Chronic Wasting Disease and New York State Deer
By Wally John
April 6, 2005
The New York State Conservation Council provides this information to sportsmen and women as a public report to our members about the recent out break of chronic wasting disease. The information will be updated as events warrant.
Chronic wasting disease or CWD has been confirmed in two white-tailed deer at two different locations in the area of Rome, NY in Oneida County. The first week of April is a tragic week for all hunters and wildlife as New York is the first east coast state to have confirmed cases of CWD in farmed deer. It is possible that other deer at 6 other herds and herds at different locations around the state will also test positive for CWD as it is also likely that wild white-tailed deer in Oneida may test positive. The ongoing investigation by the Departments of Environmental Conservation and Agriculture and Markets must have the full support of our members if it is to be successful. It is important to attend any public meetings held about CWD. All dead deer should be reported to the nearest DEC regional office.
CWD is always fatal to infected animals of the deer family that include white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, red deer , and possibly moose. The disease is transmitted from animal to animal and from one deer species to another. Symptoms include weight loss, stumbling, atypical behavior, excessive thirst, and slobbering. The deer that tested positive did not exhibit these sign of CWD, even though the first deer was six years old and the second deer was over two years old.
There are many unknown aspects about CWD despite twenty years of scientific study in the western states of Colorado and Wyoming where the disease was first identified. The means of transmission from deer to deer is suspected to occur by close contact of animal to animal, which could include mucus, dung, or other body fluids. The close contact factor is the reason why the DEC instituted a ban on the artificial feeding of deer several years ago when CWD was confirmed in Wisconsin white-tailed deer.
To control the possible spread of CWD and to test for the presence in the areas around the deer farms that had positive deer, it will be necessary to kill about 500 wild deer over the next few weeks. The Conservation Council urges all landowners to cooperate with this hunt.
The NYS Conservation Council also urges the State to lock down all deer farms, hunting preserves, and other facilities that possess captive deer to prevent the further movement of live animals within the state, into the state or out of the state for the indefinite future. The State should not cave in to the economic interests of individual deer owners or their special interest organizations. Animals that are slaughtered to be sold for food should be quarantined until a negative test result is released.
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