By Dr. Dave Samuel, Conservation Editor

WASTING DISEASE NOW IN THE EAST
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has now been found in New York, both in game farms and in the wild. As of this writing, it’s not known how the disease got there, and the issue of origin is rather complicated. It seems that for seven years the game ranch where CWD was first found took in orphaned fawns for rehabilitation. They housed the fawns in a garage (where taxidermy work was also done). While they kept some of the deer, they eventually sold others to game farms and even released some into the wild.

Three of the four positive deer found on the game farm were rehabilitated fawns. One of two deer found with CWD in the wild was also a fawn. The second farm where a CWD animal was found had obtained rehabbed fawns from the first farm.

This leads to all kinds of questions. Research shows that healthy deer can contract CWD just by being in an area where a CWD-positive deer spent a lot of time. Also, healthy deer can contract CWD by being around the carcass of a CWD-positive deer. Taxidermy work was done on animals killed in Saskatchewan, Colorado, and Wyoming, all places with CWD in the wild. So, did one of the fawns brought in from the wild have CWD? Or did the fawns get CWD from an adult deer already on the farm? Did the fawns get CWD from the hides or heads of taxidermy work being done? Did the wild population near the farm get CWD from a rehabbed fawn that was contaminated and released?

We may never know the answers to these questions. Regardless of the source, if more deer in the wild are found with CWD, then there is cause for concern. If no more CWD animals are found, then a disaster has been averted. Time will tell. Meanwhile, officials are working hard to solve this problem and to put rules and regulations in place that will prevent further spread of the disease. It will be interesting to see if other states in the East take steps to prevent the importation or spread of CWD. New York does not allow baiting, but other Eastern states do. Stopping baiting would be one major step in curtailing the spread of CWD, but don’t expect bowhunters to accept such bans without major battles. Sometimes we just don’t see the forest for the trees.

MAINE BEAR HUNTING STILL QUESTIONED
You’d have thought that when 389,455 Maine citizens voted-down restrictions on hound and bait hunting for bears last fall, the debate would have ended, at least for a while. Not so. In April, public hearings were held to discuss some of the five proposed bills to limit bear hunting. Some of the restrictions in these bills (stopping bear baiting, and eliminating the use of dogs to hunt) are identical to those that citizens recently voted to reject. The approach is quite simple. Citizens opposed to hunting bears over bait or with hounds simply find a legislator sympathetic to their cause and they attempt to get bills passed that will accomplish what failed ballot initiatives could not. These bills are now being considered in an extended session, and word just received is that they have died in committee. But this probably won’t end here. Watch for similar bills to be reintroduced this coming legislative session.

Continued — click on page link below.

TOO MANY DEER
The Iowa state legislature passed a bill to reduce the state’s deer herd by 25 percent over the next four years. Apparently the high number of car/deer collisions was the major catalyst for this legislation. The bill does not increase out-of-state permits (though it does increase nonresident license costs), but it removes a cap on doe tags. One excellent measure in this legislation tacks on a $1 fee to the cost of a license, with revenues to be used to help get donated deer meat into soup kitchens and Iowa prisons. The goal of the new bill is to lower the deer herd to 450,000, a level last seen in the mid-1980′s.

ARCHERYSEARCH.COM
The Archery Trade Association has created a website to help you find local archery shops, shooting ranges, archery clubs, archery shoots, and names of instructors in your area. Go on the site and register the name of your state or local archery club so that bowhunters can find you and join. Your club can list the cost of dues, whether you have a newsletter, the days and hours your shooting range is open, whether you have indoor leagues, etc. This is a great way for new archers to find your club. Check it out at www.archerysearch.com.

ALBERTA STARTS CULLING DEER
CWD has not been found in the wild in Alberta. However, in recent years, 57 wild deer with CWD were found in Saskatchewan near Chauvin, Alberta. As a result, wildlife law enforcement officials began culling deer in that region this past March. The cull area is 18 miles long and 6 miles wide, and officers have sought the permission of private landowners to remove deer. The hope is that such a cull will slow the spread of CWD into Alberta.

However, this type of approach was questioned in Colorado at a Boulder County Commissioners Board meeting. One opponent noted that if individual deer develop immunity to CWD, they would be eliminated in a culling operation. Such debate demonstrated just how little is known about prion diseases such as CWD. These diseases are complicated, making solutions difficult. CWD places our wildlife agencies in no-win positions, where patience and cooperation are needed from hunters and nonhunters alike.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to watch for Conservation Editor Dr. Dave Samuel’s “Deer Management 2005″ in the upcoming Bowhunter Whitetail Special, on sale September 6, 2005.

From our October-November 2005 issue.