CWD Positive - Eat?
Wisconsin
You shot a nice doe and guess what - it tests positive for CWD...
What do you do with all that venison in the freezer?
Thoughts?
As for CWD and any risks to humans, the alliance says there is currently no solid evidence that humans can get it from deer, elk or moose. Most researchers agree with that. According to the group, the diseases (BSE and CWD) are “distinctly different.”
The World Health Organization has also weighed in, stating that after reviewing the available scientific information, its conclusion is that “currently there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans.”
I talked to a friend who shot a CWD positive deer last year - he threw the entire thing out - didn't want to risk anything with his wife and children....
Health organizations say it clearly: Don't eat meat from a CWD-positive animal.
The article Tweed linked to includes the position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "The agency advises hunters to avoid eating meat from deer and elk that look sick or test positive for CWD."
The Wisconsin Division of Public Health goes even a little farther. It says don't eat meat from a deer until a test shows it is CWD-negative.
The CWD test isn't a food safety test, of course. And CWD so far has not been shown to infect humans.
But I tend to take the advice of health experts. I'll never knowingly eat meat from a CWD-positive deer.
Throw it out. The dnr should reissue your tag also.
Throw it out. Risk may not be large but definitely not zero. No reason to take that risk.
How many get tested at the food banks during donation time?
In 2015 I donated a deer and it tested positive for CWD. The butcher shop disposed of the entire carcass. They did not want to assume the liability if someone got sick from meat they had received and processed.
If a deer tests CWD positive, will the DNR reissue the hunter's tag?
I don't know as I never would get one tested.
Geitz- why wouldnt you get it tested?
Crusader dad it's not the deer . I have the same affliction . Mine started before CWD .
Since ALL the CWD crap has started, myself and my two boys have killed 4 or 5 over the years that tested positive and they have TASTE GREAT! None of them have looked sick and were full of fat and healthy! If your not going to eat them, DON"T HUNT THEM!
That's fine for you bobbin hood, But in regards to eating a diseased animal, you have the right. I disagree however, when you say you shouldn't hunt if you toss the meat. It's a diseased animal, whether the symptoms are showing or not in the animal. We don't know everything about cwd, and sure don't know the effects it may have on people who do in fact eat them.
All the evidence shows that CWD does not cross species lines from deer to humans but there's still no way that I would eat one if I knew it had CWD.
AS for not huting if you're not going to eat a diseased animal I find that rediculous. I've shot rabbits so full of parasites that they kept moving after they were shot - I left them where they lay. A couple years ago my brother shot a buck that a fighter. It had broken times, split ears, one eye poked out, etc. When we were cutting it up it smelled like rotten meat and we kept finding sacks of puss in it. It was trulely disgusting. We stopped cutting it up and dragged it off for coyote food. I don't feel one bit guilty of what we did.
Razor-
When hunting in known CWD zones, the DNR will send samples of brain matter for testing and notify you of the results.
Never jumped, Never proven to jump from animal to human. No scientific evidence it can or will. "The Great Scare" Eradication Zones, reduce deer numbers, make insurance companies and others happy. "Just Eat it" If I die I will anyway
Science changes its mind from time to time.
No thanks. Do what you want, but I will not knowingly ever eat a positive CWD tested deer.
Now maybe I would eat it, but most likely not, but I would NEVER knowingly feed it to my family or others.
Zinger -
When a greenish hue of a horn starts growing out of your forehead and you've lost your 14th tooth - you may change your mind...
LOL
Who am I to say . I eat road kill's .
World health council doesn't recommend eating a deer that tests positive for cwd but there isn't anything conclusive. I say why would you risk it.
"Throw it out. The dnr should reissue your tag also."
Good luck with that. That could be hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Never going to happen. Where would it end? Refund the gas and oil used to get to the stand, the wear on the tires and vehicle, the arrow and broadhead used to shoot the animal? IMO if you elect to hunt a unit that has CWD it's YOUR responsibility.
Elk your absolutely right. It was mostly sarcasm. Even if it was the right thing to do for the dnr, it wouldn't happen.
Now could it happen? Yes they could.
I don't actually see how they could. Think about the number of animals out West that likely have CWD (been around forever out there) at $600-multi thousand dollar tags, and tags that take up to 20+ years to draw it just isn't feasible.
It sure would be nice if there was some concrete evidence showing that CWD is or isn't transferable.
Elk, not sure what your definition of concrete is but there is and has been no evidence of CWD affecting humans to date. The concern is that it could morph into a form where it might affect humans but to this point, that has not happened. A buddy killed a very nice (180's) muley in CO and when testing determined it had CWD, not only did they re-issue his tag but they refunded him the cost of processing it.
I understand where your coming from elk. You have a point there.
CaptainMike,
I don't test our elk from out West, even though we hunt CWD units. There are links above that state from health organizations NOT to eat the meat from CWD positive animals. So that's what I mean when I say it's inconclusive, and that there isn't concrete evidence one way or another.
Elk, I do understand. However, those warnings are not based on any known science but more likely come from an advisory perspective. Kind of a "Cover Your Ass" statement that probably serves as a layer of legal protection, should a person ever contract the disease from eating an animal from a known, infected area.
That said, I would not eat an animal that tested positive, just as I do not engage in other potentially risky ventures such as jumping out of perfectly fine operating airplanes or off of bridges, cliffs, etc. It comes down to each individuals tolerance for risk.
Yes correct, that's what I meant with my statement. It would be great to see science say YES or NO, doesn't matter either way, just a definitive answer would be great.
