CWD Testing
General Topic
Just curious if anyone has gotten their animals tested and if so what were your results?
thanks
Had several-all negative. Only seen one positive test since I left UW. Recently found two in MS. Test enough animals, you will find a positive, Especially true in penned animals. Big push ere, (TN) right now to test. But with no longer using actual check stations, have doubts about how effective or accurate they are.
3rd positive just confirmed in MS.
One animal tested, one 'negative' result.
Testing in Wisconsin and Illinois is off the chart. Taxidermist...local bait shops....small local stores, all have CWD testing areas. Some are drop off locations. People process their deer put it in the freezer and wait for the test result....if it`s good they eat it, if not it goes in the dump.
did anyone pay for their testing? In PA, if you are not in a CWD area and want your deer tested it is $80 fee. I think..
I wish there was an easier way of getting them tested.
Is the MS results a new state?
good article if you are interested
Thanks Ben. CWD scares the hell out of me. It’s like AIDS x 100 IMO. I just don’t see how the genie will ever get stuffed back in the bottle.
Can’t understand some ppls thinking it’s okay to feed CWD meat to their families because it’s so far not been shown to ‘jump species’. Ignorance is bliss they say, but why expose others on ones personal beliefs?
Last year was the first confirmation in MS. Two more have been added this year. Two are in the same county and one is 2.5 hours away. Lots of concern about it here.
Aids has killed thousands. CWD has killed zero. Not saying ignore it but might be a bit early to be laying awake at night worried about it.
Listeria warrants more concern but hardly anyone thinks about it.
I got a mulie tested from a high prevalence area in WY this year. It came back negative. I was prepared to dispose of the meat had it come back positive. It's a risk I might be willing to take, but would never in a million years gamble with my 2 year old daughter on.
No argument from me glunt. I’ll test even tho there’s only been a handful in Mt. so far.
I’m guessing we’ll know who’s right in time. There are a lot of test subjects out there now.
Just so many unknowns and who knows how reliable the tests are. From what Ive read incubation take a while; ie test will show false negative.
cubdrvr, agree... so many unknowns and it is spreading...
In articles I have read:
Prions can transfer to plants from soil. Possibly can be transported by water. Bleach /washing have no effect on prion. Only temps above 1000 degrees F will destroy. (Contaminated knives etc cannot be sterilized). So meat processing facilities can contaminate. This is just a small sampling. My AIDS comparison was valid IMO because it is a virus so there are methods of combating. Prions are a totally different beast.
I remember awhile back someone posted a nice buck from CO that he took and had tested. Came back positive and he reportedly ate it anyway. Not sure why but that story/thread always stuck with me, maybe because I found it so crazy I guess.
Anyway, my wife will not eat venison anymore and she will not allow my kids to either. I understand where she is coming from, but we use to eat four to six deer a year. So I now donate more venison and hunt less.. I wish I could just hunt like I use to..
I get frustrated with all the unknowns about cwd and with people just blowing it off like it is no big deal.
I started this thread to just get an idea of how many were getting them tested
Thanks
I just wish we knew how reliable the testing was. We’ve had 3 positive in my hunting area since last year and the last one was a lot closer than the original two. Haven’t killed anything yet this year other than an antelope in a different area. They’re supposedly not affected, but if a squirrel can have a form of it I’m not sure.
Every article I’ve read has a qualifier stating that experts still don’t have answers to a lot of questions this disease??? raises.
i thought this test was debunked somewhere but i cant find that information anymore..
check out the .pdf file in there, its too smart for my little engineering brain but some fascinating stuff..
I'm pretty sure squirrels don't have CWD. They just act nuts over nuts.
Sure, there is a lot we don't know about CWD. I am pretty sure, I have had it for about three decades. There is, as of right this nano-second, no proof or indication it has not been here as long as there have been deer. We did not discover CWD. We discovered the test for it. It lies dormant for extended periods. As a result,in all probability, you have eaten meat from an infected deer.
"Every article I’ve read has a qualifier stating that experts still don’t have answers to a lot of questions this disease??? raises." This is 100% true. You can believe this. posted by cubdrvr.
So, here is some advice...let's all panic.
I think the HIV comparison is somewhat valid in that early on there is/was so little valid information and so much misinformation. The infectivity of the CWD by prions is the disturbing part. Banning corn feeders, all baiting and deer farms should help but that will never happen because it might result in some states seceding from the Union.
John I realize one cant believe everything on the internet, but this did come up in a different thread either here or on the leather wall a couple weeks back.
cubdriver-I was agreeing with you. Your statement is dead on.
What I would like to see is factual evidence a squirrel has been tested for CWD.
Gotcha after a re-read lol. And I agree it does sound like a stretch and the article did say it wasn’t conclusive. My point is in all this, I’ll be erring on the conservative side. I’ll continue to hunt, have mine tested when I harvest in a known zone or just hunt elsewhere. But eventually it will be close to everyone’s area. Hope they get more answers sooner than later.
I agree about being around for a long time. I believe Scrapie was identified in sheep in the 17th century. Closely related to mad cow and CWD. Very similar traits and symptoms.
Yep-Let me suggest this. Just for peace of mind, get every deer tested, no matter where you kill it. It it concerns you, get it tested. Might ought to have any squirrels you kill, tested, too. Now that, is a joke.
Good call bowriter but not always that easy either.
Like I’ve said, $80 to test a deer here and closest place is 45 min away. Furthermore a negative test does not mean an animal does not have cwd.
I would love to just completely ignore it and go back to the way things were just a few years ago.
I just find it disappointing this topic is not seemingly discussed and taken as serious as perhaps it should be. We have these cwd threads every once in awhile but rarely see them getting a lot of engagement.
I was hoping for a lot of “got mine tested, and it was negative” type responses from people.
Pyrannah- Point well taken. It can be expensive and usually useless. Why do I say that? In many instances, the test proves next to nothing. CWD lies dormant for many years, perhaps decades before it becomes noticeable. Does that mean the test is not 100% effective? Truth is, we don't know. We don't know, at what point, CWD can be detected. Some might argue otherwise...but prove it. They can't. To date, there is not one case of CWD in humans. Not one. Does that mean no humans can get it? No. Does that mean you can't get it by eating meat from a CWD animal? No. What does it mean? It means, to date, not one human has ever been diagnosed with CWD.
This morning 11-15-18, I was in a two-hour meeting with biologists. One of the topics was CWD. The number one answer to all questions was, "We don't know." When asked, how many deer are tested in TN, the answer was, a very small sampling and the major reason was, no mandatory check stations. And that is my reason, too. I bring mine home, process it myself, no reason to have it tested.
"I would love to just completely ignore it and go back to the way things were just a few years ago." Then do so. Not one thing has changed other than publicity.
CWD has killed no human. Apparently, nothing can be done to deal with it.
LMAO-if people won't come, there is nothing you do to make them quit.
If it worries you that bad, quit killing them. Don't eat them. Stop hunting, lock your doors, don't drive, walk, run, or bike anywhere a deer might have shared one of those prions with your environment, and die in your home safe away from all the bad things people manifest out of the unknown.
Tell your wife to quit buying beef too. You got any idea how many diseases they carry and get treated for on a normal farm? Hogs? Foregetabout it. Chickens? You'd be loony to think eating one of those from a store is a good idea if deer meat scare's you. Same with any vegetable too. I wander how many rats and mice get into our vegetable and grain food supply during harvest, transport, in the packaging plants, etc....?
My point is real even if being a little wise about it. There seems to be about a dozen people on hunting sites that are making this out to be the end of the world. This isn't new. I've eaten 5-8 deer a year, some elk, bear, countless small game, beef, fish, chickens, hogs, etc..... my whole life from stores, the woods, and small farms and, I'm simply wandering if this CWD threat was just introduced to you in the last 6 months. And, if you have every lived on or been around a working farm? You sure act like it.
Do as you wish concerning the threats your food supply presents you. Just realize that currently CWD infecting you is as low on the list as you get concerning the threats the other foods you eat presents.
Test them all if possible. From CWD states will not feed untested venison to children and others who may be unsuspecting.
I'm no scientist. I live in an original "hot spot" and try and keep informed on CWD. From what I have read, I would not be a bit surprised if it was discovered that CWD has been around for thousands of years. Good to pay attention to it but so far the worst effect I have seen is the culling in an effort to address it.
Agree Glunt. Staying alert and being smart about it makes sense. Living like it is the next aid's virus is reaching at this point. If that were the case, disease found long ago in domesticated animals would have wiped us out by now. We've grown to 7 billion strong eating them with the understanding they have the potential to carry them.
Personally I hope everyone stops hunting.....especially during the bow season. Why risk it....just quit.
Many have already stopped eating venison, cannot blame them. No need for hysteria, just simple testing where recommended. Testing is not 100% accurate, just the best available tool.
I eat less and less whitetail these days...but only because my freezer is full of moose :) In all seriousness I want to be aware, but like most say if it truly is a problem it is one that I and millions of Americans and Canadians have already ingested. If it is in fact a time bomb, we're all dead anyways. I've eaten deer meat every year since I was born. Seeing as the testing has just been developed now there is no cure for the 30 years of eating it. Although Manitoba claims to be CWD-free until now. But don't all start coming up here for your deer!
My use of the AIDS virus as an analogy was not intended to diminish the seriousness of that virus. But because it is a virus there was and is potential for cure or at minimum control/vaccine. From what I’ve read that doesn’t to apply to CWD. Even if a ‘cure’ comes to be it’s going to be hard to administer. And I am taking the approach of many above by exercising common sense and caution with CWD. Don’t think I’m hysterical.
I had mandatory cwd test on my Colorado buck. Came back negative.
Being from Michigan and living in the core CWD zone I decided to have the buck I shot today tested. 6 pt. 178 pounds field dressed. I process my own deer so I took the head to the local DNR field office. Took about 5 minutes to fill out a little paperwork. In 10 to 14 business days I can check the DNR's website for the test results. I was also curious as to old this buck was and I knew that the DNR biologist aged the deer for you as they check them in. I figured the buck was a 3.5 year old and the biologist confirmed that it was.
As prevalent as CWD is becoming in Michigan, particularly where I live, it makes me wonder if I have ever eaten a deer with CWD. Todays deer was the 77th one I have harvested in the last 38 years.
Although testing is not 100% conclusive, a wise and responsible decision would be to feed only CWD tested (and negative) venison to your family.
Mandatory test on deer in Colorado this year was negative.
Had mine checked in Wisconsin it was free actually thanked me for doing it.
Missouri had mandatory testing in 31 counties on opening weekend gun season. I failed to get anything.
It's free in Wisconsin and if you send in all your info about your deer being tested you could be the lucky winner of a $1000 (Buffalo county only)
I have had a number of deer tested over the years in northern IL, all negative so far. Going to hunt a CWD county tomorrow. Testing is free here.
