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Chronic Wasting Disease has become a hot button topic throughout the area and the Missouri Department of Conservation came to Perryville to set the record straight on exactly what they planned to do to slow the spread of the disease.
Matt Bowyer, the Southeast Region Wildlife Supervisor led a presentation on the facts behind CWD and plan of attack at the Perry Park Center on Tuesday.
“This is a very slow moving disease,” Bowyer said. “But if it not managed then it could affect a large percentage of the deer population in any given area. What we want to do is either slow the rate of progression or even eradicate the disease through several methods.”
Chronic Wasting Disease is a deadly illness in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family. CWD will eventually kill all deer and other cervids it infects by causing fatal lesions in the brain. CWD can take years to infect an animal to the point of it showing symptoms: excessive salivation, drooping head, ears, tremors, emaciation, and changes in behavior such as a lack of fear of humans and a lack of coordination.
“Any deer that contracts this disease will die,” Bowyer said. “To this point it is 100 percent fatal. It doesn’t always mean that the deer will die from the disease.”
Bowyer noted that it takes about one or two years for CWD to actually kill a full-grown deer, but it does make it susceptible other forms of danger such as predators or even humans.
“CWD makes a deer’s brain almost like a sponge and makes it less aware of its surroundings,” Bowyer said. “A lot of people say that deer don’t die from CWD which is true because other things happen to it because of the disease.”
Wyoming have some of the highest rates of CWD in the country seeing almost a 17 percent decline in some parts of the state. CWD was first found in Wyoming as early as 2001.
The disease was first found in Missouri in 2012. From that point until now, there have only been a total of 141 positive cases of the disease.
“What we don’t want to happen is for the disease to grow throughout the state,” Bowyer said. :In places where action was taken it lowered the risk by 20 percent.”
Bowyer was adamant that he does not want to see the CWD prevalence as high in Missouri. So Bowyer along with the Department of Conservation will implement several new rules, one of which involves culling.
In an effort that started on Jan. 16 and will run through March 15, the department will start its targeted culling efforts. Anywhere within a two mile radius of a known positive deer, willing landowners will have options where trained MDC shooters or the landowner themselves take down as many deer as they find.
“Essentially what we are doing is eliminate the disease in the area,” Bowyer said . “this is the best way that we know how to get rid of the disease at this time.”
The other method of limiting the disease is to leave carcasses where they lay after hunting.
“In the past it would be nothing for an person to shoot a deer and then haul it back to their house on their land, clean and de-bone it and then leave the carcass in their back 40,” Bowyer said. “That’s not a good idea anymore as we want to make sure that the deer stay in a rather close proximity to where they are killed. This is especially true for those who are hunting out of state.”
While Bowyer has gotten many comments on the mere existence of the disease, he is happy to discuss the disease with anyone.
“This is a big deal and not really a laughing matter. We are doing our best to limit CWD and keep it limited to the areas they are already in.”
