brought into the state each year from these affected areas because "They have superior genetics". As stated, I believe the most important vector in this disease is a trailer. If what we know about the disease is true, yeah it probably would have eventually gotten here anyway.

Is this the first confirmed case east of the Mississippi river and south of the Ohio?

We are already passed the point of figuring out how it is transmitted, we aint gonna stop it. The real question is how are we going to deal with it?

If theres a way to deal with it then the answer will be found in the states where it has been a problem or would it?

i have worked on equipment "inside the high fence in the little pen" in several locations in the state. I have always wondered how it was legal for the pen to have Wisconsin, and Michigan breeder bucks and does. How about Red Stag, Sika, and Buffalo?

This was in the 2004 to 2007 time frame. Bham fred how was it legal to bring them in? I thought it must have been a loophole in the law because several of them had signs on the gate stating they were USDA breeding facilities to get them in to Alabama.

Probably wasn't. I know nothing about "USDA breeding facilities" but what I think they mean is that it is a requirement for them to get a State premise license it has to be inspected by a USDA accredited veterinarian.

I don't remember when it became illegal to import deer, but it was before 1992.

One can still import semen to breed native deer with. There have been a LOT of northern deer brought into this state since 1992.

Does anyone remember where the deer came that were brought into Mulberry wma when it first opened? I remember the article but cant remember about the deer origins but do remember they were brought in and released there