PA Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free
Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free
By Bob Frye
Published: Monday, October 22, 2012, 9:10 p.m. Updated 13 hours ago
One of 10 captive deer that was meant to be euthanized because of its
exposure to chronic wasting disease is instead alive and well and roaming the
Pennsylvania countryside.
On Oct. 10, tests results showed that a captive deer that died on a
hobby-type deer farm in New Oxford, Adams County, had had wasting disease, or
CWD. It was the first case documented within the state
Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture made public the
test results a day later. State veterinarian Craig Shultz said then the plan was
to “depopulate” the farm – i.e. kill the 10 remaining deer on it – to test them
for CWD, too.
That was a necessity because there is no live animal test that can
determine if a deer has CWD, and no treatment for the always fatal disease if
there was, he said.
Shooters from the United States and Pennsylvania departments of agriculture
descended on the farm Thursday to kill the deer. Nine were shot. But the tenth –
named Pink 23 – broke through the fence and escaped.
Agriculture officials have been watching the farm ever since, in the hope
that the deer would return to a familiar place on its own so they could shoot
it. But as of 5 p.m. Monday, the deer – identifiable because of a yellow ear tag
– hadn’t.
“It’s still out there,” said Samantha Krepps, spokeswoman for the
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
What happens next is unclear. Krepps said the two agriculture departments
and the Pennsylvania Game Commission are working cooperatively on the
issue.
When asked if there was a Plan B for recapturing the deer, Krepps declined
to say.
“I’d rather wait on talking about that for a bit yet,” she said.
Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser deferred all questions about the
deer to the agriculture department.
In the meantime, the deer’s presence on the landscape is a potential threat
to the state’s wild deer herd, said Kip Adams, a biologist and outreach
coordinator for the Quality Deer Management Association in Pennsylvania.
The escaped deer may or may not have wasting disease; no one can say for
sure. Test results from the nine deer that were killed on the farm won’t be
known for several weeks yet.
But should it have the disease, this is “absolutely” the worst time of year
for it to have escaped and be roaming around, Adams said.
The rut, or breeding season for deer, is about to get into full swing.
Pennsylvania Game Commission research has shown that most adult female deer are
bred, on average, in mid-November. Additional research specific to Pennsylvania
has shown that in the weeks leading up to that time, deer – bucks and does both
– travel much further and more often and come into contact with more deer than
is usual, Adams said.
Given that CWD is spread by deer-to-deer contact and by deer coming on
contact with plants and soils where CWD-positive deer have been, the fact that a
possibly sick deer is moving around and socializing could be bad news, Adams
said.
“If you had to pick the one worst time of year for something like this to
happen, this would be it,” Adams said. “This is pretty scary.”
Sportsmen, meanwhile, are upset that no one from the department of
agriculture released any information about Pink 23’s escape to the public. No
news releases have been issued in the five days since the deer’s escape.
Some hunters have already contacted state lawmakers to air their
complaints.
Bob Frye is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at
bfrye@tribweb.com or 724-838-5148.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Pennsylvania Confirms First Case CWD Adams County Captive Deer Tests
Positive
Monday, October 15, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION AND AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT TO HOLD PUBLIC
MEETING TO DISCUSS CWD MONITORING EFFORTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15,
2012 Release #124-12
Pennsylvania CWD number of deer exposed and farms there from much greater
than first thought
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 10:44 PM Updated: Wednesday,
October 17, 2012, 11:33 PM
Friday, August 31, 2012
COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK and CWD 2009-2012 a
review
I urge everyone to read the following reports, to help understand the
overall aspect of the TSE prion disease in different species. ...tss
Saturday, October 6, 2012
*** TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE
SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES 2011 Annual Report
Friday, October 12, 2012
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is Now Accepting Comments on Rule
Proposals for “Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)”
TO: comments@tahc.state.tx.us; Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC)
kind regards,
terry
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
10:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home