By now many of you may have heard that another CWD positive cervid has been found in a Wisconsin hunt ranch. In the below press release you will find some of the details associated with this case as well as the overall CWD program in Wisconsin. I have received several calls asking who is it? At this time I have been asked not to release that name until the state has completed their work and released the rest of the details. If it was my personal farm or any of our other NADeFA members, I would hope that we all would have that same understanding of privacy until all the facts have been looked at. What I would like to report is that the sky is not falling, I would not wish CWD, TB or EHD on anyone, but if I had to pick a state to have an issue, Wisconsin would probably be at the top of my list. Not because I dont like our Wisconsin members, but the direct opposite. Our industry in Wisconsin is also at the top of my list for many other important things, such as the state with the most negative CWD samples both in the wild and in the farmed herds. As a matter of fact they have submitted over 35,700 CWD samples from the farmed cervid industry! So why would we be surprised when they think they found something we are trying so hard to find? CWD, TB and EHD have been in our industry for many years, we have programs in place to take care of CWD and TB, but EHD hammers our industry each year! EHD is what I am scared of and wish that someday we could focus more of our attention on that disease. As for CWD, the Wisconsin industry has proven, for more than a decade, that the program does work and not only is CWD not having a negative effect on the health of their animals, they are actually thriving despite the many hurdles other states regulatory agencies have thrown their way. The epidemiologists tell us CWD is found most often in older bucks, what they dont tell us is why. The buck in question was 5 years old and had been living in a wild type environment of a hunt ranch for the last three years. This buck received no special care or husbandry. This buck also had documented velvet damage and a cranial abscess at 4 years of age. Is it possible this infection had something to do with the positive test results and is this a connection to why mature bucks are more likely to test positive? I am not sure at this time, but I can say there is some interesting reading on Cranial Abscessation Syndrome (CAS) on the internet and it is a health issue that I am trying to learn more about and promise to report on in future NADeFA articles. Regardless of the cause, I think the most important item for all of us to remember is this buck had been in the hunt ranch for more than 37 months and was fat and healthy when harvested. I do not know of one CWD research study in which a whitetail deer lived longer than 32 months. Whatever was wrong with this deer did not come from the breeding farm. The farm and hunt ranch both have an excellent test record, with a large amount of negative samples to confirm the certified negative status of their breeding facility. As an industry we need to keep this in mind; the herd certification program should safeguard both the health of our herds, as well as their marketability. I guess what I am trying to say is not only are we testing to find disease, more importantly, we are testing to prove we dont have a disease! So, before we all jump to any conclusions, lets wait for the epidemiologist to crunch all the numbers and analyze all the data. Then lets deal with this as science guides us. I have been working closely with all parties involved, and will pass on the facts as they are made available. If you have any questions please call me at 651-212-1315. Shawn Schafer ***************************************************** Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Marathon County [WI] Wisconsin Ag Connection December 3, 2013 A white-tailed deer on a hunting preserve in Marathon County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. On Monday, State Veterinarian Dr. Paul McGraw announced that the five-year-old male deer and was one of about 370 animals in the 351-acre farm. State animal health officials say the buck was killed on November 4 and tested as part of regular procedure when deer go to slaughter. This is the first time in five years that an animal raised in a hunting preserve tested positive for the brain wasting disorder. The DATCP Animal Health Divisions investigation will look at the animals history and trace movements of deer onto and off the property to determine whether other herds may have been exposed to the CWD test-positive deer, Dr. McGraw said. The state has since quarantined the preserve and the other three registered farms owned by the same entity, which stops movement of live deer from the property. The business will be allowed to conduct hunts on the quarantined preserves, because properly handled dead animals leaving the premises do not pose a disease risk. Full text: wisconsinagconnection/story-state.php?Id=1412&yr=2013
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 15:09:44 +0000
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