Had a feeling this was going to start up here........................ Deadly wasting disease found in farmed Outaouais deer, hundreds culled
It makes no sense to me to cancel the hunting season. Most places tend to increase the kill in those areas. It seems that the CWD is cropping up all over the place now. Makes one wonder just how it really spreads. I think Wyoming was the first place it showed. Pretty much wiped out a herd.
That's the reasoning they use to ban deer feeders or feeding deer in NY. I'm no biologist, so I'm not sure if they're correct or not. But I certainly don't wish to help spread the disease among the deer population here. It's legal here to raise red deer, but not whitetail deer. Not sure why red deer would be any different in regards to CWD though.
Actually, it was a private elk herd many years ago in Colorado. A couple of elk from that herd had escaped and mingled with wild population and that got the ball rolling. They say it is spread when the animals ground feed in a common area. One infected animal will feed in that area, the bacteria remains active for quite some time. The next animal then feeds in that area and picks up the bacteria then transferring it to the next area it feeds on, etc. etc. Experts are still conflicted as to whether the disease can be passed on to humans thru consumption or handling of tainted meat.