KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA
By Steve McCadams WENK/WTPR Outdoors Commentator
Paris, Tenn.–After Thursday night’s meeting by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency at Henry County Fairgrounds hunters and wildlife enthusiasts are better informed about the ramifications of Chronic Wasting Disease in the state’s herd but most in the crowd now find themselves in a deer dilemma.
Said one hunter at the conclusion of the presentation: “We’re sick but the doctor can’t do anything for us!”
A crowd of some 125 people attended, soaking up information presented by Dan Grove, a veterinarian and wildlife health specialist working with both TWRA and UT Extension Service. Also presenting was Jeremy Dennison, CWD Field Coordinator with TWRA.
If those attending came to the event hoping to hear some good news of progress or cures from the front lines of the war on CWD they left disappointed. What they learned is that CWD is a formidable opponent to the future of deer hunting here in Tennessee and Henry County.
Grove provided a pictorial presentation supported by graphs and several years of data giving attendees some history of the disease that first surfaced in western states in the 1960’s but was first discovered in Tennessee in 2018.
In summary, Grove says:
(1) CWD is a significant threat to the state’s white-tail deer herd
(2) TWRA has the goal of keeping CWD from spreading and keeping the number of diseased deer in areas to a minimum and reducing disease rates where possible.
(3) Biologists want to increase the harvest in affected counties while the agency increases its sampling as it attempts to better understand the disease
(4) bucks are twice more likely than does to have CWD and older bucks are three times more likely to have it than younger ones
(5) CWD isn’t known to affect cattle, horses, sheep or goats
(6) Long term effects on the state’s herd are unknown
(7) CWD is 100 percent fatal…once deer have it they are unable to breed and die within 18 months. In the early stages cosmetic signs are thin hair, drooling, walking in circles and allowing humans to approach them.
(8) it has never been known to infect humans
(9) it’s a prion type disease brought on by abnormal, pathogenic agents that throw off the balance of proteins especially in the brain of deer, lymphatic system, etc…
(10) CWD management is not a one-man band. It is a partnership between TWRA, partners, hunters, landowners, and you. Your engagement and support is needed. Please, harvest more deer in Unit CWD. Abide by carcass transportation and feeding restrictions in CWD-positive and high-risk counties.
For additional information and more details of CWD the agency has established a website: CWDinTennessee.com that will provide specifics of transportation and the overall scenario of the situation at hand.