CWD and mineral sites
Wisconsin
I've never believed that supplemental minerals were the monster buck magic potion that manufacturers profess but I did think they could make up for what animals might be missing in their habitat. This confirms in my mind that they are more risk than benefit.
I do not doubt that man made licks congregate deer, but I also do not doubt that natural licks do the same thing. The research would give a better perspective if a comparable number of natural licks had been tested. Even with a complete absence of man-made licks, it seems like a safe assumption that the deer would find and use natural ones, with a similar rate of infection occurring there as it does at the man-made ones.
OK, so we've been feeding minerals for years before CWD was discovered. Correct? Did the minerals all of a sudden change and now they are the cause of CWD across the landscape? Or did CWD get introduced via the minerals?
Of course deer using a mineral lick in a CWD contaminated area are more susceptible to getting CWD than in an area where there is no CWD. They should conduct the study in a non CWD county and compare the results, then they would know what is really happening.
I believe that a natural mineral lick in a non CWD infected area will show a different result. As far as a man made mineral lick, I believe that if the mineral contains any traces of animal bone meal, then the infection rate will be higher. Tests have already shown that in regards to Mad Cow Disease.
The mineral lick isn't the cause, it's the fact that it concentrates the animals to a small spot and they lick and defecate there.
I know there are natural mineral sites but even with all the properties I have worked on throughout the state, I have never seen one.
Any disease which develops that is spread via direct transmission will be transmitted the easiest when animals congregate (close contact). Congregation cause may be food sources such as natural wintering yards in the north, supplemental feeding, mineral sources, water sources, enclosures, etc. Higher overall populations of susceptible individuals leads to more dense numbers at congregation points. The problem is multifactorial.
Can anyone factually tell me how CWD got to Wisconsin? I have never gotten a straight answer from the DNR, or USDA. Has it been here forever and we have just been able to test and detect it? Or is everything pure speculation and SWAG????
The fact (and it is a fact) of the matter is that no one knows conclusively how CWD got to WI. As we know it was discovered here just after Y2K and judging from the comments I have heard from a number of WI DNR personnel and "experts" who have studied CWD, it's discovery was actually something of a surprise.
Of course a number of theories have been advanced as to how it arrived, but no one has been able to prove anything positively. One of the big issues or questions is, how did it jump the Mississippi River? (It was originally discovered in 1967 in captive deer held in a Colorado wildlife facility.) One theory: a bird west of the Mississippi was feeding on a CWD infected carcass and it ingested CWD prions. It then flew across the Mississippi River and deposited CWD infected droppings here where they were eventually able to somehow infect a WI whitetail. If that's true, how is it that the disease first showed up so many miles east of the Mississippi River?
So many questions about CWD! So few conclusive answers! So many millions of $$$ spent so far!
About the only good news about CWD is that another study has found that it does not jump the species barrier between primates (a species of monkeys genetically similar to humans) and cervids (deer). And maybe too some additional good news is that it appears Gov. Walker is finally getting serious about fighting it in WI.
Mike F., your question = who the heck knows? No factual answer available. No one will stick their neck out and declare, " this is it, this is the reason etc., etc.,..." As I said at the beginning, the fact is, no one knows how it got here.
So does this mean feeding mineral will be illegal and the DNR will actually enforce it? Don't say they are currently illegal as the DNR's highly touted (by some) chat will tell you otherwise as long as you aren't hunting over it.
I think CWD should concern hunters nut I also think the scare was fueled by antis.
Mineral is the same as baiting. You can't place it other than during deer season in counties where baiting is allowed. The exception is at a residence for wildlife viewing.
There have been excellent posts by "Anonymouse" on the general and community forums regarding CWD. He is very good in presenting scientific evidence regarding CWD, lots of fake news out there.
Myself, I believe it got distributed by the captive animals that were bought and sold throughout the country.
If the DNR and their butt-smoochers continue trying to freak people out about this CWD silliness even more folks are going to quit deer hunting, sometimes I wonder if that's the goal.
Personally I believe CWD has been here forever and is a non-issue, but it's a handy excuse to get more deer killed and pad the pockets of DNR employees in the name of "research."
Infected deer shed prions all the time where ever they go. The only way to combat this is to remove infected deer.
"Mineral is the same as baiting. You can't place it other than during deer season in counties where baiting is allowed. The exception is at a residence for wildlife viewing."
Yup Skook that is how I always understood it as well. But it bugged me that people, outfitters especially were blatantly posting mineral site pics online. I asked the DNR cgat numerous times last year and they stated in non banned counties it is legal. Not just within 50 yards of an inhabited dwelling either. This is just one thing of several I have received mixed answers on from the online chat.
"even more folks are going to quit deer hunting, "
Most that would quit are the type that will walk away for some trivial reason anyway. They won't be missed.
"even more folks are going to quit deer hunting",,,,,, they were never hunters in the first place, probably just condo shooters, hope they all go back to the golf course
The Gov. made a big show saying that all deer farms should have double fences. Without the man power to do the inspections this is just hot air.
My opinion is CWD is none stoppable disease. It's in the ground, plants, water, feces and on and on. Scat from coyotes and wolves carry the prions along with other predators. A researcher from the UW has shown that 41% of the deer in the core area are now showing a resistance to CWD. This is not a quick fix by any means, but will take years upon years. The whitetail deer have been around for what 20-30 million years and survived many devastating diseases. Let mother nature do her thing. I've asked this question again and again to all the Wi. CWD so-called experts, How did it get here and how long has it been here. They have no idea.
Hoot, agree with you. With man attempting to slow the disease but with no proven cure, we are only prolonging the process that Mother Nature would take.
I found the information on mineral use interesting. Not surprised this thread has gone off topic. The main point i thought was that mineral licks speed up the spread of CWD to a group of deer using a common lick. If saliva is a prion passer then the salt block and the surrounding soil get repeated licked. Couple that with the urine and feces deposited while they are licking and it appears you get a CWD transmission hot spot, especially when the non mineral lick sites showed no prions. For now it is easy to say if you have an infected deer in your woods, the quickest way to infect more deer is to put out a salt block.
We obviously have not lost enough hunters. If we had this stuff would not be published so openly. I am really wondering what the state is trying to accomplish by pumping money into a disease that has to run its course. There was a time when we had to many deer. My guess is a farm spread it to the wild herd and it has been spreading throughout the state.
I always used Selenium 90 cattle mineral cause selenium is known to fight different infections in cattle. Not sure how it would effect CWD but I now have to stop.
Darn those pesky land owners anyway ....
Just ran across this article and noticed this part
++It is not clear if the quantity of soil-dwelling prions detected in the UW study are sufficient to infect deer, the story said, adding that the significance of prion-contaminated environments in the spread and persistence of CWD among free-ranging deer also remains unknown.++
Are mineral sites even legal to place out with the way the baiting feeding rules are written in WI?
The only way I would say they would be legal is if they are within 50 yards of your home. I’ve never placed mineral out for that reason. Or is this a rule that goes unenforced?
"Walker got my vote" but you live in Saskatchewan? I bet you have brown eyes. The stench gives you away.
Capt. You are one miserable ass. You turn EVERY thread into your own personal chit show. Do you need attention that bad?
DT, the slightest mention of "chit" and you appear. Any coincidence?
"The research does help confirm longstanding suspicions that prions can accumulate in the environment in areas such as mineral licks or feeding and baiting sites where deer congregate, and scientists believe environmental reservoirs of prions could serve as an additional transmission route of CWD, which also passes between deer through direct contact,"
I would not kill wild cervids in known CWD states and feed them to my family without testing first. With other meat alternatives, why take the risk for your children?
++"The research does help confirm longstanding suspicions that prions can accumulate in the environment in areas such as mineral licks or feeding and baiting sites where deer congregate, and scientists believe environmental reservoirs of prions could serve as an additional transmission route of CWD, which also passes between deer through direct contact," ++
believe ... could. Not really science?
Mineral feeding rules. Unless they change soon... mineral is same as any other bait/food.
So you can bait in hunting season with mineral where allowed and you can year round feed mineral where deer feeding is allowed for 'deer viewing' see the rules.
