Re: deer disease???
CWD was mainly a game farm disease. Because of the legal and sometimes illegal trading of deer, elk etc to other game farms, the disease has spread. There are now pockets outside the Colorado Wyoming area. These are small pockets in Wisconsin, Canada and New Mexico. Most of these pockets can be traced to the shipping of infected deer from one game farm to another. In Wisconsin, there is no direct link, but I have read in an outdoor magazine that there was a mule deer spotted in Wisconsin in the eradication zone for a couple years then it disappeared. Since the Mule deer is not currently native to WI, it was brought in somehow. If it existed and was not just rumor. There have been 8 reported escapes from game farms. Two of which may have been releases. <br /><br />Either way, there were a lot less hunters out this hunting season. Deer heads were being collected throughout Wisconsin for testing. My neighbor has a 10 point buck in his freezer. He is waiting to see if CWD shows up in any area other than the eradication zone which has increased in size. Deer feeding has been banned because it concentrates the deer and may increase the rate of spread. This has been a hot issue in non-CWD areas where people like to watch the deer. They have done a decenet job of using the deer eradication technique in Colorado, but it has not eliminated the disease. <br /><br />We just hope for the best. Killing animals and and wasting their meat is something that is repulsive to most of us, but if it makes it safe to eat deer again in the future in Wisconsin, then let's get it done. We do suffer from an overpopulation of deer. I know places within a 1/2 mile of my home where I can see deer standing on or near the road anytime of day or night I go there. The deer also eat the twigs off my fruit trees and hang out in my front yard. That is not prime forage. The deer live in my back yard and I live in town. I know people that have had over 6 accidents involving deer.
<br />love the pic!<br />this is what happens when you eat too much venison