New Article on CWD by Dr. Alan Houston, Ames Plantation

[tnanh]

Thanks for sharing fairchaser. I'd like to see some study results in areas that have had CWD around for decades and compare those to what TN is doing

Tn should take advantage of money spent in other states for over 50 years. It seems TWRA regs are killing more deer than cwd ever will. I am not a biologist but it seems like there are not any working for TWRA either.

 

[WORM82]

Just do like Wisconsin. Act like it's not there and just eat it.

 

[Swampster]

New article, old data. Until agencies combine their efforts vs. each one doing their own thing I do not see how progress in understanding can be made. Same thing is happening with turkey populations, fragmented research.

Not too sure how new - published date read June 2022?

 

[DeerCamp]

hould take advantage of money spent in other states for over 50 years. It seems TWRA regs are killing more deer than cwd ever will. I am not a biologist but it seems like there are not any working for TWRA either.

Only one of the following things can be true:

1. CWD is exploding across the entire West Tennessee region at an unprecedented rate, meaning that the TWRA has completely failed in their effort to monitor and control the spread.

2. Some of the testing they have had done is not valid, and the spread isn't nearly as bad as it would seem, hence TWRA is overreacting on bad data.

Pick one.

 

[fairchaser]

Only one of the following things can be true:

1. CWD is exploding across the entire West Tennessee region at an unprecedented rate, meaning that the TWRA has completely failed in their effort to monitor and control the spread.

2. Some of the testing they have had done is not valid, and the spread isn't nearly as bad as it would seem, hence TWRA is overreacting on bad data.

Pick one.

I'll go with number 1. It's growing across the state and there's nothing that can stop it. If it's growing at an unprecedented rate it's due to the density of the TN deer herd and our soil. There's no comparison to what happened out West. Killing more deer might slow it somewhat but it's still growing.

 

[DeerCamp]

I'll go with number 1. It's growing across the state and there's nothing that can stop it. If it's growing at an unprecedented rate it's due to the density of the TN deer herd and our soil. There's no comparison to what happened out West. Killing more deer might slow it somewhat but it's still growing.

I don't believe for a second that the outlier positives are valid. They all happened about the same time from the same lab, and then nothing since.

But yes, it is spreading and will continue to do so.

 

[tellico4x4]

Two new cases in Lauderdale Co AL where I live, brings total to 3. First was 3 yrs ago

 

[backyardtndeer]

I don't believe for a second that the outlier positives are valid.

So how did KY get one across an entire county that was not a cwd county? KY management isn't dictated by the twra, so can rule out the conspiracy theories that the twra is involved in falsifying data for that case. How those positives got where they are could be as simple as a buzzard or eagle redistributing prions that were picked up by a deer in that area. Maybe there just aren't enough other people having their deer tested yet in those areas....

 

[fairchaser]

Two new cases in Lauderdale Co AL where I live, brings total to 3. First was 3 yrs ago

Think about the odds of a positive deer, and that deer being tested. Then that positive deer being retested with another method to verify the results. The probe must be inserted into the infected area of the brain on the second test. There are many ways for a deer to slip the net but you can be assured that once they determine it's positive it's pretty sure and very likely others as well.

 

[Omega]

Think about the odds of a positive deer, and that deer being tested. Then that positive deer being retested with another method to verify the results. The probe must be inserted into the infected area of the brain on the second test. There are many ways for a deer to slip the net but you can be assured that once they determine it's positive it's pretty sure and very likely others as well.

I think that was the issue, at least according to the lawsuit, they did not do the follow-up test. While it is probable that the deer were positive, there is still that doubt, and that they jumped the gun on declaring an entire county positive with only one positive test.

 

[7mmWSM]

You'll have deer. They just won't live to be very old. Likely SOL if you're a horn hunter.

Big big misconception! They still mature and have had just as good a rack as ever. I personally have 2 buddies who hunt properties beside Ames that have killed 2 bucks, 1 last year and 1 this year that were 5-1/2 yr olds that scored in the 150's. Both tested positive for CWD as well.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Big big misconception! They still mature and have had just as good a rack as ever. I personally have 2 buddies who hunt properties beside Ames that have killed 2 bucks, 1 last year and 1 this year that were 5-1/2 yr olds that scored in the 150's. Both tested positive for CWD as well.

The experts say there are higher incidence rates in older age class bucks. It kind of makes sense since those deer over their lifetimes have probably covered more ground and given themselves more potential for exposure to the prions. The thing that is interesting to me is that some right here in this forum have said that they have killed deer that appeared to be perfectly healthy to come back positive. With that in mind I have to admit that I was sweating it just a little waiting on the test results on the 5.5 year old buck I killed this year as it took longer than I expected.

There hadn't been any positives anywhere near us on the map, but I question the percentages of how many who are even having their deer tested. I know of several who are not. Although I fully intended on having them tested, the two I killed last year did not get tested.

 

[DeerCamp]

So how did KY get one across an entire county that was not a cwd county? KY management isn't dictated by the twra, so can rule out the conspiracy theories that the twra is involved in falsifying data for that case. How those positives got where they are could be as simple as a buzzard or eagle redistributing prions that were picked up by a deer in that area. Maybe there just aren't enough other people having their deer tested yet in those areas....

Hopefully not the same way those 3 positive tests happened in east Tennessee...

But if it is valid, you would expect secondary results from other deer in the same area. Especially since they will ramp up testing in that area.

These positives below all happened in the same time frame (2021), and then there have never been any others over 2 additional seasons.

That's statistically VERY unlikely.

 

[Creek bottoms]

Big big misconception! They still mature and have had just as good a rack as ever. I personally have 2 buddies who hunt properties beside Ames that have killed 2 bucks, 1 last year and 1 this year that were 5-1/2 yr olds that scored in the 150's. Both tested positive for CWD as well.

Time will tell.

 

[knightrider]

There isnt a thing can be done about it, so stop wasting sportsmens dollars on a nonfixable problem

 

[BigAl]

IMO the spread has happened, they didn't slow it down (or did they?) so its time to just let nature takes its course.

I do believe that TWRA is damned if they do and damned if they don't. They tried to slow (not stop, impossible) the spread and people complained about it. Had they done nothing and it spread (it was going to do so regardless of TWRA actions), people would have complained about it and blamed TWRA.

I'm not far from Ames (both where I live and where I hunt) and I've seen the effects of CWD. And both places didn't have the extensive doe kills that Ames employed. Ames just picked the wrong time to kill too many does. Without CWD it was probably a good management practice. But they were doing it when CWD was doing its damage, so it was a double whammy. They just didn't know it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[th88]

As someone in the know in regards to CWD testing, I can assure you false positives are NOT common. Yes, TWRA should have sent them in for secondary confirmation. But its very likely 95% of their positives would have still been positive with the 2nd round of testing.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Hopefully not the same way those 3 positive tests happened in east Tennessee...

But if it is valid, you would expect secondary results from other deer in the same area. Especially since they will ramp up testing in that area.

These positives below all happened in the same time frame (2021), and then there have never been any others over 2 additional seasons.

That's statistically VERY unlikely.

View attachment 208193

So you don't think there is any expansion?

 

[JJ3]

Only time will tell if the current regulations will help or hurt the deer herd in the long run. I hear a lot of arm chair quarterbacking. There would be universal praise from deer hunters on the east end of the state if a cure for CWD was discovered thanking TWRA for slowing the spread. Is it inevitable that it spreads across the state? No. What would happen if the state chose to put their head in the sand while zombie deer roamed the state. With no testing available, who would eat a single deer? A cry would come from all deer hunters, Why doesn't somebody do something? One of the original discovers of CWD said to do more, go farther and exceed what is reasonable to rid CWD. The deer herd will come back, but CWD once started can't be easily removed. I don't pass judgment on every regulation but I commend the state on their commitment and hard work.

I completely agree with you and commend TWRA for a quick response one positives were detected in the 2018/19 season. It is unfortunate that more surveillance testing had not occurred in the 5 - 10 years prior that maybe could have nipped it in the bud. But it is well established in the hot zone in Fayette and Hardeman counties.

Harvest data doesn't indicate that greater numbers of deer or bucks alone for that matter are being harvested. Number of deer killed in most southwest TN counties is below what it was a decade ago. Hunting in Haywood County, just north of the hot zone, I don't sense a change in number of shots I hear, number of deer seen, or quality of hunt. But I know as it spreads north and the "sparks" become bonfires that will change.

Population density has to play a role in the rate of spread and prevalence. If regulations, bag limits, seasons, etc. can help maintain a prevalence below 5%, then I'm all for it. Once you get to the prevalence of 40 - 50% as in the "hot zone", it's too late to do anything effective.

I love eating venison and we eat it 2 - 3 times a week. But I'm not going to take the risk of knowingly eat a positive testing deer. The risk may be low, "but it's not zero".

 

[JJ3]

I do not think Ames's biologist "response" to CWD had much of anything to do with what the Plantation is experiencing today. CWD was first detected in the area December 2018 at the end of the season (we all know now it had been there several years due to prevalence rate), members instantly starting fleeing the club and CWD "ground zero" area, and as fairchaser mentioned above, even with more liberal limits and incentives to kill deer (free licenses, etc), fewer deer have been killed last three years at Ames and surrounding farms than a decade ago. A lot fewer. To put it in perspective, our annual doe goal at Ames was typically 180 does, and in our heyday around 2010, we killed 230 does and 30-40 bucks. Deer herd was healthy then, and we hunted 13k acres out of 18k acres pretty hard out, especially in November and December. This graphic shows you how few deer were killed last year, mainly due to lack of sightings, lack of interest and lack of excitement about pulling the trigger and likely dealing with a CWD positive deer when you do see one. Notice the CWD positive rates. I stay in touch with numerous members year around, and their drive and excitement to deer hunt (and all things that go with it) seems so dismal compared to where we were 2010-2015. It's disheartening to say the least.

View attachment 142686

Andy, thanks for sharing this data.