Now that we have a week’s worth of CWD information in the news, we are beginning to see just how wide of an impact this has on Michigan. With all of the fears and rumors running rampant here is what we know. Once again CWD was found in a captive deer in Kent County Michigan. All baiting in the lower peninsula has been banned. Those are the facts! What we also now know is that the Michigan DNR has issued mandatory check in rules for all deer harvested near the farm that had the positive test. These are the regulations from the DNR concerning the Kent County Townships effected:
Aug. 28, 2008 517-335-3014
Changes to Wildlife Rehabilitation Also Ordered
These changes are part of the state?s emergency response plan for CWD. On Monday, Aug. 25, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa confirmed CWD in a deer from a privately-owned facility in Kent County.
Under the special hunting regulations, only boned meat, capes and antlers of hunter-harvested deer may be removed from the CWD surveillance zone, which includes Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield and Cannon townships.
Hunters harvesting wild, free-ranging deer in the surveillance zone shall not remove the carcass or parts of the carcass from the CWD surveillance zone, except for boned meat, antlers attached to a skull cap cleaned of all brain and muscle tissue, and hides. Finished taxidermist mounts also may be removed from the CWD surveillance zone.
The entire carcasses of all hunter-harvested deer from the CWD surveillance zone shall be presented at a DNR check deer check station within 72 hours of harvest. Additional check stations will be established in the surveillance zone to make it more convenient for hunters in the zone. Those locations will be announced prior to the early antlerless hunt on private land scheduled to take place Sept. 18-22 southern Michigan.
At the check stations, DNR staff will remove the deer head and a portion of the neck. During regular deer hunting seasons this fall, hunters may retain the antlers after they have turned over the head at the check station. Hunters outside the surveillance zone in Kent County will be able to retain the carcass as well. Hunters inside the surveillance zone cannot remove the carcass from the zone.
Additionally, the DNR will issue a new wildlife order that will make changes that impact wildlife rehabilitation in Michigan. Under the emergency orders, the possession and transport of any live cervids, including for wildlife rehabilitation, will be prohibited. Cervids include white-tailed deer, elk and moose.
These regulation changes will be in effect starting Friday, Aug. 29, when DNR Director Rebecca Humphries signs the emergency wildlife orders that outline these special regulations.
The wildlife orders and more information about CWD and the surveillance zone in Kent County are available on the DNR Web site at
2. Proper CWD testing rates
3. Proper condition of fencing
4. Rate of reporting escaped animals and proper reporting of escaped animals
Number 4 is probably the most eye opening of all! Current opposition to the baiting ban in the lower peninsula uses the argument that it was only one deer in a high fence area and there is no concern for outside contamination. During a four year period the report shows that 464 animals escaped and only 8 of those animals were reported properly! So don’t tell me that this is contained in the farm. There is no way to know just how wide spread this situation is! The report also states that there is no deregulation rules concerning cervid farms when they stop operation. This results in farmers releasing their animals into the wild. Those words are straight from the report! Here is a link to the shortened synopsis of the report.
I was discussing this with a friend of mine in the media yesterday and heard that there was an instance of a cervid farmer trying to move a breeder buck after the quarantine was implemented. He was caught on the road with a tranquilized buck in an enclosed trailer after his farm was closed. This goes to show you what lengths people will go to when money is involved. There is no concern for the wild deer population. So for anyone to say that this disease is not in the wild herd yet doesn’t have all the facts presented to them yet.
We must be diligent in helping the DNR stop the spread of this disease. If it takes a year of not baiting or maybe five years, so be it. There has been talk of the DNR not banning the use of mineral supplements for use in baiting. This promotes the same conditions as traditional baiting. Why it isn’t banned also amazes me! All of the guys I hunt with have made it a point to stop using this type of product also. We are going to do what we can to help save our hunting heritage. We may never get baiting back again but if that is what it takes to keep our deer herd healthy then so be it! Here is a link to the Michigan DNR Chronic Wasting Disease web page. It is updated with all the latest news concerning CWD in our state. If we are going to discuss this issue and fight it, we must be educated about the disease, how it spreads, and how to stop it. So lets start reading guys!
www.michigan.gov/dnr
