The Michigan Departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) have confirmed a second free-ranging deer in Meridian Township (Ingham County) has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose.
The discovery of a second deer is not unexpected, Walsh said. “It is important that we hear and consider all perspectives”.
Chronic wasting disease, which is fatal in deer but can not be transmitted to humans, is caused by a mutated protein called a prion which multiplies in the diseased animal.
The disease was first time discovered in 1967 and has passed to at least 21 states and two Canadian provinces. Thousands more deer will have to be tested from the nine-township area in mid-Michigan - many of which will be killed by hunters this fall - to see whether the diseasse can be kept from becoming established, Smith said. While that is a possibility, states where CWD is prevalent still have large, healthy deer populations that provide excellent hunting. The disease can be passed from deer-to-deer or through indirect contact.
It’s something Johnston hopes Texas officials will decide against. “I don’t think it will hurt the hunting in Texas one cent. People are still going to come here, because the deer are available”. “We will continue to work with the DNR and the USDA in an effort to protect the statewide white-tailed deer population”. The disease can spread easily because the disease’s progression can take months, even years.
“It’s a very isolated deal, there is no need to get panicky about it and I’m certainly not and my operation is right down the road from where they found [the first case]”, Jerry Johnston, owner of Double J Ranches, told KEYE TV. The commission recommended on Thursday to test the affected deer, continue minimizing CWD risks to both captive and wild animals, and minimize the impact of CWD to hunters. In some cases state officials have ordered the massive slaughter of deer herds to eradicate the disease. The DNR asks that the public and hunters continue to report deer that are unusually thin and exhibiting unusual behavior (for example, acting tame around humans and allowing someone to approach).
“Anybody related to the industry is going to be out of business, it goes right down the food chain”, he said. And it is mandatory that any hunted, injured, or already dead deer, in chronic wasting areas, are to be checked by the DNR.
