CWD North-Central Area

Almost made it! we had to be CWD free for 3 years and if 2019 would have been clean, the slaughter would have been over but…

North-central area
This was the third year of sampling in the north-central area, after the discovery of CWD in a deer farm in Crow Wing County. More than 8,000 wild deer were tested during falls 2017 and 2018 without any detection of CWD; however, one CWD-positive deer was found dead near the infected farm in January 2019, which sparked more aggressive control strategies.

The management zone, deer permit area 604, will remain in place for at least two more years to see if CWD is found in other wild deer in the area.

“We’ll continue watching the north-central area to see if disease is present beyond the one CWD-positive deer discovered last year,” Cornicelli said.

Where is this farm? Are they still in operation? This place should be shut down permanently.

End rant

They should all be shut down!

All of the deer at the farm were killed. 7 tested positive, yet the owner really wanted to believe the wild one that was found dead a mile or so away couldn’t have gotten from the farm….

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4600710-merrifield-deer-farm-closes-animals-euthanized-herd-be-tested-cwd

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/sports/4610072-7-deer-test-positive-cwd-merrifield-deer-farm

fishingchallenged wrote:

They should all be shut down!

Yep. X2 !

blank wrote:

All of the deer at the farm were killed. 7 tested positive, yet the owner really wanted to believe the wild one that was found dead a mile or so away couldn’t have gotten from the farm….

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4600710-merrifield-deer-farm-closes-animals-euthanized-herd-be-tested-cwd

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/sports/4610072-7-deer-test-positive-cwd-merrifield-deer-farm

This is good to hear and thanks for posting.

If anything double fence these deer farms.

I thought I also heard a CWD positive they found in Douglas County was tracked to Pine County. Captive situations in both cases. Basically the transfer of captive deer to other farms.

tegg wrote:

I thought I also heard a CWD positive they found in Douglas County was tracked to Pine County. Captive situations in both cases. Basically the transfer of captive deer to other farms.

This is true. The deer in Douglas County had originally come from Pine County.

Why for the love of god are we still allowing these farms! shutem down, leave the deer alone and wild.

fishmantim wrote:

Why for the love of god are we still allowing these farms! shutem down, leave the deer alone and wild.

Never going to happen. You could say this for all farmed animals. I don’t care for it but its a right they have. It needs to be waaaaaay better monitored and the laws should be toughened up.

ClownColor wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishmantim wrote:</div>
Why for the love of god are we still allowing these farms! shutem down, leave the deer alone and wild.

Never going to happen. You could say this for all farmed animals. I don’t care for it but its a right they have. It needs to be waaaaaay better monitored and the laws should be toughened up.

I disagree. You can’t compare deer with domesticated farm animals like cows and pigs. The main difference being deer are considerably harder to contain in an area. Apples to oranges imo.
Shut them all down. They’ve proven to be the root of all of these problems. Leave wild animals wild and domestic animals domestic.

ClownColor wrote:

Never going to happen. You could say this for all farmed animals.

No, you can’t say the same for all farmed animals. There is no wild cattle herd in Minnesota for domestic cattle to potentially transmit diseases to. Transmission of disease can happen across different species, but the easiest pathway is always going to be between same species where there is no barrier at all.

Of course, this is Minnesota, so we have to try every other possible thing before we do what will obviously solve the problem: Shut down all deer farms.

Allowing people to farm deer is about as dumb as allowing people to keep lions and tigers as pets. Only bad things will happen.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bob clowncolor wrote:</div>
Never going to happen. You could say this for all farmed animals.

No, you can’t say the same for all farmed animals. There is no wild cattle herd in Minnesota for domestic cattle to potentially transmit diseases to. Transmission of disease can happen across different species, but the easiest pathway is always going to be between same species where there is no barrier at all.

Of course, this is Minnesota, so we have to try every other possible thing before we do what will obviously solve the problem: Shut down all deer farms.

Allowing people to farm deer is about as dumb as allowing people to keep lions and tigers as pets. Only bad things will happen.

Grouse

Okay Grouse…you are right, we started “growing” cows on farms back in the 1700’s, as we did horses, chickens, goats, bison, pigs, mink, duck, sheep…

I don’t like it either but people have their rights too.

Wonder who you’ll blame When deer farms are shut down and there’s still cwd….?

I still stand firm that this isn’t anything new. States and agencies are just looking for it harder. More deer get killed by “special hunts” and government shooters than the disease has ever killed on its own.

ajw wrote:

Wonder who you’ll blame When deer farms are shut down and there’s still cwd….?

Still the deer farms that introduced it into the wild deer herd in the first place!! It doesn’t just go away when they do, it will be here long after. But if you don’t stop deer farming now we never will.

Show me some peer reviewed studies on how cwd is spread and where and why it shows up and I’ll get on the deer farm band wagon.

There’s so little known about the disease still.

Agencies just decide to wipe out herds of deer. SMH

Peer reviewed and Resource department studies are out there, do the research. Prions are passed from infected deer most readily when population densities are high. Population densities on deer farms are artificially high and the movement of infected animals from one farm to another is common. They have now found the infections prions in buck semen, not a surprise that it spreads.

Close down deer farms. Introducing deadly diseases into the wild animal populations for the economic benefit of a few deer farmers is not a winning strategy.

I dont disagree that deer farms can cause wider spread CWD but CWD is also naturally occurring in wild deer without any contact to pen raised deer.
Shutting down deer farms and thinking that magically CWD goes away is just like forcing every boater to drain their boats and pressure wash anything that would hold lake water with high temp water will stop the spread of zebra mussels.
It will not work because they spread through other natural means as well.
Shutting down deer farms will undoubtedly slow widespread CWD but it will not go away or be eliminated.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I dont disagree that deer farms can cause wider spread CWD but CWD is also naturally occurring in wild deer without any contact to pen raised deer.
Shutting down deer farms and thinking that magically CWD goes away is just like forcing every boater to drain their boats and pressure wash anything that would hold lake water with high temp water will stop the spread of zebra mussels.
It will not work because they spread through other natural means as well.
Shutting down deer farms will undoubtedly slow widespread CWD but it will not go away or be eliminated.

This is an excellent analogy. Now consider this…..if clean deer are penned in an area where CWD is NOT an issue and no other deer have been moved in to infect those penned deer, how does CWD just happen along. The only answer is wild deer.

For the paranoia bent people, double fencing will stop and wild/domestic deer interaction. A ten foot high fence around the immediate enclosure with a six foot on the outside, two feet apart, would do the trick. Call any deer between the two fences, regardless of time of year, table food.

CWD did not naturally occur in the Minnesota and Wisconsin deer herds. It was introduced by infected deer imported from out of state by deer farms.

The toothpaste won’t go back in the tube, CWD is here to stay. Shutting down deer farms, destroying the herds will dramatically slow the spread of CWD.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

This is an excellent analogy. Now consider this…..if clean deer are penned in an area where CWD is NOT an issue and no other deer have been moved in to infect those penned deer, how does CWD just happen along. The only answer is wild deer.

No, the other answer is that pen-raised deer in that allegedly “clean” herd already had CWD but were not showing symptoms and then they infected the rest of the animals.

The problem with CWD is that it is not easily identified with simple tests. The absolute test for CWD can only be done as a necropsy so in order to be certain of this “clean herd”, you’d have to kill all the animals to test them first. Only then could you be assured of this “clean herd”.

The thing that astonishes me about CWD is how some seem to leap to the defense of deer farmers. Why? If a cattle rancher had a new, fatal disease identified in his herd that could even possibly spread and infect other herds, he’d be shut down and his animals would be killed and carefully disposed of within days. There would be absolutely no question. But with a deer farmer, well, he’s got “rights”…

I also don’t understand this argument that says, “Well, CWD probably came from wild deer, so let’s do nothing about it.” The problem is not where it came from, the problem is that it spreads much more rapidly when it gets into a confined, high-density population. In fact, the absolute best place to grow and breed more CWD is to have it get into, well, a deer farm.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The thing that astonishes me about CWD is how some seem to leap to the defense of deer farmers. Why? If a cattle rancher had a new, fatal disease identified in his herd that could even possibly spread and infect other herds, he’d be shut down and his animals would be killed and carefully disposed of within days. There would be absolutely no question. But with a deer farmer, well, he’s got “rights”…

Grouse

It’s called mad cow disease. And just like the cattle farmers, it appears like the article stated, the deer farmer KILLED all the deer, just like what you’d expect a farmer to do with his cows.

I think what some are saying is that the deer farmers have rights to farm deer…we aren’t saying they have rights not to kill off the herd if it’s infected-not one person is saying that or believes that.

The issue is the widespread infection in farmed deer herds and the persistence of prions after the deer are eliminated.

Deer farms regularly exchange/sell deer to other farms to enhance breeding programs and minimize inbreeding in their stock pools. As Grouse stated, it is extremely difficult to diagnose CWD via inspection with necropsy being the definitive method to do so. A farmed deer diagnosed by necropsy often has traveled to multiple deer farms and shared the joy.

Additionally, even destruction of an infected herd does not mitigate CWD risk. The causational prions persist in the soil for extended periods, much like anthrax.

ClownColor wrote:

I think what some are saying is that the deer farmers have rights to farm deer…we aren’t saying they have rights not to kill off the herd if it’s infected-not one person is saying that or believes that.

Let’s not confuse “rights” and “laws”. I’m pretty sure there is nowhere in the US or State Constitutions that grants people rights to farm animal X. I think the situation is: there are currently no “laws” that outright inhibit the farming of animal X. This however doesn’t mean “laws” or regulations cant be open for debate and enacted thru the regular legislative process.

tegg wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bob clowncolor wrote:</div>
I think what some are saying is that the deer farmers have rights to farm deer…we aren’t saying they have rights not to kill off the herd if it’s infected-not one person is saying that or believes that.

Let’s not confuse “rights” and “laws”. I’m pretty sure there is nowhere in the US or State Constitutions that grants people rights to farm animal X. I think the situation is: there are currently no “laws” that outright inhibit the farming of animal X. This however doesn’t mean “laws” or regulations cant be open for debate and enacted thru the regular legislative process.

Well actually…https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-farm_laws

But I understand. Just like it’s my right to hunt deer…

Brad Dimond wrote:

Peer reviewed and Resource department studies are out there, do the research. Prions are passed from infected deer most readily when population densities are high. Population densities on deer farms are artificially high and the movement of infected animals from one farm to another is common. They have now found the infections prions in buck semen, not a surprise that it spreads.

Close down deer farms. Introducing deadly diseases into the wild animal populations for the economic benefit of a few deer farmers is not a winning strategy.

I understand there’s a bunch of studies. That was my point. We’re looking for it harder now.

There’s still no definitive proof of where it comes from or how and why it’s gets and does what it does. It’s crazy. Hell the CDC website has a super vague description.

I don’t think massive population wipeouts of deer is the answer. It’s not like common cold. Hell most people slapping the keyboard don’t even know what prions are. They can stay in the soil for hundreds or more years.

To just blame deer farmers is a cop out.
Let’s get more information.

(I don’t like deer or elk farms, but it’s none of my business what someone does legally)

ClownColor wrote:

Well actually…https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-farm_laws

But I understand. Just like it’s my right to hunt deer…

Hmmm…. excerpt from link.

Right-to-farm policies vary at different policy levels, resulting in inconsistent interpretations regarding what constitutes an ‘agrarian district’ or ‘proper’ agrarian practice. Government officials may intervene and enact such laws for resource preservation or municipal management purposes, but states and their respective localities are usually left to their own devices.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The problem with CWD is that it is not easily identified with simple tests. The absolute test for CWD can only be done as a necropsy so in order to be certain of this “clean herd”, you’d have to kill all the animals to test them first. Only then could you be assured of this “clean herd”.

This is true and the reason the North Central area (now area 604) has been subjected to CWD testing for many years was because of the deer farmer in Merrifield who had an infected deer. The DNR wanted the entire herd destroyed and tested, but the farmer refused. This was many years ago, probably 5 or 6. Since then a wild deer contracted it and alas, area 604 came to being last year.
None of this likely would have happened had the entire herd been destroyed, but he was not forced to do so at that time. The herd has been destroyed now, but damage has long been done.

So the DNR has a law that pen raised deer cannot be transported within the state and then that guy brings “heart attack” to the Sportsman show? This just proves at least some of these farmers just give the middle finger to the DNR and general public.

CaptainMusky wrote:

So the DNR has a law that pen raised deer cannot be transported within the state and then that guy brings “heart attack” to the Sportsman show? This just proves at least some of these farmers just give the middle finger to the DNR and general public.

I believe it is not the DNR, but actually the Board of Animal Health that has responsibility for regulating these deer farms. They have NOT been doing a good job IMO, and they have basically let these deer farmers walk all over them.

If you take the time to read about this BOAH agency and how they “reacted” (or did NOT react as the case is), it sounds to me at least like some kind of Keystone Cops agency. It is typical of Minnesota that we have a Department of Ag, AND a Department of Natural Resources, but somehow we ALSO need a “Board of Animal Health”. A rational person might well ask, couldn’t the DoA and/or the DNR just do it? Of course! But then what would the BOAH have to do?

Jobs for the boys!

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I believe it is not the DNR, but actually the Board of Animal Health that has responsibility for regulating these deer farms. They have NOT been doing a good job IMO, and they have basically let these deer farmers walk all over them.

You are right, wasnt the DNR.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The problem is not where it came from, the problem is that it spreads much more rapidly when it gets into a confined, high-density population. In fact, the absolute best place to grow and breed more CWD is to have it get into, well, a deer farm.

Or into a wild area where total mismanagement of the deer herd numbers, aka antler point restrictions in one area, has allowed the deer herd to become so population lop-sided that even enclosed deer herds on farms can get infected, probably thru the air they breathe, just like the common cold or flu in people. Before I say that a farmer is to blame I want to see irrefutable proof that the first CWD was found in a game farm and not in the wild. Look at Colorado and Wyoming and Montana….explain how the deer and elk populations there have CDW and then show me a game farm in any of those states that has CWD in them. You’d be hard pressed to find a game farm in any of those states yet the disease is rampant in all of them.

There are two ways to view this issue. Obviously I see one and others see another, but neither of us can say with certainty where it started. The farmers are just a handy assed scapegoat. The only certainty here is that adult male deer are found to be carries by a far margin over female deer, yet we still have antler point restrictions in a couple area of Zone 3 that continues to create a male deer heavy population that is way out of wack when compared to deer herds not subjected to a point rule. I’m more concerned that the 4 point rule in the SE has created a nightmare and that those who insisted on this are still on state payrolls. Instead of shooting off deer herds and bellyaching about deer farms, have a season on those a-holes.