Marinette Deer Farm Quarantined
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: Tweed
19-Jun-18
Tweed's Link
When will the state finally get rid of these places?
MARINETTE COUNTY (WLUK) -- A deer from a Marinette County deer farm has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says the two-year-old doe was born on the 230-acre Wild Rivers Whitetails farm in Goodman. It died while giving birth, DATCP says.
Testing confirmed the deer had CWD.
Wild Rivers Whitetails has now been placed under quarantine, meaning no animals will be allowed to move into or out of the farm. DATCP will also investigate the animal's history and check movements of deer onto and off the farm to determine whether other herds may have been exposed.
From: Mac
19-Jun-18
Oh joy.... Little over an hour from my in- laws place
From: skookumjt
19-Jun-18
The "State" won't do anything about it until more members of the public speak up about it. I drove to Portage last week to testify at a hearing about the emergency rules that the Governor is proposing that pertain to CWD and captive operations. I would say that of the people attending, at least 3/4 were in opposition to the restrictions. In my opinion these rules are too little, too late and I don't think that it's a coincidence that they are coming about in an election year, but I have little doubt that the Legislature is listening intently to the business interests who are likely to get at least some if not all of them eliminated.
From: Tweed
19-Jun-18
Skook- how did you find out about that hearing?
From: CaptMike
19-Jun-18
"In my opinion these rules are too little, too late..." Would you be happier if nothing was happening?
From: skookumjt
19-Jun-18
It's certainly better than nothing, but it's years too late and doesn't go far enough. All of the Conservation groups in the state along with the DNR, DATCP, etc. put well over a year's worth of work to develop a comprehensive CWD plan at the request of the Governor. Immediately after it was presented to the Governor, he ignored the recommendations and actually relaxed rules on CWD.
To find out about hearings, NRB meetings, Conservation Congress events, news releases, etc. you can sign up for automatic govdelivery emails on the DNR website. Sometimes there gets to be a lot of info that I am not interested in, but it's nice to get the info on the ones I am.
From: Missouribreaks
19-Jun-18
I will no longer consume venison from CWD states without testing the meat first. Not so much concerned about me, but will not feed it to the family and friends who may not be informed or comprehend the "potential risk" of what they are eating.
From: Bigfoot
19-Jun-18
just make sure them bait plots remain legal
From: upnorth
20-Jun-18
Sounds like you guys are saying that if there never was any deer farms there wouldn't be any CWD . I think there just wouldn't of been a easy place to find it . Been hearing about CWD for 20 years and nothings really changed . CWD didn't hurt are herd up here Its the idiots that Started special doe hunts to controll it ( plus wolfs and bears and coyotes and bobcats etc. ) that took the herd down .
From: skookumjt
20-Jun-18
No, we're saying they compound the problem by creating conditions that promote the progression of the disease and by transporting deer which could create new infection zones. I don't know how you can say that CWD hasn't hurt the herd in the north when it has been found in 3/4 of Wisconsin's counties. This is a disease that is 100% fatal in infected animals and has shown to grow exponentially once established. The infection rate in mature deer in the so called hot zone north of Madison.
Given enough time, this will be a major problem across the state.
From: Tweed
20-Jun-18
Its not that we wouldnt have any....but they do concentrate and increase risk to the wild herd...at least thats how I feel.
And yes....the wolves and coyote take down many more than CWD.
From: sharpspur@home
20-Jun-18
Since the plants can take up the CWD prions, will shutting down deer farms really help stop the transmission? Are we going to limit the sale and transport of agricultural harvests?
From: sharpspur@home
20-Jun-18
sharpspur@home's Link
Bounty on CWD positive deer.
From: Live2hunt
20-Jun-18
The biggest concern is that it is a disease and people will not want to eat the meat, not that it will kill too many deer.
From: Mike F
20-Jun-18
"Given enough time, this will be a major problem across the state." CWD was first discovered in Colorado in 1968. This was 50 years ago, not 50 weeks, 50 months, but 50 years, which is +- 18,250 days. No depopulation hunts, no special seasons to control the spread were held in Colorado. This was They continue to feed throughout the winter months in many western states. In those years, CWD has not become a huge problem across Colorado. Yes, they have had to deal with it, but have not taken the stance where the government has tried to make a $ off of every thing involved like they have here is Wisconsin. How is CWD going to become a major problem, if we don't let the government drive it into one? Ever hear of the story "Cry Wolf"?
From: Jeffd
20-Jun-18
Mike F, agreed
From: ground hunter
20-Jun-18
a big deal about nothing
From: upnorth
20-Jun-18
So what about Zoos ? They have held captive herds of animals for a very long time and every once in a while do to storms etc. they get released into the wild .Plus I am almost out of deer meat and CWD isn't going to stop me from harvesting them .
From: bowneida
20-Jun-18
Wild Rivers Whitetails is just down the road from me.(3miles) Single fence and lots of wild deer hang around the outside. The owner just bought the place last year. Makes ya think the last owner new something was up. And yes, everyone I talked to is still planning on baiting. They dont know any other way LOL.
From: Jeff in MN
21-Jun-18
CWD is to the animal world as Buckthorn is to the plant species. Many people have not heard of them. Way to many of those that know what it is don't care. The spread of both can be controlled but neither will ever be eliminated.
From: upnorth
21-Jun-18
Question . I shot a real nice buck last year . He never showed up on any of my cameras until the day I shot him on camera 3am shot him at 410 pm . I have food plots with clover , radish , turnips but I also put out a some corn . I had 14 does and fawns and a bunch of bucks up to a small 8 almost that came in regularly almost all of the bucks got shot . There was no bait there for him when he came in at 3pm . So is this a baited buck , or a buck that came in looking for does would of been around second rut 12/17. He came from over 7 miles away people brought me pictures that were hunting him on the other side of the turtle flambeau flowage .
From: bowneida
21-Jun-18
Buckjabber, thats just a few guys I talked to who never hunted without bait. I'm sure most can do without.
From: Tweed
21-Jun-18
Jabber- which stations are you specifically referring to?
From: ground hunter
21-Jun-18
Let me tell you something Buckjabber, I really think your fool of baloney. For the record I do not bait, never have, but if baiting caused CWD, the UP, would have had it since they only been baiting up there for 40 years or more.......
Have you ever hunted Canada, because I have, and yes there they hunt over bait, and no CWD
maybe you know more than I , you will have to enlighten me,,,,,, Of course I am concerned about CWD, but you come off as some expert, so I would like to know your hunting back ground, maybe I can learn something,,,,,,
There are so many on the site, that post, that are so full of s... I know they do not hunt, at least not much
From: skookumjt
22-Jun-18
2 provinces in Canada do have CWD. Baiting doesn't cause CWD, It just increases the rate of transmission.
From: ground hunter
22-Jun-18
than what about bait plots? I mean some think they are put in for the enhancement of all wildlife, I do not, there put in to kill deer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, should they be banned too?
Personally I think deer hunting was way better off, before the commercialization of it. Crops were put in by farmers, to sell, and were a side benefit to our deer. Woodlands were better managed, no baiting was allowed, and we let nature takes its course with predators, and did not need to give them a bump
From: CaptMike
22-Jun-18
The anti baiters use CWD as a tool to push their anti bait perspective. Where does it stop? All food plots? Food plots of a certain size? Water holes or tanks? Ponds? Farmers placing mineral for their livestock? How about small stands of oaks that drop acorns? natural mineral licks? Point is, deer will naturally congregate at certain areas, be them man made or not. How much restriction can/should be applied to those who own their own land, be it for hunting, farming or a simple love of viewing nature?
From: upnorth
22-Jun-18
What about when the deer yard up here . The first couple years I moved up here they was a deer yard that at night you could drive by and see over 100 deer between the road and the river in less then a mile .And they stayed there for months . There was another yard north of Mercer guys were carrying in bales to try to help them out because of heavy snows . They quit when they noticed that the wolfs came in and started picking them off .
From: upnorth
22-Jun-18
I sat in my stand over 60 days before I shot one deer , by a plot and some bait . Started the plot in July shot the deer in mid Dec. that was the only time I knew he was even around . You must put in at least 100 days a year not to be lazy .
From: CaptMike
22-Jun-18
Blabber has no hunting experience, he/she is just a troll formerly called neverbait.
From: Tweed
23-Jun-18
I think its pretty evident that Jabber is just Everbait coming back again.
From: Pasquinell
23-Jun-18
Shmuckblabber
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
"The anti baiters use CWD as a tool to push their anti bait perspective. Where does it stop? All food plots? Food plots of a certain size? Water holes or tanks? Ponds? Farmers placing mineral for their livestock? How about small stands of oaks that drop acorns? natural mineral licks? Point is, deer will naturally congregate at certain areas, be them man made or not. How much restriction can/should be applied to those who own their own land, be it for hunting, farming or a simple love of viewing nature?"
This. Couldn't agree more.
From: Missouribreaks
26-Jun-18
Jeffd has good points. Unfortunately the easy solution is to also reduce congregation through further herd reduction in many areas, biologists all know this.
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Thanks Missouri, but that was actually a quote from Capt. I was just agreeing with him myself.
From: Missouribreaks
26-Jun-18
Thank you, Captain generally sees the larger picture.
From: ground hunter
26-Jun-18
I am not against food plots, just making an observation..... anything you do to enhance your land, for good mgt, is a good thing..... however plots are put in to kill deer, so why do so many deny that, I have no idea............... why are some hunters ashamed to admit this, and have to use the word harvest, instead of just saying, your killing deer....
You harvest crops, you kill deer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, pretty hard to tell the public not to bait deer with corn and apples, when I can plant the bait, on my own land.......
I think that the best minds are trying to study and understand CWD, but I think the hysteria over CWD, is over the top, and comes from more hunters than anti hunters....
I mean tell me the last person you know, who has died, from eating a deer....... Unless your an Andrew Zimmerman fan, and like his show bizarre foods, your not eating the spine, and brains and tongue, etc.............
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Ground hunter I have to respectfully disagree with the plots thing. Not all plots are put in just to kill deer. For example, on our hunting land, we own a decent amount of field. We plant about 7 acres of corn and 7 acres of soybeans every year and leave them stand all winter. Soybeans are good protein, corn is good for fat/energy. Yes, this does make for good late season bow hunting, but the other major reason for these plots is to help the herd through the winter. We actually don't hunt over the food plots, as a lot of deer don't actually get out to the fields in the daylight during early season, but we do sit on deer trails in the woods that the deer travel to get to them. My point is that we don't plant them just to kill deer over. The end game is obviously hunting deer, but we try to do whatever we can to make the herd healthier.
From: Reggiezpop
26-Jun-18
I’m a believer in food plots being beneficial beyond enhancing the hunting experience. Honestly though, for the guys that say plots aren’t planted to kill deer. If you lost the ability to hunt tomorrow, are you still planting plots next year? Respectfully, Jeffd, if you couldnt hunt tomorrow, you’re still going to plant 14 acres of ag to benefit the herd? If that’s the case, I commend that, and more people should do this. Food plots are planted to make racks bigger, and make healthier deer... to kill. And I do it, but I recognize why I’m doing it.
From: Tweed
26-Jun-18
Tongue is some of the best eats! Heck.... I just made a batch of heart, kidney, liver chili last week.
From: CaptMike
26-Jun-18
Food plots are definitely done, by most all hunters, to help attract, build and keep the local deer herd healthy. I do not hunt directly over them but that is only because they do not come out onto the plots until last light. I hunt inside the cover, in rather close proximity to the plots, where the deer will stage before they actually enter the plot. Mine are absolutely done to enhance my deer hunting, but, that does not remove the fact that those plots benefit the deer through a much longer period than the hunting season. Food plots are not different than doing some clear-cutting, making ponds or leaving some fields in CRP. All done to make my property more attractive to the animals I want to hunt.
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Reggie, I did state in a way that we do plant the plots to kill deer. That is probably one of the lesser reasons they are planted though. I was just making a statement that it's not the only reason. We do it to enhance the hunting experience by managing a healthy deer herd. Hunting to me isn't just about killing deer. It's the entire experience of managing habitat and creating a healthy herd. Yes, the end goal is to kill a wall hanger, but it doesn't happen every year and I still enjoy many of the other experiences that go along with hunting other than the kill. If it were just about the kill, I would have probably quit a long time ago since there are many years that I don't kill a deer even though I could have killed many. Capt said it very well.
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Also, anybody that says food plots are for lazy hunters knows nothing about managing land and managing a healthy herd. I believe Jabber mentioned this a couple times. I'm not saying you have to do them to be a good hunter by any means. I'm just saying that there's a lot of work that goes into it. Any way you look at it, it typically takes some work and dedication to kill Pope and Young bucks on a fairly consistent basis. It's just that people go about it in different ways and that is fine. A lot of people aren't necessarily looking for monster bucks and that is fine too. It's my personal preference to manage the herd to try and grow healthy deer and mature bucks. To me, that's part of the fun, and a major part of the challenge. When I am successful, it makes it that much more gratifying.
From: ground hunter
26-Jun-18
Jeffd that is a good post,,,, and good food plots are a lot of work, and like anything, you get out of it, what you put in,,,, I agree hunt for what ever you like....... I like to hunt for big bucks, that is for sure,,,, but I also get a charge and love to hunt for young does, good for the freezer and the herd,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Hunting for big bucks is also a lot of work, depending on how and where you hunt, so do what you want, as long as it is legal,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, One thing though, a friend of mine always complains and whines, about the lack of opportunity. I told him, if he would spend less time, going grocery shopping, and more time scouting, he might do better
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Jabber, you can view it to spin it whichever way you'd like. I call it part of herd management. Doesn't have to be done, but anything that can be done to improve the health of the herd is a good thing in my book. One thing is for sure; It is in no way, shape or form comparable to hunting inside a fenced deer farm.
From: Missouribreaks
26-Jun-18
Many food plots benefit animals which are not hunted, such as pollinators. I do believe most hunters plant plots to improve hunting success. Lots of ways to diversify plantings to benefit many forms of wildlife, including insect pollinators.
From: Bigfoot
26-Jun-18
always love reading that food plots are hard work....nah the tractor your riding on and the equipment behind the tractor are doing the hard work............it's like saying mowing the yard on the riding lawn mower is HARD WORK
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Taking the time to load equipment, load seed, drive 2 hours, unload equipment, fertilize, till, and then plant the seed, then load it all up and drive back home is a lot of work. Then if you do it right, you go back and spray when the crops are the right height. Trying to find the time to get this done during a specific time period to get maximum yield while juggling with the rest of the things going on in one's life is a task in itself. Weather is not always cooperative either. Not all hard work has to be physical. I'm guessing bigfoot wouldn't have a clue on where to start. Probably wouldn't be able to figure out how to back a trailer up.
From: Jeffd
26-Jun-18
Except farming is usually done to try and earn a profit. Food plots for deer is done to try and attract deer and for healthy herd management. Big difference.
From: CaptMike
26-Jun-18
JeffD, you hit the nail on the head. He has no clue. And the blabber mouth who pretends to be from Canada has had no clue since he signed up under this new name. He is a drunk and a ward of the taxpayers.
From: Reggiezpop
26-Jun-18
Buckjabber, don’t you work for a food plot seed company?
From: Missouribreaks
26-Jun-18
Probably a few on here who choose not to afford their own land, let alone the equipment, energy and investment to improve habitat. Takers, rather than givers.
From: xtroutx
26-Jun-18
So if you don't own, or cant afford big land and food plots your a "taker". Wow!
From: Missouribreaks
27-Jun-18
It does not take big land, improving 1 acre helps. We all can thank private landowners for what they provide for wildlife,..... and at their expense. There are very few places where wildlife habitat is better on public land than on private, there is a reason for that. I appreciate farmers, ranchers and private landowners who spend their money to give back to the wildlife community. Food plots and habitat improvements by hunters and landowners benefit many species. True givers to the resource, not merely takers. You can decide how you might give to the resource, or simply take. There are other ways.
From: xtroutx
27-Jun-18
First off let me say, I dont care who does what with their land as far as food plots go. Secondly, I hunt both private and public with about equal success. Now lets get back to your point. I dont know any farmers or ranchers that improve their land for wildlife. They improve their land to make money on their crops, sure they plant cover crops to help the wildlife, but they plant cover crops to save their soil. Same situation as the landowner food plot planter. It is planted for a reason, not just to feed the animals. As stated above many like to push the fact that they are doing it for the herd. 90% of that is only because they either hunt it or lease it. You would be streching to say 10% would continue to do it after their,or their families, hunting days are over. Dont come off as some gods gift to animals, and the rest suck because they dont. Ive bought hunting and fishing licences since I was fourteen, paid taxes for fortyfive years which has helped to preserve land for all to hunt. If that isn't enough than I guess I am one of the takers because I dont improve my little patch, Mybee I should cut down an acre of white oaks on my land so I have room for a plot of beans. Spare me the better than you attitude.
From: Missouribreaks
27-Jun-18
Ok.
From: Reggiezpop
27-Jun-18
Missouri- Why do you think the deer populations are so high in certain parts of the state? The deer herd is growing at unsustainable numbers in Waupaca and Shawano counties. Reason being people aren’t shooting deer. They are waiting for a giant buck, and passing on everything else. There are way more people doing this then practicing herd management. It is their land, and they earned that right. But there is zero forest regeneration going on in these situations. I’ve been on top notch hunting land where their entire hardwoods is void of regen. Reason being the deer eat everything that pops out of the ground. Maybe great for hunting in the short term, but the woods are doomed. All thanks to private land owners that don’t plant trees and manage the herd accordingly. I hunt with a group of guys hat took 70 doe off their land last year, and it didn’t make a dent. They are trying to do their part, but it’s not easy when surrounding landowners go years without shooting a deer because that would take away the potential of that doe giving birth to the next wall hanger. Sorry for the rant, but there is an abundant amount of public land available that is managed much better than a lot of private land.
From: Jeffd
27-Jun-18
I also hear a lot of people complaining about there not being any deer on public land...
From: xtroutx
27-Jun-18
Plenty of deer by me on public land. Forestry division here does a fantastic job cutting, burning, and improving habitat. I dont know about the rest of the state.
From: Reggiezpop
27-Jun-18
Public land is crawling with deer. You just need to know how to find them and hunt them
From: Missouribreaks
27-Jun-18
Not true of most public land in Montana. There are animals, but nothing like on private land.
