Thoughts about CWD
General Topic
I know there are lots of opinions on CWD but the reality is that nobody knows if there are potential issues for humans. Yes, there is no recorded death of a human because of eating meat from infected deer but the long-term effect and possible problems it may cause are unknown. Here is a brief article from a wildlife biologist in PA with here thought on the subject.
The truth is if you have cwd in your area you have eaten a infected deer. I never got mine tested, did t know I should u til the dnr started testing . Now that I have testing available I would never eat a deer without testing.
In my opinion, if CWD is a health concern for humans, we'd know about it by now. It's been almost 60 years since they discovered the disease in deer.
"As for the underlying question of whether humans are at risk of contracting CWD from diseased meat, the jury is still out, despite tons of research into the topic. Some researchers have gone so far as to inject folded prions from infected deer into the brains of research animals ranging from monkeys to mice, and haven’t been able to detect cross-species transmission. Others have found some transmission, but that study may have been flawed."
I don't test as I would eat it even if it came back positive. They can barely if even get cross species contamination in a lab setting under optimal conditions not gonna worry about a piece of medium rare backstrap doing it. Not like I'm chewing on spinal cords or having scrambled eggs and brain. Everyone is welcome to do as they see best but everytime I hear a deer that tested positive being thrown away I think what a waste. Then some states give out replacement tags so someone can shoot another. Of course that might test positive and be thrown away too. Also same people don't throw away their knife, cutting board, etc or take it to the same processor who runs 100s of untested deer through the same equipment. Seems fear dictates people's attitude towards CWD more then logic.
That’s not necessarily true. Even though prions lack DNA and RNA like a virus they can mutate structurally to adapt and survive. Just because the jump from deer to people hasn’t occurred yet doesn’t mean it can’t . It might happen tomorrow, in 100 years, or never. That unknown is what makes it concerning.
to me...this pretty much says it all.
"While the Neurology article is not a collapse of the sky, I am treating it as a sobering reminder of what is at stake. There are no guarantees with prion diseases and what we know today may change tomorrow. This is why state health departments, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and World Health Organization (WHO) recommend human exposure to CWD prions be avoided and people not consume a known or suspect CWD positive animal."
in my opinion...only an idiot wouldnt heed that advice.
I'm 71 years old. On the list of things that may result in my death CWD is at the bottom. CWD has not been detected in the local area where I hunt deer. Several years ago I saw a couple of bucks that had shed early and they had some of the listed symptoms. I could have shot one of them and called wildlife and parks to see if they wanted to test it, but I decided to let nature take it's course. I will never voluntarily have an animal tested.
I had an aunt who died of CJD so I watch the CWD research as best I can. Given what I've read, I don't think it poses much, if any, risk. I'll continue to monitor all information on the subject but until I see something new, I'll continue to eat venison.
There is far more danger driving to hunting spots than from CWD. Then there's the danger of choking on a piece of venison if you don't fall out of a tree first. If the CDC and WHO say it's dangerous, that makes me almost certain it isn't.
Regardless, it makes me grateful my local - and most regional wildlife agencies have tried to reduce the risk of introducing CWD to our area - so far, no known cases have occurred in my state. I'd like to keep it that way.
Makes the whole decision tree of "eat or not / test or not" much easier to deal with.
What about every single Wildlife & Parks Dept in states with CWD Lou, do you not trust Biologists either? How about RMEF, MDF, P&Y, B&C, they also advise against consuming cervids from CWD zones and especially if tested positive.
Have you seen a deer that's on its last leg from CWD personally? I have, and I killed it, and you couldn't have paid me to eat it. The buck stood in the same spot, plowed dirt field, for over an hour. Walked up to within 5yds and put an arrow through it. I kept the arrow, I cut of its head, so yes I've been exposed but didn't consume directly.
We can't argue that there's no proof of cross-contamination at this point, but not a chance I'm going to take deliberately.
Prions are excreted and secreted in saliva, tear ducts, glandular secretions, and urine. The first two pose a threat to other deer, because deer are social animals. The second two pose the threat of spreading those prions from other animals. When deer stomp, they release a secretion from their interdigital gland, which marks where a threat occurred. Urine is released throughout the deer's life, across it's travels. Any animal that walks through those, potentially can carry those prions to other locations. Also, those prions never leave the soil, vegetation can grow, and prions have been found in those flora that have grown in prion infested soil. Unless you go scorched Earth in the entire area where CWD has been detected, there is always the possibility of CWD, despite eradicating the cervid population.
Alot of biologists are anti hunters. Lots of them use their knowledge and position against the hunting community.
It is not a big concern to me. But to say it beyond the realm of possibility is silly. It happened in cattle. From sheep to deer and then to other critters. I have not had one voluntarily tested and don't plan to unless I suspected he had it before I shot him. I'll keep eating deer and live in the thick of it. But would pass on eating a know positive deer. If there becomes credible evidence that it has jumped to humans I might change my opinion. But for now I think the risk of driving 30 miles to get it tested is a bigger risk.
There a lot of money in it for those involved in studying it, that can cloud the judgement of those in the 'known' talking about. I also know there is a movement to end hunting as we know it and CWD could be used to that end. That scares me more at this time than CWD.
Kyle, of course they're going to advise against eating it, because that's the narrative. There are millions and millions of dollars in grant money at stake, and scientists will make a career out of studying it. But after 60 years of intense study by scientists atound the world on both humans and other predators of ungulates, with not one single shred of evidence that it makes the jump, I'm far more concerned about the teenage girl driving and texting at 80 mph. We here in the "hot zone" went through the panic stage a half century ago. Everybody else is just catching up.
Kyle, after you cut off the head of the sick deer, did you throw your knife away? Did you have the head tested to confirm CWD?
I have never eaten any animal that was obviously sick. Never will.
This is a pretty good, high level summary of the situation.
Every day is one big risk assessment for everyone. Grocery store burger (e coli) and lettuce (salmonella) are risky. Treestands are risky. Carrying broadheads is risky. Thunder storms in the mountains are risky. Stomping thru snake infested swamps is risky. Driving a car is risky. Read thru the health warnings on the CDC or WHO sites and you might just stay in bed with a mask on. You darn sure won't be drinking a beer after mowing the grass.
Everyone has their boogie man. For some hunters susceptible to media headlines CWD is their boogie man and I understand that but CWD and CJD are far far far down my list of concerns. My boogie man? That Lone Star tick disease that makes you allergic to red meat! That's why I have zero fear of any side effects from DEET or Permethrin.
Almost all CWD infected animals killed by hunters show no signs of illness. So you may very well have eaten one and didn't know it unless you have every animal tested. Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of hunters and their families have eaten infected whitetails, muleys, elk, and moose. When the encephalopathy progresses to the point of appearing sick, they go very quickly. Otherwise they appear perfectly healthy.
The other thing most hunters don't understand is that if you field dress an infected animal, the prions stay on your knife, saw, butchering table, etc.
The recommended sanitation procedure for prion-contaminated instruments is to soak the instruments in Lye (NaOH) or Bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite) for an hour and then process them in an 121 Celsius (250F) autoclave for an hour. A reasonable home approximation for this is to soak your knives in straight (laundry) bleach for an hour and then pressure-cook your knives at 15psi for an hour. A dishwasher DOES NOT reach 121C, but your grandmother's Presto pressure canner will.
I'm with Jaq (and others), many, many hunters have eaten animals with CWD that simply didn't any symptoms. And there has been no correlation to higher risk. And that I trust WHO and CDC about as much as I trust Biden LOL.
BUT, if this news reduces the number of applicants next year and increases draw odds, I'm all for it!!!!!!!
Sito do you have all your deer tested? If not in Kansas you've probably eaten a cwd positive deer. I guess ignorance is bliss.
It's clear that folks have knowingly or unknowingly eaten meat from infected deer and haven't seen any effects.The one thing nobody can answer positively or negatively is - "does eating meat from CWD infected deer cause problems for some (not all) at some point in the future?". Does it increase the occurrence of dementia or Alzheimer's or some other disease?
Here in PA we can have deer tested for free. Because the long-term possibilities are unknown I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding deer meet to my grandchildren unless I knew for sure it was not infected.
Didn't think this was about me, or what I eat? We can all decide whom to trust, and whether scientific investigations are legitimate. Or whether every single Wildlife Department, Hunter led organization, and Nuerologist etc. is "out to get us". Some may choose to trust their livelyhoods to guys on an internet website.
Show me a scientific study that recommends eating animals infected with CWD.
Just wondering if you practice what you preach. You didn't answer if you test all your deer.
This is literally that you can't prove a negative. There is a world of difference between what can be proven to happen and what can be proven to NOT happen
They haven't proved CWD can infect you, however it's impossible to prove it CANT AND WONT happen
You get to decide the risk level
You seem to have a fascination with me William, not sure why, but I'm not judging you. The question isn't "have we eaten an infected cervid, or could we"...it's should we?
Show me the study.
Chronic Worrying Disease.
seem to be a lot of people with zero concern about cwd…that is until the topic of bait comes up. then its the most serious thing bow hunters face.
weird…
However one feels about the subject is personal... but some of you are "shaming" those of us that want to stay on the safe side of it. scentman
The "science" on this only knows how it is transmitted between ungulates. If this was a new thing, I would be very concerned, as we all were 60 years ago. But after 60 years, well..
Still curious about how many of those who are afraid are throwing away your knives, saws, cutting boards, etc. after processing every animal? Because the prions stay on the tools. Scientists do agree on that.
This reminds me of masking. The entire medical world (CDC, WHO) said we HAVE TO WEAR MASKS OR WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE. Then we find out that only N95 masks had any efficacy. Then Fauci said in an interview that there was no measurable benefit to masking. Now only the total Nervous Nancies wear masks for some reason, often not covering their nose, only their mouth.
It seems a lot of people have zero concern about baiting, but worry about CWD.
Weird.
I’ve heard that the elk herd in New Mexico, specifically unit 16A has been overrun with CWD. They say the average higher temperatures in that area make the disease 20 times more likely to jump to humans if you come in contact with the infected ungulates. The Game and fish department won’t tell you this publicly because of fear for loss of revenue from tag sales but you may want to steer clear of applying for the unit next year…. for your own safety of course ;^)
"It seems a lot of people have zero concern about baiting, but worry about CWD. Weird."
i dont think its weird at all.
one is a concern about the possibility of a fatal disease jumping a species barrier between deer and humans.
the other is a (supposed) concern about just one of dozens of ways a disease can possibly spread among deer...but virtually no concern about it jumping the species barrier.
its kind of like telling everyone the reason you dont maintain your lawn is because you are very concerned about getting skin cancer from sun exposure...but you have no problem fishing...hiking...playing tennis...playing golf...cycling...and of course doing habitat improvements on your hunting property.
In 2002 I shot a buck that was acting similar to the deer Sito was talking about. At the time when I shot it I could have swore it had CWD. Took the buck in to have it tested and it came back negative for CWD. I never ate the deer but can not answer if someone else did or not. We party hunted back then.
I agree with Lou. I am not going to sit and worry about CWD. If I see another deer acting sick I will make a decision then on what action I will take.
What a lot of CWD "newbies" don't understand is that an animal can have it for years and show absolutely no signs of infection. So the idea that "I'm not going to shoot a sick deer" is meaningless. When they do go down, my understanding is they go very quickly.
I've lived and hunted here in CO for 55 years, have seen literally thousands of animals here around the Hot Zone, and I can honestly say I've never seen an animal that displayed end-stage symptoms. And everyone I know who has killed a deer, elk, or moose that tested positive says it appeared perfectly healthy.
I've seen the end stage in deer and elk, it is not pretty. You can walk right up to them. We've let WG&F know about the animals and they put them down, had a young bio tech say to the head guy-" do they know what they're talking about" he said yes they do and it was a positive animal. We also live and hunt an endemic area and no cases of variant CJD at all here.
As Jac stated, unless you clean or dispose of your knives and other processing tools you have the prions, I don't think a 250 degree autoclave will, kill them, they have a very special furnace to dispose of carcasses at Sybille at it goes to 1800 degrees.
If it ever jumps species it will be because of a lab somewhere I believe, kind of like covid did.
Prions have not been found in muscle so if you bone out the meat and avoid the lymph nodes in the neck your knives should be OK. If you use a meat saw, either in the field to cut off the skull cap or when butchering the deer then you do have an issue cleaning it up.
The link has a video produced by our Game Commission on deboning a deer in the field. At about the 29:00 mark he talks about and shows the lymph nodes that need to be avoided.
What wytex posted, if it jumps now after 60ish(as far as they know) years it quite possibly will be because of experimentation in the name of science. And also as Jaq posted , they go quick once they get to the point of looking sick. Had a mule deer test positive when they first mandated tests. It was a younger buck that was fit and healthy looking. I have seen 2 that looked like they were end stage, both whitetail in Nebraska. Both were barely standing, drooling and unaware of what was going on around them.
Deer and Deer Hunting just published an article stating it is "indistinguishable from scrapies". Look at your medication bottles, gentlemen, then look at your family history. Whatever those ailments are will likely be the cause of your death. Stop being paranoid.
"Incineration of prion-contaminated material is considered the most effective method of disposal. Combustion at 1,000°C can destroy prion infectivity, however, low infectivity remains after treatment at 600°C.106 Despite its effectiveness, incineration may not be a practical solution, such as during a large outbreak of BSE, scrapie or CWD requiring a mass culling. Incineration of contaminated soil, vegetation and farm infrastructure (paddocks, fences) to eliminate CWD or scrapie environmental infectivity is also not practical."
Prions are definitely in muscle tissue.
"With CWD, these proteins are found in the brain, spinal cord, lymph nodes, spleen, and muscle tissue."
If anyone wants to safely dispose of a nice custom knife that may have been used to field dress or process their animal, PM me. I'll send you my mailing address... ;-)
There are a few lymph nodes lying between muscle tissue, occasionally these get ground with the burger. Check out the locations of the popliteal lymph nodes.
There are also lymphatic ducts which connect the various components of the lymphatic system. These oftentimes appear as blood vessels and may get consumed with muscle tissue. Not being an alarmist, just pointing out the lymphatic system is not easy isolated from consumption.
Based on bowsite poster opinions i have decided not to eat cwd deer. This is the best place to come To get life altering information. No place like it. Thanks
I eat deer, if possible I test first.
Bou - it a discussion, not a directive.
If you kill a sick deer and cut his head off why would you not have it tested?
I've eaten a confirmed positive deer.
Nothing wrong with me other than psychological maladjustment
"Even though prions lack DNA and RNA like a virus they can mutate structurally to adapt and survive."
You can't base any CWD info on prions. Show me a picture of a CWD prion, an actual picture not a drawing. There is none.
Wish I could post the PDF..
"Natural cross-species CWD transmission has not been documented, however, passage of infectious prion material has been observed in the feces of crows. In this study we evaluated the ability of CWD-infected brain material to pass through the gastrointestinal tract of coyotes (Canis latrans) following oral ingestion, and be infectious in a cervidized transgenic mouse model. Results from this study indicate that coyotes can pass infectious prions via their feces for at least three days post ingestion, demonstrating that mammalian scavengers could contribute to the translocation and contamination of CWD in the environment."
Rut, as I'm not a CWD researcher, I dont have lots of evidence at my finger tips. But given there are plenty of electron microscopy images of other prions I'm sure someone somewhere has similar pic's of CWD.
Jaq - that's a very cool, and reassuring bit of info.
It was from a published, peer-reviewed study done by Winona University researchers. Different angle from the standard transmission studies.
"Rut, as I'm not a CWD researcher, I dont have lots of evidence at my finger tips. But given there are plenty of electron microscopy images of other prions I'm sure someone somewhere has similar pic's of CWD"
There is actually no photo of a CWD prion. If there is no one is willing to share it. I have had this discussion with CWD "experts" here in WI. To me it's a little odd that the thing that is the basis of their explanation of CWD may not even exist. What's worse. If CWD prions do exist. Why don't they want to show pics?
"There is actually no photo of a CWD prion. If there is no one is willing to share it. I have had this discussion with CWD "experts" here in WI. To me it's a little odd that the thing that is the basis of their explanation of CWD may not even exist."
when a harvested deer is sent to the lab to be tested...how do they determine the presence of cwd? is the misfolded prion viewed under a microscope?
Covid and CWD are are all about control. Control all of us through fear. In WI the dnr as lost control of deer management as private landowners are doing it. This is a control tool just like Covid was is. Get your shots you'll be safe.
From the USDA:
"Currently, definitive diagnosis is based on IHC testing of the obex area of the brain stem or the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes. Gross lesions seen at necropsy reflect the clinical signs of CWD, primarily emaciation and sometimes aspiration pneumonia, which may be the primary (acute?) cause of death. On microscopic examination, lesions of CWD in the central nervous system resemble those of other spongiform encephalopathies. At this time, abnormal prion proteins can be detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), prion misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), and real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC), however, approved diagnostic assays are limited to IHC and ELISA."
Forest, to your question about why not have it tested - in my case I would have to pack out a head I might not otherwise, drive 65 miles to a CPW office, pay them to test it, drive 65 miles back home, process the animal, vacuum seal and freeze it, then wait up to a month for results.
In the meantime, I would have to isolate all my knives, saw and cutting boards in case it comes back positive, then somehow destroy all that carefully processed meat, knives, saw, cutting boards, without further spreading the prions.
I prefer to treat it as it is - a cervid pathogen that poses no threat to humans after 60 years of intense research.
If you hunt Eastern Colorado, I'd just assume your deer is infected, especially if it’s an older buck.
Cats and CWD. It could turn out that bobcats and cougars are thinning the CWD infected deer out of the population. (Easier prey.)
Nice SitO. Rut, nothing is being hidden. There are a host of things (noted in the last several posts) that prions cause and clear ways to chemically test for them. That's what SitO posted: imagery of stained tissue samples.
I dont think anyone is hiding, for example, electron microscopy of CWD specific prions, there are just many other way's to verify them based on chemistry.
Jaq that's some cool research - interesting one from you too Dana.
This has been an interesting thread!
The massive CPW study of collared lion predation done in Northern CO in the hot zone showed no appreciable lion predation on infected animals vs. non-infected. Mostly because they don't show any noticeable symptoms until the very end, and lions are on the hunt constantly and are opportunists.
I did a deep dive on these prions a couple years ago. Its scary.
Prions don’t go away….as stated above…it takes a very high heat to kill them. Sanitizing your knife…good luck….seems like I saw a study that did just that…but with a very specialized process. Prions can go into the soil and be taken up by plant species. Every other organism can mutate, why not Prions ( even though they are not classified as living organisms)
There is still a lot of unknowns when it comes to Prions.
The worst factoid; Prion diseases typically take a long time to show signs or kill the host…in many cases its decades. Heck, I could be a dead man walking and not know it.
Humans never got Mad cow / CJD from eating infected animals, until they did.
If CWD in deer is making you nervous, just wait until you learn about the possibility of prions uptake into plants.
A lot of these sick bucks are misdiagnosed by lay persons not knowing what they are seeing. Brain abscesses, EHD, post-rut syndrome, all display similar neurological symptoms. I treat hundreds of people a year, and I see this daily in ER physician examines patient and announces to his residents what he thinks the diagnosis is. Often, after a $10k workup with CT and labs, he is completely wrong.
Prions…if they live as long as described, could they be on your morels? I think deer like morels?
It seems if guys in their 20s were killing and eating deer in the early 1950s or 60s, we’d see some connection by now. Those folks are in their 80s + now. How much more proof do we need? It’s like Covid; I was told of the carnage it created all around me, but I never physically SAW it take place in the intensity that it was portrayed.
does anyone find it interesting that Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)...a prion disease that is a close cousin to cwd in humans...is said to NOT be contagious...
"CJD is not transmissible from person-to-person by normal contact or through environmental contamination. For example, it is not spread by airborne droplets as are tuberculosis (TB) and influenza or by blood or sexual contact as are hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)."
...yet cwd IS said to be contagious and spread through shed prions at bait sites...close contact between deer...as well as a whole host of other environmental means.
strange...
CJD is most definitely spread through contaminated surgical instruments, corneal transplants, etc. And if people routinely cannibalized each other, that would be on the list of methods of spreading as well.
so the folks that ate Joe Biden’s uncle are probably really sweating it?
sorry, couldn’t help it. :)
“I prefer to treat it as it is - a cervid pathogen that poses no threat to humans after 60 years of intense research.”
Jaqoumo for the win!
I'd actually have to agree with both jaquomo and Sito. Treat it as such as well as not eating an obviously sick animal.
to me...if testing is available...it makes no sense not to.
Getting an animal tested is quick, easy and fairly cheap if you collect the sample and send it off yourself. I am sure there are several labs like the one at K-State we use. Just call them up and they will send you as many test kits as you ask for and they are cheap. Just look up a you-tube video on how to collect them. Next day air them to K-State. If you shoot an animal on the weekend you will have results by Friday.
I am with Jaq prefer to treat it as it is - a cervid pathogen that poses no threat to humans after 60 years of intense research.
Much, much bigger things to worry about. Lymes and about a dozen other diseases coming from ticks; that idiot who makes a right turn across three lanes from the left and vice versa in front of me while traveling to my favorite hunting/fishing spot; wild fires, drought, flash floods, mudslides; civil unrest in the big city spilling over to the rural areas. Plus, some foreign nut jobs conducting gain in function testing on agent X for their US funded lab.
KS, we have to submit the heads in person here in CO. There may be someone available at the check station, or may have to bring it back tomorrow. My hunting partner took a moose in last year (mandatory) and they had to hunt around in the NE Regional office to find someone who knew how to check it in. Three weeks is about normal for results now. Then if it's positive you are supposed to throw away a few hundred pounds of meat and a $500 custom knife, plus everything else that knife and the meat touched.
Nope.
Jaq. I didn't think about your mandatory units. The unit my boys applied for isn't mandatory. If they are successful, we will test them ourselves.
KS, I'm not trying to be a smartass with this question. Just curious. If you do get a positive test, will you dispose of your knives, saw, etc?
And anyone who takes their meat to a game processor is very likely to receive contaminated meat from the tools, even if their animal tests negative. Nobody talks about this dirty little secret.
No. We soak everything we can in bleach. I am sure we miss some things. But I figure we do all we can to help within reason.
Thanks. Great info. I hadn't seen this study and was going by previous studies that said high heat plus bleach was the only solution
I talked to a guy in WV here yesterday that had one tested. His test took almost a year to get back. It was negative
One thing I do find interesting about CWD. I have hunted the most CWD dense area of Ks for over 10yrs. I have yet to see a sick deer or even find a carcass. The only thing I have found is 1 really old deadhead.
I will not eat a positive deer. But feel like if CWD is going to jump to anything, it will be cattle first. Where we hunt most of the deer drink out of stock tanks. That seems like the place it would be most concentrated.
Article in USA today, copy/paste below:
CDC: Deer meat did not lead to hunters' illnesses, death About the 2022 report, the agency agreed with the researchers "that there is a need for careful investigation of chronic wasting disease (CWD) as a potential risk to people's’ health," CDC epidemiologist Ryan Maddox said in a statement to USA TODAY.
But the CDC reviewed the 2022 cases and considered the two men's deaths as "part of the normal number of cases of CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) we see in the U.S.," he said.
The men died after developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which like CWD is a prion disease, a class of fatal neurological disorders, which can affect humans and animals, and usually progress rapidly and are always fatal. In prion diseases, certain proteins in the brain begin to fold abnormally, causing brain damage and other symptoms, the CDC says.
"A history of hunting and/or eating venison does not mean that someone got CJD that way," Maddox said. "Many Americans hunt and even more eat venison. Some will develop sporadic CJD by chance and others will not."
Does it surprise you that you haven't found a carcass? I mean you shoot a deer and leave it overnight in most places in Eastern CO and Western KS and there isn't even a blood spot the next day due to the large numbers of Coyotes.
I'd like to know at what age do bucks normally start getting infected. I've seen a lot of 3+ year old bucks that are crushers in every sense of the word. Huge bodies, built to battle, massive necks, just great looking deer that test positive. So, when did they get it? And what is the life expectancy once they are positive? One property I hunt is 5 for 5 bucks shot vs bucks that tested positive. A 6th was shot last year results unknown as it wasn't tested, but I'd say we know how that went.
I know one thing, my basement walls are buzzing with prions without a doubt. Before long, instead of radon detection tests to sell your house, we will soon need prion detection prior to selling.
From CWD.org:
"In experimental settings, minimum incubation (time from exposure to onset of clinical disease) was about 15 months and mean time from oral infection to death was about 23 months in mule deer."
The deer I killed in Western KS in Oct, and then in Dec.
I can think of a lot of reasons that buck is fat in Oct and skinny in Dec. Nutrtiton and fight wounds are 2. We have a lot of nice buck go to crap after the rut and when you open up the chest cavity up, they have fight wound abscess in chest cavity. They test negative for CWD.
If I remember correctly he was able to walk up to that deer and shoot it out in the open. I would assume it was CWD
Again. Lots of reasons that could happen. CWD would be high on the list but is not a slam dunk diagnosis unless he had it tested.
Probably not EHD. That kills them quick most of the time.
