Saturday, September 07, 2013

Georgia House Bill 1043 and Chronic Wasting Disease CWD

 

Greetings Honorable Representatives of the House, Game, Fish, & Parks,
 
 
I wish to submit some recent science about chronic wasting disease cwd from the Prion2013 congressional abstracts.
 
I lost my mother to hvCJD ‘confirmed’, and have been following the mad cow follies for almost 16 years daily. sadly, cwd is just another part of those follies.
 
I have studied and kept up with these follies daily for almost 16 years, as a layperson.
 
I believe that when officials are making decisions, they need all the scientific information available to make sound decisions. many times this does not happen due to the industries involved and politics and greed there from.
 
So, I send this science on the cwd tse prion disease in good faith.
 
TO date, with the limited CWD testing in Georgia, CWD has not been detected. does not mean it is not already there. BUT, if you approve Bill 1043, the chances of CWD being introduced into your state goes up greatly.
 
Inactivation of the TSE Prion disease
 
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD, and other TSE prion disease, these TSE prions know no borders.
 
these TSE prions know no age restrictions.
 
The TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 1112 degrees farenheit.
 
you cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat.
 
you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE.
 
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well.
 
the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes.
 
IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades.
 
you can bury it and it will not go away.
 
The TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area.
 
it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done with. that’s what’s so worrisome about Iatrogenic mode of transmission, a simple autoclave will not kill this TSE prion agent.
 
 
New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication
 
The infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) are notoriously resistant to most physical and chemical methods used for inactivating pathogens, including heat. It has long been recognized, for example, that boiling is ineffective and that higher temperatures are most efficient when combined with steam under pressure (i.e., autoclaving). As a means of decontamination, dry heat is used only at the extremely high temperatures achieved during incineration, usually in excess of 600°C. It has been assumed, without proof, that incineration totally inactivates the agents of TSE, whether of human or animal origin.
 
 
 
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production
 
Histochemical analysis of hamster brains inoculated with the solid residue showed typical spongiform degeneration and vacuolation. Re-inoculation of these brains into a new cohort of hamsters led to onset of clinical scrapie symptoms within 75 days, suggesting that the specific infectivity of the prion protein was not changed during the biodiesel process. The biodiesel reaction cannot be considered a viable prion decontamination method for MBM, although we observed increased survival time of hamsters and reduced infectivity greater than 6 log orders in the solid MBM residue. Furthermore, results from our study compare for the first time prion detection by Western Blot versus an infectivity bioassay for analysis of biodiesel reaction products. We could show that biochemical analysis alone is insufficient for detection of prion infectivity after a biodiesel process.
 
 
 
Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area
 
The data presented here demonstrate that sPMCA can detect low levels of PrPCWD in the environment, corroborate previous biological and experimental data suggesting long term persistence of prions in the environment2,3 and imply that PrPCWD accumulation over time may contribute to transmission of CWD in areas where it has been endemic for decades. This work demonstrates the utility of sPMCA to evaluate other environmental water sources for PrPCWD, including smaller bodies of water such as vernal pools and wallows, where large numbers of cervids congregate and into which prions from infected animals may be shed and concentrated to infectious levels.
 
 
 
A Quantitative Assessment of the Amount of Prion Diverted to Category 1 Materials and Wastewater During Processing
 
Keywords:Abattoir;bovine spongiform encephalopathy;QRA;scrapie;TSE
 
In this article the development and parameterization of a quantitative assessment is described that estimates the amount of TSE infectivity that is present in a whole animal carcass (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] for cattle and classical/atypical scrapie for sheep and lambs) and the amounts that subsequently fall to the floor during processing at facilities that handle specified risk material (SRM). BSE in cattle was found to contain the most oral doses, with a mean of 9864 BO ID50s (310, 38840) in a whole carcass compared to a mean of 1851 OO ID50s (600, 4070) and 614 OO ID50s (155, 1509) for a sheep infected with classical and atypical scrapie, respectively. Lambs contained the least infectivity with a mean of 251 OO ID50s (83, 548) for classical scrapie and 1 OO ID50s (0.2, 2) for atypical scrapie. The highest amounts of infectivity falling to the floor and entering the drains from slaughtering a whole carcass at SRM facilities were found to be from cattle infected with BSE at rendering and large incineration facilities with 7.4 BO ID50s (0.1, 29), intermediate plants and small incinerators with a mean of 4.5 BO ID50s (0.1, 18), and collection centers, 3.6 BO ID50s (0.1, 14). The lowest amounts entering drains are from lambs infected with classical and atypical scrapie at intermediate plants and atypical scrapie at collection centers with a mean of 3 × 10−7 OO ID50s (2 × 10−8, 1 × 10−6) per carcass. The results of this model provide key inputs for the model in the companion paper published here.
 
 
 
PPo4-4:
 
Survival and Limited Spread of TSE Infectivity after Burial
 
Karen Fernie, Allister Smith and Robert A. Somerville The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS; University of Edinburgh; Roslin, Scotland UK
 
Scrapie and chronic wasting disease probably spread via environmental routes, and there are also concerns about BSE infection remaining in the environment after carcass burial or waste 3disposal. In two demonstration experiments we are determining survival and migration of TSE infectivity when buried for up to five years, as an uncontained point source or within bovine heads. Firstly boluses of TSE infected mouse brain were buried in lysimeters containing either sandy or clay soil. Migration from the boluses is being assessed from soil cores taken over time. With the exception of a very small amount of infectivity found 25 cm from the bolus in sandy soil after 12 months, no other infectivity has been detected up to three years. Secondly, ten bovine heads were spiked with TSE infected mouse brain and buried in the two soil types. Pairs of heads have been exhumed annually and assessed for infectivity within and around them. After one year and after two years, infectivity was detected in most intracranial samples and in some of the soil samples taken from immediately surrounding the heads. The infectivity assays for the samples in and around the heads exhumed at years three and four are underway. These data show that TSE infectivity can survive burial for long periods but migrates slowly. Risk assessments should take into account the likely long survival rate when infected material has been buried.
 
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from DEFRA.
 
 
 
PPo3-22:
 
Detection of Environmentally Associated PrPSc on a Farm with Endemic Scrapie
 
Ben C. Maddison,1 Claire A. Baker,1 Helen C. Rees,1 Linda A. Terry,2 Leigh Thorne,2 Susan J. Belworthy2 and Kevin C. Gough3 1ADAS-UK LTD; Department of Biology; University of Leicester; Leicester, UK; 2Veterinary Laboratories Agency; Surry, KT UK; 3Department of Veterinary Medicine and Science; University of Nottingham; Sutton Bonington, Loughborough UK
 
Key words: scrapie, evironmental persistence, sPMCA
 
Ovine scrapie shows considerable horizontal transmission, yet the routes of transmission and specifically the role of fomites in transmission remain poorly defined. Here we present biochemical data demonstrating that on a scrapie-affected sheep farm, scrapie prion contamination is widespread. It was anticipated at the outset that if prions contaminate the environment that they would be there at extremely low levels, as such the most sensitive method available for the detection of PrPSc, serial Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (sPMCA), was used in this study. We investigated the distribution of environmental scrapie prions by applying ovine sPMCA to samples taken from a range of surfaces that were accessible to animals and could be collected by use of a wetted foam swab. Prion was amplified by sPMCA from a number of these environmental swab samples including those taken from metal, plastic and wooden surfaces, both in the indoor and outdoor environment. At the time of sampling there had been no sheep contact with these areas for at least 20 days prior to sampling indicating that prions persist for at least this duration in the environment. These data implicate inanimate objects as environmental reservoirs of prion infectivity which are likely to contribute to disease transmission.
 
 
 
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
 
Rapid assessment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion inactivation by heat treatment in yellow grease produced in the industrial manufacturing process of meat and bone meals
 
BMC Veterinary Research 2013, 9:134 doi:10.1186/1746-6148-9-134
 
 
 
 
Friday, December 14, 2012
 
DEFRA U.K. What is the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease CWD being introduced into Great Britain?
 
A Qualitative Risk Assessment October 2012
 
snip...
 
In the USA, under the Food and Drug Administration’s BSE Feed Regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) most material (exceptions include milk, tallow, and gelatin) from deer and elk is prohibited for use in feed for ruminant animals. With regards to feed for non-ruminant animals, under FDA law, CWD positive deer may not be used for any animal feed or feed ingredients. For elk and deer considered at high risk for CWD, the FDA recommends that these animals do not enter the animal feed system. However, this recommendation is guidance and not a requirement by law. Animals considered at high risk for CWD include:
 
1) animals from areas declared to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones and
 
2) deer and elk that at some time during the 60-month period prior to slaughter were in a captive herd that contained a CWD-positive animal.
 
Therefore, in the USA, materials from cervids other than CWD positive animals may be used in animal feed and feed ingredients for non-ruminants.
 
The amount of animal PAP that is of deer and/or elk origin imported from the USA to GB can not be determined, however, as it is not specified in TRACES. It may constitute a small percentage of the 8412 kilos of non-fish origin processed animal proteins that were imported from US into GB in 2011. Overall, therefore, it is considered there is a __greater than negligible risk___ that (nonruminant) animal feed and pet food containing deer and/or elk protein is imported into GB. There is uncertainty associated with this estimate given the lack of data on the amount of deer and/or elk protein possibly being imported in these products.
 
snip...
 
36% in 2007 (Almberg et al., 2011). In such areas, population declines of deer of up to 30 to 50% have been observed (Almberg et al., 2011). In areas of Colorado, the prevalence can be as high as 30% (EFSA, 2011). The clinical signs of CWD in affected adults are weight loss and behavioural changes that can span weeks or months (Williams, 2005). In addition, signs might include excessive salivation, behavioural alterations including a fixed stare and changes in interaction with other animals in the herd, and an altered stance (Williams, 2005). These signs are indistinguishable from cervids experimentally infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Given this, if CWD was to be introduced into countries with BSE such as GB, for example, infected deer populations would need to be tested to differentiate if they were infected with CWD or BSE to minimise the risk of BSE entering the human food-chain via affected venison.
 
snip...
 
The rate of transmission of CWD has been reported to be as high as 30% and can approach 100% among captive animals in endemic areas (Safar et al., 2008).
 
snip...
 
In summary, in endemic areas, there is a medium probability that the soil and surrounding environment is contaminated with CWD prions and in a bioavailable form. In rural areas where CWD has not been reported and deer are present, there is a greater than negligible risk the soil is contaminated with CWD prion.
 
snip...
 
In summary, given the volume of tourists, hunters and servicemen moving between GB and North America, the probability of at least one person travelling to/from a CWD affected area and, in doing so, contaminating their clothing, footwear and/or equipment prior to arriving in GB is greater than negligible. For deer hunters, specifically, the risk is likely to be greater given the increased contact with deer and their environment. However, there is significant uncertainty associated with these estimates.
 
snip...
 
Therefore, it is considered that farmed and park deer may have a higher probability of exposure to CWD transferred to the environment than wild deer given the restricted habitat range and higher frequency of contact with tourists and returning GB residents.
 
snip...
 
 
 
 
 
SNIP...SEE ;
 
 
 
Friday, December 14, 2012
 
DEFRA U.K. What is the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease CWD being introduced into Great Britain? A Qualitative Risk Assessment October 2012
 
 
 
 
 
UPDATED DATA ON 2ND CWD STRAIN
 
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
 
CWD PRION CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 8-11 2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*** The potential impact of prion diseases on human health was greatly magnified by the recognition that interspecies transfer of BSE to humans by beef ingestion resulted in vCJD. While changes in animal feed constituents and slaughter practices appear to have curtailed vCJD, there is concern that CWD of free-ranging deer and elk in the U.S. might also cross the species barrier. Thus, consuming venison could be a source of human prion disease. Whether BSE and CWD represent interspecies scrapie transfer or are newly arisen prion diseases is unknown. Therefore, the possibility of transmission of prion disease through other food animals cannot be ruled out. There is evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion. There is likely a pool of unknown size of asymptomatic individuals infected with vCJD, and there may be asymptomatic individuals infected with the CWD equivalent. These circumstances represent a potential threat to blood, blood products, and plasma supplies.
 
 
 
 
 
Prion2013 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats, blood, and mother to offspring transmission
 
 
 
HD.13: CWD infection in the spleen of humanized transgenic mice
 
Liuting Qing and Qingzhong Kong
 
Case Western Reserve University; Cleveland, OH USA
 
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread prion disease in free-ranging and captive cervid species in North America, and there is evidence suggesting the existence of multiple CWD strains. The susceptibility of human CNS and peripheral organs to the various CWD prion strains remains largely unclear. Current literature suggests that the classical CWD strain is unlikely to infect human brain, but the potential for peripheral infection by CWD in humans is unknown. We detected protease-resistant PrpSc in the spleens of a few humanized transgenic mice that were intracerebrally inoculated with natural CWD isolates, but PrpSc was not detected in the brains of any of the CWD-inoculated mice. Our ongoing bioassays in humanized Tg mice indicate that intracerebral challenge with such PrpSc-positive humanized mouse spleen already led to prion disease in most animals. These results indicate that the CWD prion may have the potential to infect human peripheral lymphoid tissues.
 
 
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HD.12: Comparative study of the distribution of the prion protein in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) following experimental challenge with variant and sporadic CJD
 
Diane L. Ritchie,1 Paul Brown,2 Susan Gibson,3 Thomas R. Kreil,4 Christian Abee3 and James W. Ironside1
 
1National CJD Surveillance Unit; Edinburgh, UK; 2Bethesda; Bethesda, MD USA; 3Deparment of Comparative Medicine; University of South Alabama; Mobile, AL USA; 4Baxter Bioscience; Vienna, Austria
 
Introduction, Reports suggest that the number of tissues and organs showing the presence of the abnormal prion protein (PrPTSE) in variant CJD (vCJD) patients may be greater than previously thought. A limited peripheral involvement in some cases of sporadic CJD (sCJD) has also been reported. This accumulation of PrPTSE outside the brain has raised concerns about the possible iatrogenic transmission risk of vCJD. The squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) has been shown to be highly susceptible to experimental challenge with human prion disease. Neuropathological and biochemical analyses of CNS tissue have shown that sCJD and vCJD can be distinguished in the squirrel monkey and that many of the strain characteristics that define these agents are conserved after transmission. Following on from these initial studies, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were performed on a wide range of peripheral tissues including, lymphoreticular tissues and peripheral neural tissue to establish the full-body distribution of PrPTSE in this primate animal model.
 
Materials and Methods. Brain homogenates from sCJD or vCJD patients were inoculated into the frontal cortex of squirrel monkeys. Animals were kept under constant clinical surveillance. At post-mortem, formalin fixed CNS tissue and a wide range of peripheral tissues were taken for immunohistochemical analysis together with frozen tissues taken for the biochemical detection of PrPTSE.
 
Results. Immunohistochemical analysis showed no evidence of PrPTSE deposition in peripheral tissues in either variant or sporadic CJD-infected animals. However, western blot assays detected PrPTSE in the spleen of a proportion of the vCJD- infected animals. The PrPTSE isotype resembled that detected in CNS tissue from the vCJD- infected animals and from human vCJD cases. ***In addition, western blot analysis detected PrPTSE in the spleen of a single animal following challenge with sporadic CJD. The PrPTSE type in this animal resembled that found in CNS tissue from the same animal, with a PrPTSE type similar to that found in human sCJD type 1 cases.
 
Conclusion. This study confirms the accumulation of PrPTSE in the CNS and spleen of a proportion of squirrel monkeys infected intra-cerebrally with human vCJD. Furthermore, this study extends the evidence that there may be a peripheral involvement in some cases of sCJD. PrPTSE typing confirms the conservation of PrPTSE type on transmission to the squirrel monkey and suggests that there are no tissue-specific adaptations in the biochemical phenotype of the agent strain following primate-to-primate transmission.
 
 
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Oral.15: Molecular barriers to zoonotic prion transmission: Comparison of the ability of sheep, cattle and deer prion disease isolates to convert normal human prion protein to its pathological isoform in a cell-free system
 
Marcelo A.Barria,1 Aru Balachandran,2 Masanori Morita,3 Tetsuyuki Kitamoto,4 Rona Barron,5 Jean Manson,5 Richard Kniqht,1 James W. lronside1 and Mark W. Head1
 
1National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences; School of Clinical Sciences; The University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh, UK; 2National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD; Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Ottawa Laboratory; Fallowfield. ON Canada; 3Infectious Pathogen Research Section; Central Research Laboratory; Japan Blood Products Organization; Kobe, Japan; 4Department of Neurological Science; Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine; Sendai. Japan; 5Neurobiology Division; The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS; University of Edinburgh; Easter Bush; Midlothian; Edinburgh, UK
 
Background. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a known zoonotic prion disease, resulting in variant Creurzfeldt- Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. In contrast, classical scrapie in sheep is thought to offer little or no danger to human health. However, a widening range of prion diseases have been recognized in cattle, sheep and deer. The risks posed by individual animal prion diseases to human health cannot be determined a priori and are difficult to assess empirically. The fundamemal event in prion disease pathogenesis is thought to be the seeded conversion of normal prion protein (PrPC) to its pathological isoform (PrPSc). Here we report the use of a rapid molecular conversion assay to test whether brain specimens from different animal prion diseases are capable of seeding the conversion of human PrPC ro PrPSc.
 
Material and Methods. Classical BSE (C-type BSE), H-type BSE, L-type BSE, classical scrapie, atypical scrapie, chronic wasting disease and vCJD brain homogenates were tested for their ability to seed conversion of human PrPC to PrPSc in protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) reactions. Newly formed human PrPSc was detected by protease digestion and western blotting using the antibody 3F4.
 
Results. C-type BSE and vCJD were found to efficiently convert PrPC to PrPSc. Scrapie failed to convert human PrPC to PrPSc. Of the other animal prion diseases tested only chronic wasting disease appeared to have the capability ro convert human PrPC to PrPSc. The results were consistent whether the human PrPC came from human brain, humanised transgenic mouse brain or from cultured human cells and the effect was more pronounced for PrPC with methionine at codon 129 compared with that with valine.
 
Conclusion. Our results show that none of the tested animal prion disease isolates are as efficient as C-type BSE and vCJD in converting human prion protein in this in vitro assay. However, they also show that there is no absolute barrier ro conversion of human prion protein in the case of chronic wasting disease.
 
 
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Invited.16: Studies of chronic wasting disease transmission in cervid and non-cervid species
 
Edward A, Hoover,1 Candace K. Mathiason,1 Davin M. Henderson,1 Nicholas J. Haley,1 Davis M. Seelig,1 Nathaniel D. Denkers,1 Amy V. Nalls,1 Mark D. Zabe,1 Glenn C. Telling,1 Fernando Goni2 and Thomas Wisniewski,2
 
1Prion Research Center; Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA; 2New York University School of Medicine; New York, NY USA
 
How and why some misfolded proteins become horizontally transmitted agents and occasionally cross species barriers are issues fundamental to understanding prion disease. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids is perhaps a prototype of horizontal prion transmission, encompassing efficient mucosal uptake, lymphoid amplification, neuroinvasion, peripheralization, and dissemination via mucosal excretion. Efficient mucosal transmission of CWD in deer has been demonstrated by oral, nasal, aerosol, and indirect contact exposure. In addition, other studies (Mathiason CK, et al.) reported at the symposium support a significant role for pre- and/or postnatal transmission of CWD from doe to offspring. Accumulating, yet still incomplete, evidence also suggests that the period of relatively covert CWD infection may be longer than originally thought. Given the above, minimally invasive sensitive assays based on body fluids from live animals would aid substantially in understanding the biology of CWD. We have been applying seeded realtirne quaking-induced amplification of recombinant PrP substrates (i.e., RT-QuIC methodology) to: (1) investigate antemortem CWD detection, and (2) model PrP-based species barriers and trans-species adaptation-topics we previously explored using sPMCA and in vivo bioassays. At this symposium, we report sensitive and specific detection CWD prions in saliva, urine, blood (Mathiason lab), and rectal and pharyngeal lymph node samples (Haley NJ, et al.) from pre-symptomatic and symptomatic experimentally and naturally exposed deer. Other ongoing studies are employing RT-QuIC methodology to model amplification barriers among CWD, FSE, BSE, and CJD prions using cervine, feline, bovine, human, and promiscuous rPrP substrates and the above species prion seeds, cellular co-factors, and transgenic mice. Finally, in collaboration with the Wisniewski laboratory, we are conducting of experimental CWD vaccination studies in deer employing oral administration of an attenuated Salmonella vector expressing cervid PrP epitopes.
 
 
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AD.06: Detecting prions in the brain and blood of TSE-infected deer and hamsters
 
Alan Elder,1 Davin Henderson,1 Anca Selariu,1 Amy Nalls,1 Byron Caughey,2 Richard Bessen,1 Jason Bartz3 and Candace Mathiason1
 
1Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA; 2NIH Rocky Mountain Laboratories; Hamilton, MT USA; 3Creighton University; Omaha, NE USA
 
While large quantities of protease resistant prion protein (PrPres) can be demonstrated by western blot or IHC in lymphoid biopsies or post-mortem brain tissues harvested from prion-infected animals, these conventional assays are less reliable as means to detect the small quantities of prions thought to be present in bodily fluids or associated with early and asymptomatic phases of TSE disease. The Real Time-Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay is capable of detecting prions at concentrations below the level of sensitivity of conventional assays and provides a real-time fluorescent readout negating the use of proteases. We have made modifications to the RT-QuIC assay to utilize it for the detection of PrPres in brain and blood harvested from various species infected with prions. In this study, we analyzed CWD-infected deer and CWD/TME-infected hamster whole blood to determine the effect of:
 
(1) various anticoagulants,
 
(2) freezing and
 
(3) NaPTA precipitation.
 
Brain tissue and blood collected from naive deer and hamsters served as negative controls.
 
We were able to demonstrate amplifiable prions in
 
(1) brain and blood samples harvested from CWD/TME-infected animals,
 
(2) heparinized blood,
 
(3) frozen vs. fresh blood and
 
(4) NaPTA treated samples.
 
The RT-QuIC assay is able to detect PrPres in various species of animals and shows promise as an antemortem diagnostic tool for blood-borne TSEs.
 
 
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Oral.08: Mother to offspring transmission of chronic wasting disease in Reeve's Muntjac deer
 
Amy Nalls,1 Erin McNulty,1 Jenny Powers,2 Davis Seelig,1 Clare Hoover,1 Nicholas Haley,1 Jeanette Hayes-Klug,1 Kelly Anderson,1 Paula Stewart,3 Wilfred Goldmann,3 Edward A. Hoover1 and Candace K. Mathiason1
 
1Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA; 2National Park Service; Fort Collins, CO USA; 3The Roslin Institute and Royal School of Veterinary Studies; Edinburgh, UK
 
To investigate the role mother to offspring transmission plays in chronic wasting disease (CWD), we have developed a cervid model employing the Reeve's muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi). Eight muntjac doe were orally inoculated with CWD and tested PrPCWD lymphoid positive by 4 mo post infection. Fourteen fawns were born to these eight CWD-infected doe-3 were born viable, 6 were born non-viable and 5 were harvested as fetuses from early or end-stage CWD-infected doe. All three viable fawns have demonstrated CWD IHC lymphoid biopsy positivity between 43 d post birth and 11 mo post birth. Two of these three CWD positive viable offspring have developed clinical signs consistent with TSE disease (28-33 mo post birth). Moreover, CWD prions have been detected by sPMCA in 11 of 16 tissues harvested from 6 full-term non-viable fawns and in 7 of 11 fetal tissues harvested in utero from the second and third trimester fetuses. Additional tissues and pregnancy related fluids from doe and offspring are being analyzed for CWD prions. In summary, using the muntjac deer model we have demonstrated CWD clinical disease in offspring born to CWD-infected doe, and in utero transmission of CWD from mother to offspring. These studies provide basis to further investigate the mechanisms of maternal transfer of prions.
 
 
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AD.63: Susceptibility of domestic cats to chronic wasting disease
 
Amy V.Nalls,1 Candace Mathiason,1 Davis Seelig,2 Susan Kraft,1 Kevin Carnes,1 Kelly Anderson,1 Jeanette Hayes-Klug1 and Edward A. Hoover1
 
1Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA; 2University of Minnesota; Saint Paul, MN USA
 
Domestic and nondomestic cats have been shown to be susceptible to feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE), almost certainly caused by consumption of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-contaminated meat. Because domestic and free-ranging nondomestic felids scavenge cervid carcasses, including those in areas affected by chronic wasting disease (CWD), we evaluated the susceptibility of the domestic cat (Felis catus) to CWD infection experimentally. Cohorts of 5 cats each were inoculated either intracerebrally (IC) or orally (PO) with CWD-infected deer brain. At 40 and 42 mo post-inoculation, two IC-inoculated cats developed signs consistent with prion disease, including a stilted gait, weight loss, anorexia, polydipsia, patterned motor behaviors, head and tail tremors, and ataxia, and progressed to terminal disease within 5 mo. Brains from these two cats were pooled and inoculated into cohorts of cats by IC, PO, and intraperitoneal and subcutaneous (IP/SC) routes. Upon subpassage, feline-adapted CWD (FelCWD) was transmitted to all IC-inoculated cats with a decreased incubation period of 23 to 27 mo. FelCWD was detected in the brains of all the symptomatic cats by western blotting and immunohistochemistry and abnormalities were seen in magnetic resonance imaging, including multifocal T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) signal hyper-intensities, ventricular size increases, prominent sulci, and white matter tract cavitation. Currently, 3 of 4 IP/SQ and 2 of 4 PO inoculared cats have developed abnormal behavior patterns consistent with the early stage of feline CWD. These results demonstrate that CWD can be transmitted and adapted to the domestic cat, thus raising the issue of potential cervid-to- feline transmission in nature.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sunday, July 21, 2013
 
*** As Chronic Wasting Disease CWD rises in deer herd, what about risk for humans?
 
 
 
 
*** PRION2013 ***
 
 
Sunday, August 25, 2013
 
Prion2013 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, ***humans, domestic cats, blood, and mother to offspring transmission
 
 
 
 
Friday, August 09, 2013
 
*** CWD TSE prion, plants, vegetables, and the potential for environmental contamination
 
 
 
 
Sunday, September 01, 2013
 
*** hunting over gut piles and CWD TSE prion disease
 
 
 
 
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
 
*** cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
 
 
 
 
Thursday, August 08, 2013
 
*** Characterization of the first case of naturally occurring chronic wasting disease in a captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) in North America
 
 
 
 
Sunday, July 21, 2013
 
*** As Chronic Wasting Disease CWD rises in deer herd, what about risk for humans?
 
 
 
 
Georgia cervid CWD testing
 
 
> the current deer population exceeds 1.2 million.
 
 
 
 
> To survey the deer herd, DNR will attempt to collect approximately 700 samples of central nervous system tissue from hunter-harvested deer annually.
 
 
 
 
“LOL”...tss
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WILDLIFE RESOURCES DIVISION
 
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
 
Wildlife Resources Division
 
2070 U. S. Highway 278, S.E.
 
Social Circle, Georgia 30025
 
770/918-6400
 
AND COOPERATING
 
Georgia Department of Agriculture
 
Animal Industry Division
 
19 MLK Jr., Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30334
 
404/656-3671
 
March 6, 2012
 
Dr. Christopher A. Young USDA APHIS VS Georgia Area Veterinarian in Charge 1498 Klondike Rd. SW STE 200 Conyers, GA 30094 Dear Dr. Y 0U11g:
 
This letter is in response to your electronic correspondence dated February 9, 2012 sent to Charlie Killmaster (Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, WRD) and Dr. Robert Cobb (Georgia Department of Agriculture; GDA). In this correspondence, you inquired whether Georgia is planning to participate in USDA's Voluntary National CWD Herd Certification Program.
 
As there is currently no final rule issued by USDA-APHIS for a Voluntary National CWD Herd Certification Program and, thus, no program, Georgia believes that providing an answer to your inquiry would be premature. However, DNR and GDA would like to take this opportunity to briefly reiterate our concerns previously expressed in the attached letter.
 
While we recognize and appreciate the USDA's mission to protect U.S. agribusiness including alternative livestock such as captive cervid farming, we find the well-documented high level of inherent risk associated with interstate transport of cervids to be of serious concern and unacceptable. In fact, Georgia is one of several states that have chosen to minimize the threat of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) by prohibiting the importation of any live member of the cervid family. Thus far, this action and other CWD-related protocols have served Georgia well.
 
Finally, our agencies would be highly concerned that any final rule or program adopted by USDA may preempt more precautionary State requirements. Any Final Rule or Program that places the State of Georgia at much higher risk or preempts Georgia's stringent CWD risk reduction efforts will not be supported or adopted.
 
Sincerely,
 
Dan Forster, Director Georgia Wildlife Resources Division DF:RC/jwb
 
Dr. Robert Cobb, State Veterinarian
 
Georgia Department of Agriculture
 
 
 
 
 
 
State Regulations for Georgia Health Requirements Reguarding the Importation of Animals For more information on current regulations please contact:
 
Robert M. Cobb, Jr, DVM State Veterinarian and Division Director of Animal Industry Department of Agriculture Capitol Square Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4201 Phone: (404) 656-3671 fax: (404) 657-1357 Permits and information: (404) 656-3667
 
 
snip...
 
 
*** CERVIDAE ***
 
 
No “Farmed Deer” (defined as fallow deer (Dama dams), axis deer (Asix asix), sika deer (Cervus Nippon), red deer and elk (Cervus elaphus), reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and hybrids between these farmed species raised for the commercial sale of meat and other parts or for the sale of live animals) may be imported into the State of Georgia without written approval by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
 
 
 
 
 
This information is not for the current session! 00:00:00.8736000/00:00:00.2496000 2011-2012
 
Regular Session - HB 1043 Animals; importation of white-tailed deer from other states to this state for breeding purposes; provide regulation Sponsored By (1) Powell, Jay 171st(2) Roberts, Jay 154th(3) Shaw, Jason 176th
 
(4) McCall, Tom 30th(5) Jasperse, Rick 12th(6) Jackson, Mack 142nd
 
Committees HC: Game, Fish, & ParksSC:
 
First Reader Summary A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 4 of Title 4 of the O.C.G.A., relating to prevention and control of disease in livestock, so as to provide for regulation of importation of white-tailed deer from other states into this state for breeding purposes; to define certain terms; to provide for deer breeding permits; to provide for terms and conditions; to regulate deer breeders and deer breeding facilities; to prohibit certain acts; to amend Chapter 5 of Title 27 of the O.C.G.A., relating to wild animals, so as to change certain provisions relating to importation restrictions relative to live cervids and prohibitions on possession of cervid carcasses and to change certain provisions relating to wild animal licenses and permits generally; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. Status History Feb/27/2012 - House Withdrawn, Recommitted Feb/21/2012 - House Second Readers Feb/17/2012 - House First Readers Feb/16/2012 - House Hopper
 
 
 
 
 
House Bill 1043
 
By: Representatives Powell of the 171st, Roberts of the 154th, Shaw of the 176th, McCall of the 30th, Jasperse of the 12th, and others
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
1 To amend Chapter 4 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
 
2 prevention and control of disease in livestock, so as to provide for regulation of importation
 
3 of white-tailed deer from other states into this state for breeding purposes; to define certain
 
4 terms; to provide for deer breeding permits; to provide for terms and conditions; to regulate
 
5 deer breeders and deer breeding facilities; to prohibit certain acts; to amend Chapter 5 of
 
6 Title 27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to wild animals, so as to change
 
7 certain provisions relating to importation restrictions relative to live cervids and prohibitions
 
8 on possession of cervid carcasses and to change certain provisions relating to wild animal
 
9 licenses and permits generally; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
 
10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
 
11 SECTION 3.
 
12 Chapter 4 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prevention and
 
13 control of disease in livestock, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:
 
 
 
 
2009
 
High Fences: State-by-State Regulations Across the Southeast
 
Georgia
 
Georgia laws do not allow an individual to confine native white-tailed deer. However, Georgia does not consider deer to be confined if the property is larger than 640 acres. Therefore, individuals are allowed to high fence their property for the purpose of deer management and hunting, as long as the property is a minimum of 640 acres. Within high-fenced properties, deer are considered state property and normal hunting regulations must be followed. Properties less than 640 acres must be permitted and are only approved for exhibition/education purposes and cannot be hunted. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is in the process of locating high fence enclosures and considers the number of enclosures to be increasing significantly.
 
 
 
 
April 23, 2009
 
Georgia High-Fence Operation Owner Fined $70K
 
By Dave Hurteau From the Augusta Chronicle: The owner of a Washington County deer farm must pay fines totaling $70,000 in a civil case that could also yield the confiscation of about 1,000 fallow and red deer, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. . . .
 
"Not only are these so-called 'canned hunts' illegal in Georgia, the shooting of farmed deer for sport in staged hunting venues serves no legitimate role in wildlife conservation," said Dan Forster, the director of Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division.
 
 
 
 
 
 
CWD in Farmed Herds
 
Elk Image Voluntary National CWD Herd Certification Program
 
 
 
 
Listing of Approved State CWD Herd Certification Programs (HCPs) – August 26, 2013
 
A current list of Approved and Provisional Approved State CWD HCPs is provided below with an explanation of the terms ‘Approved State’ and ‘Provisional Approved State’ for clarification of these statuses. Status updates will be posted as additional Approved State CWD HCPs are determined.
 
Approved State – A state that the Administrator has determined has an Approved State CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP) that meets the minimum requirements of the national CWD HCP.
 
Provisional Approved State – A state that the Administrator has determined has a State CWD HCP that does not meet all the national CWD HCP minimum requirements upon application to the program. APHIS and the State will work to develop a plan with appropriate time frame to meet all program requirements.
 
Approved State
 
Alaska
 
Colorado
 
Idaho
 
Indiana
 
Kansas
 
Louisiana
 
Minnesota
 
Missouri
 
Montana
 
Nebraska
 
New York
 
North Carolina
 
North Dakota
 
Ohio
 
Oklahoma
 
South Dakota
 
Tennessee
 
Wisconsin
 
Provisional Approved
 
Illinois
 
Iowa
 
Kentucky
 
Maine
 
Michigan
 
New Mexico
 
Pennsylvania
 
Texas
 
Utah
 
Vermont
 
 
 
 
Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose
 
A Rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on 07/20/2012
 
This article has a comment period that ends in 20 days (08/13/2012)
 
Action
 
Interim Final Rule; Reopening Of Comment Period.
 
Summary
 
We are reopening the comment period for our interim final rule that will establish a herd certification program to control chronic wasting disease (CWD) in farmed or captive cervids in the United States. The interim final rule requested comment on our decision that our regulations will set minimum requirements for the interstate movement of farmed or captive cervids but not preempt State or local laws or regulations that are more restrictive than our regulations, except any such laws or regulations that prohibit or further restrict the transit through a State of deer, elk, and moose that are otherwise eligible for interstate movement. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments on our preemption policy with respect to CWD. This document also indicates that we will consider comments on issues other than our preemption policy for future rulemaking.Show citation box
 
Table of Contents DATES: ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
 
DATES: Back to Top
 
We will consider all comments that we receive on or before August 13, 2012.Show citation box
 
ADDRESSES: Back to Top
 
You may submit comments by either of the following methods:Show citation box Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2006-0118-0199.Show citation box Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. 00-108-8, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.Show citation box Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2006-0118 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.Show citation box
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Back to Top
 
Dr. Patrice Klein, Senior Staff Veterinarian, National Center for Animal Health Programs, Veterinary Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-3435.Show citation box
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Back to Top
 
On June 13, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 35542-35571, Docket No. 00-108-8) an interim final rule that will establish a herd certification program to control chronic wasting disease (CWD) in farmed or captive cervids in the United States. The interim final rule will be effective on August 13, 2012.Show citation box
 
In the interim final rule, we requested comments specifically on our decision not to preempt State and local laws and regulations that are more restrictive than our regulations with respect to CWD, except any such laws or regulations that prohibit or further restrict the transit through a State of deer, elk, and moose that are otherwise eligible for interstate movement. That decision was discussed in section III of the Background section of the interim final rule, under the heading “APHIS' Decision Not to Preempt More Restrictive State Requirements on Farmed or Captive Cervids With Respect to CWD,” beginning on 77 FR 35545.Show citation box
 
Comments on our decisions regarding preemption of State and local laws and regulations were required to be received on or before July 13, 2012. We are reopening the comment period on Docket No. 00-108-8 until August 13, 2012. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments. We will also consider all comments received between July 14, 2012, and the date of this notice.Show citation box
 
The interim final rule indicated that we will publish another document in the Federal Register after the comment period closes that will include a discussion of any comments we receive on our preemption policy and any amendments we are making to the rule. We still plan to do this. However, we have received comments on aspects of the interim final rule other than our preemption policy. While we will not address these comments in our document discussing our preemption policy, we will consider these comments to determine whether future rulemaking may be necessary, and we encourage commenters to address any aspect of the interim final rule that they wish to.Show citation box
 
Authority: Back to Top
 
7 U.S.C. 8301-8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.Show citation box
 
Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of July 2012.
 
Kevin Shea,
 
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 
[FR Doc. 2012-17726 Filed 7-19-12; 8:45 am]
 
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
 
 
 
 
 
Document ID: APHIS-2011-0032-0002 Document Type: Public Submission This is comment on Notice: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Docket ID: APHIS-2011-0032 RIN:
 
Topics: No Topics associated with this document
 
View Document:
 
More
 
Document Subtype: Public Comment Status: Posted Received Date: January 24 2012, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time Date Posted: January 25 2012, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time Comment Start Date: January 24 2012, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time Comment Due Date: March 26 2012, at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time Tracking Number: 80fa2c68 First Name: Terry Middle Name: S. Last Name: Singeltary City: Bacliff Country: United States State or Province: TX Organization Name: LAYPERSON Submitter's Representative: CJD TSE PRION VICTIMS
 
Comment:
 
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (Document ID APHIS-2011-0032-0001) I believe that any voluntary program for CWD free herd certification from game farms will be futile, as was the partial and voluntary mad cow feed ban of August 4, 1997. That failed terribly, with some 10,000,000 of banned blood laced MBM being fed out in 2007, a decade post August 4, 1997 partial and voluntary ban. Game farms are a petri dish for CWD TSE Prion disease, with Wisconsin having documented 9 CWD infected game farms, with one having the highest CWD infection rate in the world, 80% CWD infection rate. I believe that all game farms should be SHUT DOWN PERMANENTLY. CWD TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 1112 degrees farenheit. you cannot cook the CWD TSE prion disease out of meat. you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE. Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well. the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes. IN fact, you should also know that the CWD TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades. you can bury it and it will not go away. CWD TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area. it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done with. that’s what’s so worrisome about Iatrogenic mode of transmission, a simple autoclave will not kill this TSE prion agent.
 
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD WISCONSIN Almond Deer (Buckhorn Flats) Farm Update DECEMBER 2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Saturday, June 09, 2012
 
USDA Establishes a Herd Certification Program for Chronic Wasting Disease in the United States
 
 
 
 
 
Comment from Terry Singeltary
 
 
 
 
Comment Period Closed Jun 1 2009, at 11:59 PM ET ID: APHIS-2006-0118-0100
 
Tracking Number: 8099740b
 
Comment from Terry Singeltary
 
This is a Comment on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Proposed Rule: Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose
 
 
 
Comment View document:APHIS-2006-0118-0096
 
Greetings APHIS et al,
 
I would kindly like to comment on ;
 
Docket ID APHIS-2006-0118 Docket Title Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Document ID APHIS-2006-0118-0096
 
Document Title Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose
 
with great sadness, my comments are as follows ;
 
DUE to the likelihood of CWD transmission to humans as a zootic disease, and proven transmission of CWD to other species via the lab, and the highly environmental transmission routes of CWD, the threat that game farms pose to the wild is great.
 
RECENTLY, in the May 2009 CDC warns of this potential of prions to humans via CWD and Nutritional Supplements from ELK ANTLER VELVET.
 
ALSO RECENTLY, a multi-state recall of ELK MEAT PRODUCTS FROM A CWD POSITIVE ELK. (they are not recalling all this meat for the well being of the dead cwd positive elk.)
 
SOME of these game farms have proven to have a high infectious rate for CWD. Some as high as 79% infection rate.
 
A NEW 2nd strain of CWD i.e. (THE WISCONSIN STRAIN of CWD?), and what will this curtail i.e. as in transmission ??? we found out with BSE in cattle, that the atypical strains, some are more virulent in transmission.
 
FOR all these reasons, it is urgent to keep the failures of the CWD factory farming industry of 'big rack' deer and elk, to spreading to the wild.
 
I urge that 100% CWD testing of elk, deer, and all animals on game farms tested for CWD/TSE.
 
ANY positive should result in complete herd eradication.
 
ANY GAME farm with one positive CWD animal must be shut down for good due to the ramifications of environmental infection risk factors, and future infection there from, there of.
 
THE land there from, must be contained, and quarantined for 5 years, with no introduction of any game and or farm producing livestock for humans and or animals, and or crop production. Then a reevaluation of that farm/land and environmental risk factors there of must be done for a reassessment, before any use of that farm/land could go forward.
 
ANY and all water run off must be contained at owners expense.
 
ALL elk and deer and or any animal from game farms, must be identifiable and traceable, at all times.
 
THIS all should be mandatory, and regulated by the federal government, because the chance of different regulations, and lack of enforcement, state by state, would enhance the spreading of CWD.
 
WE must stop CWD before it spreads to all STATES, and until a validated 100% CWD TSE live test is available, one that can be used at birth, and until there is a way to completely decontaminate land that has been infected with the CWD agent, in my opinion, these draconian measures are the only plausible measures which i know of that can be taken, which might stop this spread of CWD to every state.
 
see full text ;
 
 
 
 
 
 
Saturday, June 01, 2013
 
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) Proposes Modifications to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Brucellosis, and Other Rules
 
 
 
 
Sunday, June 09, 2013
 
Missouri House forms 13-member Interim Committee on the Cause and Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease CWD
 
 
 
 
Comment from Terry Singeltary
 
This is a Comment on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Notice: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program
 
 
 
 
Saturday, June 01, 2013
 
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) Proposes Modifications to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Brucellosis, and Other Rules
 
 
 
 
Saturday, May 25, 2013
 
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission Alkali Creek Feedground #39126 Singeltary comment submission
 
 
 
 
Saturday, July 07, 2012
 
TEXAS Animal Health Commission Accepting Comments on Chronic Wasting Disease Rule Proposal
 
Considering the seemingly high CWD prevalence rate in the Sacramento and Hueco Mountains of New Mexico, CWD may be well established in the population and in the environment in Texas at this time.
 
 
 
 
2011 – 2012
 
Friday, October 28, 2011
 
CWD Herd Monitoring Program to be Enforced Jan. 2012 TEXAS
 
Greetings TAHC et al,
 
A kind greetings from Bacliff, Texas.
 
In reply to ;
 
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) Announcement October 27, 2011
 
I kindly submit the following ;
 
 
 
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: DOCKET-- 03D-0186 -- FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability
 
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:47:37 -0500
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
 
Greetings FDA,
 
i would kindly like to comment on;
 
Docket 03D-0186
 
FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability
 
Several factors on this apparent voluntary proposal disturbs me greatly, please allow me to point them out;
 
1. MY first point is the failure of the partial ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban of 8/4/97. this partial and voluntary feed ban of some ruminant materials being fed back to cattle is terribly flawed. without the _total_ and _mandatory_ ban of all ruminant materials being fed back to ruminants including cattle, sheep, goat, deer, elk and mink, chickens, fish (all farmed animals for human/animal consumption), this half ass measure will fail terribly, as in the past decades...
 
2. WHAT about sub-clinical TSE in deer and elk? with the recent findings of deer fawns being infected with CWD, how many could possibly be sub-clinically infected. until we have a rapid TSE test to assure us that all deer/elk are free of disease (clinical and sub-clinical), we must ban not only documented CWD infected deer/elk, but healthy ones as well. it this is not done, they system will fail...
 
3. WE must ban not only CNS (SRMs specified risk materials), but ALL tissues. recent new and old findings support infectivity in the rump or ass muscle. wether it be low or high, accumulation will play a crucial role in TSEs.
 
4. THERE are and have been for some time many TSEs in the USA. TME in mink, Scrapie in Sheep and Goats, and unidentified TSE in USA cattle. all this has been proven, but the TSE in USA cattle has been totally ignored for decades. i will document this data below in my references.
 
5. UNTIL we ban all ruminant by-products from being fed back to ALL ruminants, until we rapid TSE test (not only deer/elk) but cattle in sufficient numbers to find (1 million rapid TSE test in USA cattle annually for 5 years), any partial measures such as the ones proposed while ignoring sub-clinical TSEs and not rapid TSE testing cattle, not closing down feed mills that continue to violate the FDA's BSE feed regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) and not making freely available those violations, will only continue to spread these TSE mad cow agents in the USA. I am curious what we will call a phenotype in a species that is mixed with who knows how many strains of scrapie, who knows what strain or how many strains of TSE in USA cattle, and the CWD in deer and elk (no telling how many strains there), but all of this has been rendered for animal feeds in the USA for decades. it will get interesting once someone starts looking in all species, including humans here in the USA, but this has yet to happen...
 
6. IT is paramount that CJD be made reportable in every state (especially ''sporadic'' cjd), and that a CJD Questionnaire must be issued to every family of a victim of TSE. only checking death certificates will not be sufficient. this has been proven as well (see below HISTORY OF CJD -- CJD QUESTIONNAIRE)
 
7. WE must learn from our past mistakes, not continue to make the same mistakes...
 
REFERENCES
 
 
snip...see full text ;
 
 
 
 
 
*** The potential impact of prion diseases on human health was greatly magnified by the recognition that interspecies transfer of BSE to humans by beef ingestion resulted in vCJD. While changes in animal feed constituents and slaughter practices appear to have curtailed vCJD, there is concern that CWD of free-ranging deer and elk in the U.S. might also cross the species barrier. Thus, consuming venison could be a source of human prion disease. Whether BSE and CWD represent interspecies scrapie transfer or are newly arisen prion diseases is unknown. Therefore, the possibility of transmission of prion disease through other food animals cannot be ruled out. There is evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion. There is likely a pool of unknown size of asymptomatic individuals infected with vCJD, and there may be asymptomatic individuals infected with the CWD equivalent. These circumstances represent a potential threat to blood, blood products, and plasma supplies.
 
 
 
 
livestock.
 
 
These commenters noted that APHIS' authority to prevent, control, or eradicate diseases, pursuant to the AHPA, specifically refers to livestock. These commenters pointed out that that the legal definition of livestock is highly variable among States; many States do not define captive native species as "livestock," since livestock is not always within the sole jurisdiction of their fish and wildlife agencies. Thus, the commenters stated, in some instances captive cervids of native species may not fall within the Federal definition of livestock. The commenters recommended removing the references to livestock in the regulations or yielding to a State's definition when referring to cervids in this way. We appreciate the commenters' concerns. Clearly, farmed and captive cervids are not traditional livestock; they are often referred to as alternative livestock. We understand that State fish and wildlife agencies in many States are responsible for the management of all cervids within their State, not just those that are wild but also those held on farms or in other captive 18 situations. Nonetheless, these agencies may not have experience working within the context of a program designed to control an animal disease in farmed or captive animal populations. The AHPA charges the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the responsibility of controlling or eradicating any pest or disease of livestock, and defines "livestock" broadly as "all farm-raised animals." This means that all farmed or captive cervids fall under the AHPA definition of livestock. Under this authority, we have determined that it is appropriate to establish requirements for the interstate movement of farmed or captive cervids to help prevent the spread of CWD. To the extent that State fish and wildlife agencies are responsible for farmed or captive cervids in their States, they will need to cooperate with APHIS in the administration of the CWD regulations. We will work with State fish and wildlife agencies to help them to understand their responsibilities and to ensure that we can cooperate well. It is important to reiterate that States retain the authority to manage fish and wildlife populations, including wild cervids, under this final rule.
 
 
 
 
 
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
 
Commission, sportsmen pay for fences around deer farm
 
Published: Saturday, January 5, 2013, 8:54 p.m. Updated 12 hours ago
 
Sportsmen have paid to keep wild deer from accessing a farm connected to the discovery of chronic wasting disease this past fall.
 
The bill, to rebuild fences, was not theirs to pay. But pay it they did, through the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
 
The farm is located in York County. No wasting disease was found there. But it was one of the first four put under quarantine by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture because of its connection to an Adams County farm where the disease was discovered. The quarantine means, among other things, that fences are to be maintained so that wild deer cannot move onto the property and perhaps contract the disease.
 
The department of agriculture — in response to questions in a letter from the Pennsylvania federation of Sportsmen‘s Clubs — indicated re-fencing should occur. It said its quarantine order allows for criminal and civil penalties against deer farmers who don‘t live up to its mandates.
 
“This provides a very strong incentive to re-fence such areas,” its letter to the Federation reads.
 
But with no fences rebuilt months after the disease‘s discovery and no indication that they would be any time soon, the Game Commission decided it couldn‘t wait any longer. It paid to re-fence the farm in an attempt to protect wild deer.
 
“We would have waited a long, long time ... putting free-roaming deer at risk,” said Cal DuBrock, director of the commission‘s bureau of wildlife management. “It was an investment worth making.”
 
Commission executive director Carl Roe did not say how much money the agency spent, but said “it was an expense.”
 
In the meantime, the commission is taking a more aggressive approach to dealing with escaped deer.
 
Two such animals got loose from deer farms this fall. The department of agriculture — again, to the consternation of the Federation — did not notify the public of the escapes. It explained its silence by saying that once a deer is outside a fence, whether it got there intentionally or not, it‘s no longer its business.
 
“The department … defers to the Game Commission once a deer is considered wild or free ranging,” reads its letter to the Federation. Because such escapes are “numerous” in any given year, DuBrock said, the commission has asked the agriculture department to immediately notify executive director Carl Roe, DuBrock and veterinarian Walt Cottrell of them. From there, wildlife conservation officers have the green light to shoot those deer as soon as safely possible “and figure out the ownership later,” DuBrock said.
 
Bob Frye is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at bfrye@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobfryeoutdoors.
 
 
 
 
 
“Two such animals got loose from deer farms this fall. The department of agriculture — again, to the consternation of the Federation — did not notify the public of the escapes. It explained its silence by saying that once a deer is outside a fence, whether it got there intentionally or not, it‘s no longer its business.”
 
 
LIKE I said before, the only reason that the shooting pen owners want the USDA et al as stewards of that industry, it’s the lack of oversight by the USDA to regulate them properly, thus, CWD will spread further. this is just another fine example of just that $$$
 
 
 
Sunday, January 06, 2013
 
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
 
 
 
 
Thursday, July 11, 2013
 
The New Hornographers: The Fight Over the Future of Texas Deer, Captive shooting pens, and the CWD TSE prion disease
 
 
 
 
 
please see history of game farms, and CWD there from, from state to state, as follows ;
 
 
 
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
 
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 11:26 AM
 
To: BSE-L BSE-L
 
Cc: CJDVOICE CJDVOICE ; bloodcjd bloodcjd
 
Subject: cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
 
cwd – cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
 
 
 
Friday, July 20, 2012
 
CWD found for first time in Iowa at hunting preserve
 
 
 
 
Friday, September 21, 2012
 
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD raises concerns about deer farms in Iowa
 
 
 
 
Friday, December 14, 2012
 
IOWA Second Deer Positive for CWD at Davis County Hunting Preserve Captive Shooting Pen
 
 
 
 
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
 
Additional Facility in Pottawatamie County Iowa Under Quarantine for CWD after 5 deer test positive
 
 
 
 
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
 
IOWA DNR EMERGENCY CONSENT ORDER IN THE MATTER OF TOM & LINDA BRAKKE D/B/A PINE RIDGE HUNTING LODGE UPDATE AUGUST 21, 2013
 
15. On April 26, 2013, the Brakkes hand-delivered a notice to the DNR’s Chief of Law Enforcement Bureau, notifying the DNR that they would no longer operate a hunting preserve on the Quarantined Premises. The Brakkes did not reveal any plans to remove the fence around the Quarantined Premises or to remove the gates to and from the Quarantined Premises in this April 26, 2013 letter.
 
16. On June 3, 2013, DNR became aware that sections of the exterior fence surrounding the Quarantined Premises had been removed and that some, if not all, of the exterior gates to and from the Quarantined Premises were open.
 
17. On June 4, 2013, DNR received reports from the public in the area that four wild deer were observed inside the Quarantined Premises.
 
18. On June 5, 2013, DNR conducted a fence inspection, after gaining approval from surrounding landowners, and confirmed that the fenced had been cut or removed in at least four separate locations; that the fence had degraded and was failing to maintain the enclosure around the Quarantined Premises in at least one area; that at least three gates had been opened; and that deer tracks were visible in and around one of the open areas in the sand on both sides of the fence, evidencing movement of deer into the Quarantined Premises.
 
 
 
 
Thursday, October 11, 2012
 
Pennsylvania Confirms First Case CWD Adams County Captive Deer Tests Positive
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
 
CWD GONE WILD, More cervid escapees from more shooting pens on the loose in Pennsylvania
 
 
 
 
Saturday, June 29, 2013
 
PENNSYLVANIA CAPTIVE CWD INDEX HERD MATE YELLOW *47 STILL RUNNING LOOSE IN INDIANA, YELLOW NUMBER 2 STILL MISSING, AND OTHERS ON THE RUN STILL IN LOUISIANA
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
 
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD quarantine Louisiana via CWD index herd Pennsylvania Update May 28, 2013
 
6 doe from Pennsylvania CWD index herd still on the loose in Louisiana, quarantine began on October 18, 2012, still ongoing, Lake Charles premises.
 
 
 
 
Monday, June 24, 2013
 
The Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease on the Pennsylvania Cervid Industry Following its Discovery
 
 
 
 
Sunday, January 06, 2013
 
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
 
 
 
 
Friday, October 26, 2012
 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD PENNSYLVANIA GAME FARMS, URINE ATTRACTANT PRODUCTS, BAITING, AND MINERAL LICKS
 
 
 
 
Earl Ray Tomblin, Governor Frank Jezioro, Director
 
News Release: November 4, 2011
 
Facebook: WV Commerce - State Parks
 
Hoy Murphy, Public Information Officer (304) 957-9365 hoy.r.murphy@wv.gov Contact: Curtis Taylor, Wildlife Resources Section Chief 304-558-2771 DNR.Wildlife@wv.gov
 
Elk escape from captive cervid facility in Pennsylvania near West Virginia border
 
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) has confirmed with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) that at least two elk, including one adult bull and one cow, have escaped from a captive cervid facility (deer and elk farms) in Greene County, Pa. Greene County shares a common border with Marshall, Wetzel and Monongalia counties in West Virginia. The elk escaped from a captive cervid facility located approximately three miles from the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border.
 
The PDA regulates captive cervid facilities in Pennsylvania. A representative of the agency was unaware if the recent escaped elk were tagged. The WVDNR regulates captive cervid facilities in West Virginia. In West Virginia, all captive cervids in breeding facilities must be ear-tagged, and there are currently no reported elk escapes from any facility in West Virginia.
 
A bull elk has been seen recently in Wetzel County, W.Va., according to WVDNR officials. There have been no reports of cow elk sightings in either Wetzel County, W.Va., or Greene County, Pa. No free-ranging wild elk live within 150 miles of Wetzel County. The elk sighted in Wetzel County is likely the escaped animal from the captive facility in Pennsylvania.
 
Contact between escaped captive deer or elk and free-ranging white-tailed deer increases the risk of disease transmission from the captive animals to the native herd, according WVDNR biologists. The movement and/or escape of captive deer and elk increases this risk of contact and are one of the many possible modes of transmission for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from captive cervids to free-ranging white-tailed deer.
 
The State of Missouri recently documented CWD in a captive cervid facility. Texas Parks and Wildlife had to euthanize a large captive deer herd after illegal importation of white-tailed deer from a captive facility in Arkansas.
 
“Monitoring and protecting West Virginia’s deer herd from CWD and other diseases is crucial to West Virginia’s economy and its natural resources,” said WVDNR Director Frank Jezioro. “Deer hunting provides tremendous recreational opportunities for hunters and wildlife viewers, has a large economic impact on its rural communities, and brings in many out-of-state hunters each season to West Virginia.”
 
WVDNR advises residents in Marshall, Wetzel and Monongalia counties to contact the Farmington District Office at 304-825-6787 if they see an elk in these counties. Hunters are reminded that it is illegal to harvest any free-ranging elk in West Virginia.
 
**DNR**
 
 
 
 
Captive deer escape, create some concern Permalink: Captive deer escape, create some concern
 
by Bob kellam , Posted to Fishing Buddy on 05/03/2006 06:52 AM | Captive deer escape, create some concern By RICHARD HINTON Bismarck Tribune
 
Eleven captive white-tailed deer escaped from a landowner's enclosure south of Bismarck over the weekend, leading to concerns about the potential spread of disease among wild deer inhabiting MacLean Bottoms.
 
State veterinarian Susan Keller alerted North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologists about the escape by an e-mail sent on Monday.
 
"(One) of the deer has returned," Keller wrote in the e-mail. "The owner has ordered CWD sample cups by overnight air and hopes to be able to destroy the escaped deer and test them for CWD."
 
Keller and deputy state veterinarian Beth Carlson were attending meetings on Tuesday and were not available for comment.
 
Keller's e-mail identified the landowner as Gerald Landsberger.
 
"I'm trying to find the problem," he said Tuesday. "It was caused by a stray dog, and I'm trying to find the owner. If word gets out, nobody will 'fess up."
 
Asked how many whitetails still were missing, he said, "I have nothing else to say at this time."
 
The concern is having deer that have been confined get loose and mix with wild deer. "That's why the Board of Animal Health has regulations regarding that," said Bill Jensen, a NDGFD big-game biologist.
 
"Those deer are in a prime river bottom area. It's scary when penned deer mingle with wild deer, especially in an area where we have a pretty high deer density," said Jeb Williams, NDGFD outreach biologist.
 
Chronic wasting disease is just one concern.
 
"There are so many unknowns," Williams said.
 
Ten of the captive deer have small tags in their ears, and one doe has a large white dangle tag in the ear, Keller wrote in her e-mail.
 
Under current Board of Animal Health policies, the owner of the loose deer has 10 days to recover them, said Greg Link, NDGFD assistant wildlife division chief, who also sits on the nontraditional livestock advisory council.
 
After that, the Board of Animal Health notifies NDGFD or USDA Wildlife Services that the 10 days are up, and "if you see these deer with the ear tags, dispatch them," Link explained. Tissue samples for CWD testing are taken from any of the deer that are found and killed.
 
There is no fine unless the owner was not in compliance, Link added.
 
 
 
 
Monday, June 11, 2012
 
OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting
 
 
 
 
Friday, September 28, 2012
 
Stray elk renews concerns about deer farm security Minnesota
 
 
 
 
Sunday, January 27, 2013
 
Indiana 6 deer missing from farm pose health risk to state herds
 
 
 
 
Thursday, August 08, 2013
 
Characterization of the first case of naturally occurring chronic wasting disease in a captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) in North America
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
 
Cervid Industry Unites To Set Direction for CWD Reform and seem to ignore their ignorance and denial in their role in spreading Chronic Wasting Disease
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
 
A Growing Threat How deer breeding could put public trust wildlife at risk
 
 
 
 
Friday, December 14, 2012
 
DEFRA U.K. What is the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease CWD being introduced into Great Britain? A Qualitative Risk Assessment October 2012
 
 
 
 
According to Wisconsin’s White-Tailed Deer Trustee Dr. James Kroll, people who call for more public hunting opportunities are “pining for socialism.”
 
He further states, “(Public) Game management is the last bastion of communism.”
 
“Game Management,” says James Kroll, driving to his high-fenced, two-hundred-acre spread near Nacogdoches, “is the last bastion of communism.”
 
Kroll, also known as Dr. Deer, is the director of the Forestry Resources Institute of Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University, and the “management” he is referring to is the sort practiced by the State of Texas.
 
The 55-year-old Kroll is the leading light in the field of private deer management as a means to add value to the land. His belief is so absolute that some detractors refer to him as Dr. Dough, implying that his eye is on the bottom line more than on the natural world.
 
Kroll, who has been the foremost proponent of deer ranching in Texas for more than thirty years, doesn’t mind the controversy and certainly doesn’t fade in the heat. People who call for more public lands are “cocktail conservationists,” he says, who are really pining for socialism. He calls national parks “wildlife ghettos” and flatly accuses the government of gross mismanagement. He argues that his relatively tiny acreage, marked by eight-foot fences and posted signs warning off would-be poachers, is a better model for keeping what’s natural natural while making money off the land.
 
 
snip...
 
 
What does this all mean?
 
My initial reaction, which is one that I predicted when Kroll was named to the state’s deer trustee position, is that his team’s final recommendations — if implemented — will be heavily skewed toward the state’s larger landowners (500+ acres) and folks who own small parcels in areas comprised mostly of private land. It is also my prediction that the final recommendations (again, if implemented) will do little, if anything, to improve deer herds and deer hunting on Wisconsin’s 5.7 million acres of public land. Where does this leave the public-land hunter? “It will suck to be you,” said one deer manager who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his job. “The resources and efforts will go toward improving the private land sector. This is all about turning deer hunting away from the Public Land Doctrine and more toward a European-style of management — like they have in Texas.”
 
 
 
 
Friday, June 01, 2012
 
*** TEXAS DEER CZAR TO WISCONSIN ASK TO EXPLAIN COMMENTS
 
 
 
 
Thursday, July 11, 2013
 
The New Hornographers: The Fight Over the Future of Texas Deer, Captive shooting pens, and the CWD TSE prion disease
 
 
 
 
Thursday, June 13, 2013
 
WISCONSIN DEER FARMING Chronic Wasting Disease CWD DATCP
 
 
 
 
Saturday, February 04, 2012
 
Wisconsin 16 MONTH age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing Protocol Needs To Be Revised
 
 
 
 
Monday, January 16, 2012
 
9 GAME FARMS IN WISCONSIN TEST POSITIVE FOR CWD
 
 
 
 
see full text and more here ;
 
 
 
 
2010 WISCONSIN CAPTIVE DEER ESCAPES
 
There were 26 reported escape incidents so far this year, this amounted to 20 actual confirmed escape incidents because 3 were previously reported, 2 were confirmed as wild deer, and 1 incident was not confirmed. ... snip... C. & D. Captive Cervid and Law Enforcement Update (11:10 AM)- Warden Pete Dunn gave the captive cervid farm update. There were 26 reported escape incidents so far this year, this amounted to 20 actual confirmed escape incidents because 3 were previously reported, 2 were confirmed as wild deer, and 1 incident was not confirmed. Approximately 30% of these escapes were caused by gates being left open and the other 70% resulted from bad fencing or fence related issues. The 20 actual confirmed escape incidents amounted to 77 total animals. 50 of the escaped animals were recovered or killed and 27 were not recovered and remain unaccounted for. Last year the CWD Committee passed a resolution to require double gates, but this has not gone into effect yet. Questions were raised by the committee about double fencing requirements? Pete responded that double fencing has not been practical or accepted by the industry. The DNR has the authority to do fence inspections. ?If a fence fails to pass the inspection the fencing certificate can be revoked and the farmer can be issued a citation. This year three citations and one warning have been issued for escapes. Pete reviewed the reporting requirements for escape incidents that these must be reported within 24 hours. The farmer then has 72 hours to recover the animals or else it will affect the farm’s herd status and ability to move animals. Davin proposed in the 15 year CWD Plan that the DNR take total control and regulatory authority over all deer farm fencing. Larry Gohlke asked Pete about the reliability for reporting escapes? Pete said that the majority of escapes were reported by the farmer, but it is very difficult to determine when an escape actually occurred. Pete said that they are more concerned that an escape is reported and not that it is reported at the exact time that it happened.
 
 
 
 
The Wisconsin DNR has issued a report on the results of an audit of the deer farms in their state. This is a very interesting report and sheds light on the operation of these facilities. A couple of interesting findings is that DNR investigators documented the escape of 436 deer into the wild from game farms. These escapes are from approximately 1/3 of the deer facilities in the state. Additionally, several cash transactions were uncovered where the required shipping tags were not used and record keeping ranged from very meticulous to trying to rely on memory. At one facility, investigators found partially burnt records in a trashcan. The complete report can be downloaded at: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/es/enforcement/docs/DeerFarmAudit.pdf.
 
 
 
Attempts in the legislature of Montana to negate or change the citizen vote to ban game farms continue. Previously, several bills to overturn the ban had been introduced or discussed. Citizen response has been to maintain the ban. Current efforts are to provide a buy out to the operators of the remaining facilities. The latest bill, introduced by Representative Jim Peterson would provide funds to pay farmers up to $6,000 per animal. The bill will be heard in the Montana Agriculture Committee, which has been friendly to operators in the past.
 
 
 
 
In brief, the audits revealed:
 
• The majority of whitetail deer farm fences were in compliance with state laws; however, 77 farms were found to be in violation of fence specifications. As with any other problem, violations were handled on a case by case basis taking into account all of the circumstances.
 
• Deer farms contained at least 16,070 deer.
 
• Most deer farmers reported they have not experienced problems with escapes; however, 182 deer farmers reported escapes or intentional releases into the wild.
 
• Deer farmers reported at least 436 escaped deer that had not been recovered or returned to farms.
 
• Twenty-four deer farms were unlicensed.
 
• Records maintained by deer farm operators ranged from meticulous documentation to relying on memory.
 
• Wardens discovered a variety of law violations during the course of the audit and inspection process, some of which they did not have jurisdiction to pursue.
 
• Tracking of individual deer without individual identification was almost impossible.
 
• Over the past three years at least 1,222 deer died on deer farms due to various reasons. Disease testing was not performed nor required on the majority of deer.
 
 
 
 
Thursday, February 09, 2012
 
50 GAME FARMS IN USA INFECTED WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
 
 
 
how many states have $465,000., and can quarantine and purchase there from, each cwd said infected farm, but how many states can afford this for all the cwd infected cervid game ranch type farms ???
 
 
 
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD WISCONSIN Almond Deer (Buckhorn Flats) Farm Update DECEMBER 2011
 
The CWD infection rate was nearly 80%, the highest ever in a North American captive herd.
 
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve the purchase of 80 acres of land for $465,000 for the Statewide Wildlife Habitat Program in Portage County and approve the restrictions on public use of the site.
 
SUMMARY:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i have included in this report, SOME HISTORY ON CAPTIVE SHOOTING PENS IN NORTH AMERICA, AND CWD THERE FROM...
 
Elk & game farming in other states Utah Fish and Game Dept
 
The state of Utah has little experience with big game farming. In an effort to understand elk and game farming, the Division has contacted other states that allow elk farming. The following are some of the problems other states associate with elk farming reported to the Division: MONTANA Karen Zachiem with Montana Parks and Wildlife reported that Montana allows game farming. Initial regulations were inadequate to protect the state's wildlife resources. The state has tried to tighten up regulations related to game farming, resulting in a series of lawsuits against the state from elk ranchers. Zachiem reported that the tightening of regulations was in response to the discovery of TB in wildlife (elk, deer, and coyotes) surrounding a TB infected game farm. TB has been found on several game farms in Montana. Also, they have had problems with wildlife entering game farms as well as game farm animals escaping the farms. Finally, there has been a growth in shooting ranches in Montana. Game farmers allow hunters to come into enclosures to kill trophy game farm animals, raising the issues of fair chase and hunting ethics. WASHINGTON Rolph Johnson with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, reported that Washington allows game farming, but it is strictly regulated to safeguard wildlife. Washington opposed the law when first proposed for the following reasons: introduction of disease and parasites; hybridization of wildlife species; habitat loss; health risks to humans, wildlife, and livestock; and state responsibility to recover or destroy escaped elk. Game farming is not cost effective due to the restrictions needed to prevent these problems. NEW MEXICO Jerry Macacchini, with New Mexico Game and Fish, reported that New Mexico has problems with game farming and a moratorium on elk and game farming has been imposed by the state at the request of its citizens. Problems identified in the moratorium were: escaped game farm animals; theft of native elk herds; and disease. OREGON Dan Edwards, with Oregon Fish and Wildlife, reported that Oregon has very little elk farming and is now prohibited by regulation. The elk farms that are in operation existed prior to the adoption of game farm regulations. Individuals who want to elk farm, must buy out an existing elk farm owner. Elk farms are no longer permitted due to, "...current and imminent threats to Oregon's native deer and elk herds and social and economic values.'' Oregon has documented numerous game farm animals that have escapeed from private game farms. Concerns about elk farming arose during public elk management meetings. The impacts of privately held cervids on publicly owned wildlife were a recurring issue throughout the elk management process. Key issues included: disease and parasites; escape and interbreeding of domestic animals with native wildlife; illegal kills for meat; and theft of public wildlife. WYOMING Harry Harju, assistant wildlife chief with Wyoming Fish and Game, reported that elk or game farming is now prohibited in Wyoming. Only one game ranch exists in Wyoming, which was operating before the passage of the law. The state of Wyoming was sued by several game breeders associations for not allowing elk farming. The game breeders lost their suit in the United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. The court maintained that the state had authority to regulate commerce and protect wildlife. Wyoming has had problems with big game farming originating in surrounding states. Wyoming has documented the harvest of red deer and their hybrids during elk hunts on the Snowy Mountain range that borders Colorado. Wyoming speculates that the red deer were escapees from Colorado game farms. Hybridization is viewed as threat to the genetic integrity of Wyoming's wild elk population. In a public hearing, the public voted against game farms in the state of Wyoming. Wyoming's Cattlemen's Association and Department of Agriculture opposed elk and big game farms, as well, particularly due to disease risks. Brucellosis is a major problem for wildlife and livestock in the Yellowstone Basin.
 
NEVADA Nevada reports that big game farms are allowed in Nevada. Nevada has not had any problems as a result of big game farms. However, Nevada has only one big game farm in the entire state and it is a reindeer farm. IDAHO Wildlife Chief Tom Rienecker reported that Idaho Fish and Game once regulated elk farming in their state, but lost jurisdiction of elk farming to the Department of Agriculture as a result of pressure from elk farmers. Idaho has 20-30 big game ranches. Idaho has had problems with escapes and several law enforcement cases have been filed against suspects who have taken calves out of the wild for elk farming purposes. Disease has not been a problem for Idaho. COLORADO John Seidel, with Colorado Division of Wildlife, reported that the Division used to regulate big game farming until the big game breeders association petitioned for the Department of Agriculture to assume authority over big game farming because too many citations were issued to elk farms for violations. Colorado experienced numerous poaching incidents with elk calves from the wild and theft of whole herds of wild elk captured in private farms. Seidel reported that some of the larger "elk shooting ranches" have been investigated and charged with capturing wild herds of elk within the shooting preserve fences. Seidel reported that there have been documented problems with disease (TB); escaped hybrids and exotics; intrusion of rutting wild elk into game farms; massive recapture efforts for escapees and intruders; and loss of huge tracts of land fenced for shooting preserves/ranches. Based on their experiences, the Colorado Division of Wildlife wishes they did not have big game farms in Colorado. Seidel believes that CEBA would fight hard to open Utah to elk farming to provide a market for breeding stock in Utah ($3,000 & up for a bull and $8,000 & up for a breeding cow). ARIZONA The Arizona Game and Fish Department reports that elk farming is legal in Arizona but the agency would not allow it if they had to do it all over again. Arizona reported the loss of huge blocks of land to fencing and some disease problems. ALBERTA, CANADA Alberta has allowed elk farming for a number of years. To date, Alberta has spent $10,000,000 and destroyed 2,000 elk in an unsuccessful attempt to control the spread of tuberculosis. Based upon the game farming experiences of these states, their recommendation to Utah was not to allow elk farming. OTHER The Division has contacted several state and federal veterinarians. The opinions of some agricultural veterinarians differed from wildlife veterinarians. Some veterinarians endorsed elk farming with the right regulatory safeguards. Other veterinarians opposed elk farming due to the risks to wildlife and livestock. This issue needs a more comprehensive review. The Division also contacted a Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who conducted a covert investigation in Colorado to gather intelligence on elk farming and detect poaching activity of wild elk. Although poaching was not detected, the agent described his experience with pyramid schemes in elk sales; lack of a meat market; falsification of veterinarian records for farmed elk; escapes and intrusions between wild and captive elk; inadequate inspections by brand inspectors; transportation of TB infected elk; and the temperament of the elk themselves. The Colorado Elk Breeders Association (CEBA) told the Division that CEBA did not approve of elk poaching and has turned in fellow elk farmers for poaching live elk calves from the wild.
 
CEBA told Utah legislators that the Colorado Division of Wildlife did not like elk ranching at first, but has come to see that elk farming is not as bad as they originally thought it would be. The Colorado Division of Wildlife disagreed with CEBA's perception of their relationship.
 
Keep 'em wild: Montana should ban canned hunts. Whitefish elk farm draws fire from hunters, biologists By STEVE THOMPSON Missoula Independent, also the Whitefish Pilot 13 Sep 1998 Ph: 406/862-3795 Fax: 406/862-5344
 
"Although not everyone sees it the same way, Kalispell legislator Bob Spoklie says his controversial plan to develop an elk shooting gallery on 160 acres near Whitefish is rooted in the richest of Montana traditions-private property, pleasure and profit. Flaring like a bull elk in rut, Spoklie rages against those who disagree with his intentions. "These are not public wildlife," Spoklie told me angrily. "These are our animals and not anyone else's. We'll do as we please." If his political opponents succeed in banning canned elk hunts, Spoklie warns, the next step will be to eliminate all public hunting. "That's the real agenda here," he said.
 
By contrast, next door in Wyoming, the suggestion that Rocky Mountain elk can be penned, hand-fed and then shot is more than a disgusting notion. It's illegal. In fact, the Cowboy State has gone so far as to prohibit all private game farms. Utah also prohibits canned elk hunts. Listening to Spoklie, one might be convinced that Utah and Wyoming are governed by a bunch of socialist, animal-rights activists. But the truth is those states are hardly run by left-wing zealots. Rather, lawmakers there have chosen to honor a Western tradition as deeply rooted as Spoklie's rather crass libertarianism.
 
This conservation heritage was pioneered by Theodore Roosevelt and others who established wildlife as a public commons. Wildlife laws in those states seek to protect hunters' fair-chase pursuit of healthy, free-ranging game. According to Dick Sadler, a long-time Democratic legislator in Wyoming now retired, elk hunting farms violate the very spirit of the West. In the 1970s, he joined forces with Republican John Turner to pass landmark legislation which banned game farms. Sadler and Turner had researched game farms in other states, and they came away with a bitter taste.
 
Spoklie, however, says elk and other big game have been converted to private livestock around the world. "Montana is so far behind that we think we're leading," he says. As the founder of the Montana Alternative Livestock Association, Spoklie is clearly frustrated about the clamor surrounding his attempts to domesticate elk in Whitefish. But then he has been one of the chief lobbyists for the game farm industry. Due in large part to his influence, Montana legislators have resisted attempts to copy Wyoming's game farm ban, including former Florence Senator Terry Klampe's proposed moratorium in 1995.
 
But Sadler, a lifelong hunter, offers the following evidence for what's wrong with canned hunting: "I saw a film of one of those canned hunts in Michigan, where the guys get up and have a big breakfast, put on their hunting clothes, walk outside, shoot the animals in an enclosure and then congratulate themselves. "That was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen."
 
As the proposal to ban game farms wound through the Wyoming legislature, though, Sadler focused on more pragmatic arguments. Today, he still complains about the threat of disease transmission to wild animals, genetic pollution and loss of habitat to enclosures.
 
It was the Republican Turner, who later became George Bush's Fish and Wildlife Service director, who invoked the West's sporting heritage. "Turner's argument to the legislature was that you can't take a magnificent animal like an elk and allow some slob to shoot it inside a fence," Sadler says. Ultimately, most Wyoming legislators agreed that it just wasn't proper to domesticate and commercialize a wild animal like elk.
 
To Spoklie's dismay, the debate locally is getting louder, and his loudest opponents are sportsmen. Making the biggest waves are the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Orion: The Hunter's Institute, and a coalition of neighbors and hunters in the Whitefish area.
 
Orion's founder Jim Posewitz, a retired wildlife biologist, says canned hunts jeopardize public acceptance of the real thing. A leading advocate of "fair chase" hunting, which emphasizes the almost sacred relationship between hunter and prey, Posewitz argues that the majority of non-hunting Americans will tolerate hunting only if it is conducted with the highest ethics. "Game farms are an abomination," he says.
 
Spoklie, an appointed lawmaker who recently lost the Republican primary election, dismisses such statements as "differences of philosophy" that don't stack up against private property rights. If someone's willing to pay thousands of dollars to shoot a penned elk, then that's good both for him and Montana's economy, he says.
 
Karen Zackheim, game farm coordinator for the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, says the issue goes beyond philosophy. The most pressing statewide concern, she says, is chronic wasting, an elk version of mad cow disease. The little known disease, for which there is neither a test nor a cure, recently killed captive elk in several Western states and has spread to wild game in some places. Zackheim also has identified other potential problems with the Spoklie elk farm.
 
Spoklie makes it clear that Zackheim and others should butt out. And some Montana lawmakers seem willing to listen to him, having recently stripped state wildlife officials of some oversight responsibilities. Now, Spoklie would prefer even less state oversight, including his permit application currently under review.
 
For Montanans, ultimately, the choice looms between the competing visions offered by Bob Spoklie and our Western neighbors. Montana lawmakers should follow Wyoming's lead and remove our wildlife heritage from the private marketplace. For the sake of both the hunter and the hunted, private elk farms should be banned."
 
 
Bad news on game farm elk Dr. Holland, South Dakota State Veterinarian 20 Dec 98 news release
 
Some initial SD data released by Dr. Holland, SD State Veterinarian was verified with two of his colleagues. There are 39 game farm elk in South Dakota with confirmed chronic wasting disease in 1998, out of 179 tested (22%). There are 4 or 5 herds involved - all are from game farm animals, none are from the fall hunt. The total number of elk studied is not yet available for wild elk. Two white-tail deer are also affected, also captive animals.
 
 
 
 
Tue, 23 Jun 1998 (AP)
 
HELENA- A debilitating disease that showed up in an elk transported from a Montana game farm to Oklahoma has prompted a protective quarantine at two game farms, State Veterinarian Arnold Gertonson said Monday. One is the Kesler Game Farm near Philipsburg, where the elk was sold, and the other is near Hardin where other Kesler elk have been shipped, Gertonson said.
 
The infected elk was shipped two years ago, and Gertonson said it is unknown if the fatal disease was present in the elk then. "The disease has a long incubation of unknown duration," Gertonson said of chronic wasting disease. It causes deer and elk to waste away and die.
 
 
 
 
There are now at least 5 known captive research facilities and at least 3 zoos and 5 game farms involved in CWD, all traceable if you want to shipments of animals out of Ft. Collins. These are:
 
1. Sybille Wildlife Research and Education Center, Visitor Center and Wildlife Viewing Sites - on Hwy. 34, about 28 miles SW from I25 exit south of Wheatland State of Wyoming - Game and Fish Department - Sybille Visitor Center 2362 Highway 34 Wheatland State WY 82201 Phone 307-322-2784 from 4
 
2. Kremmling. Colorado State University - Cooperative Extension - Grand County PO. Box 475 Kremmling State CO 80459 Phone 303-724-3436 from 1
 
3. Meeker. Colorado State University - Cooperative Extension - Rio Blanco County 779 Sulphur Creek Road, Box 270 City Meeker CO 81641 Phone 303-878-4093 from 1
 
4. Main Ft. Collins facility. State of Colorado - Division of Wildlife - Wildlife Research Center State of Colorado - Division of Wildlife - Wildlife Research Center 317 West Prospect City Fort Collins CO 80526 Phone 970-484-2836
 
5. Wild Animal Disease Center, CSU, Ft. Collins exchanging cervids with 4
 
6. Denver zoo receiving mule deer from 4
 
7. Toronto zoo receiving mule deer from 4
 
8. Wyoming zoo receiving mule deer from 1
 
9. South Dakota game farm receiving calf elk from 1 or 4 [?]
 
10. Regina, Saskatchewan game farm receiving South Dakota elk, 27 April, 1996 confirmation. from 9
 
11. 12 cases of CWD reported now from S. Dakota, at least 2 different herds, seemingly 3-4 game farms, from 1 and 4.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CWD mortality
 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE: IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR WILDLIFE MANAGERS
 
Excerpted and modified from a paper presented at the 67th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, April 2002. By Elizabeth S. Williams, Michael W. Miller and E. Tom Thorne. Original paper may be accessed through the Bibliography.
 
Chronic wasting disease can reach remarkably high prevalence in captive cervid populations. In one infected research facility, more than 90% of mule deer resident for >2 years died or were euthanized while suffering from CWD. Recently, high CWD prevalence (about 50%) has been demonstrated via immunohistochemistry in white-tailed deer confined in association with an infected Nebraska elk farm. Among captive elk, CWD was the primary cause of adult mortality (five of seven, 71%; four of 23, 23%) in two research herds (Miller et al. 1998) and high prevalence (59%) was detected by immunohistochemistry in a group of 17 elk slaughtered from an infected farm herd.
 
To estimate prevalence in infected free-ranging populations, tissues from deer and elk harvested by hunters in CWD-endemic areas have been collected and examined at random. Within endemic areas, prevalence of preclinical CWD, based on immunohistochemistry for PrPCWD, has been estimated at <1-15 a="" achieve="" and="" cwd="" deer="" div="" elk.="" epidemics="" equilibrium="" extinctions="" failed="" if="" in="" infected="" lead="" left="" local="" may="" modeled="" mule="" of="" populations="" steady-state="" suggesting="" that="" to="" unmanaged.="">
 
 
 
 
In most locations reporting CWD cases in free-ranging animals, the disease continues to emerge in wider geographic areas, and prevalence appears to be increasing in many disease-endemic areas. Areas of Wyoming now have an apparent CWD prevalence of near 50% in mule deer, and prevalence in areas of Colorado and Wisconsin is <15 0="" 10="" 5="" according="" agencies.="" and="" areas="" between="" but="" data="" deer.="" deer="" div="" elk="" from="" however="" in="" is="" lower="" many="" obtained="" of="" parts="" prevalence="" provincial="" reaches="" remains="" reports="" state="" than="" to="" wildlife="" wyoming.="">
 
Long-term effects of CWD on cervid populations and ecosystems remain unclear as the disease continues to spread and prevalence increases. In captive herds, CWD might persist at high levels and lead to complete herd destruction in the absence of human culling. Epidemiologic modeling suggests the disease could have severe effects on free-ranging deer populations, depending on hunting policies and environmental persistence (8,9). CWD has been associated with large decreases in free-ranging mule deer populations in an area of high CWD prevalence (Boulder, Colorado, USA) (5).
 
More than 1,060,000 free-ranging cervids have reportedly been tested for CWD (Figure 2, panel B) and ≈6,000 cases have been identified (Figure 2, panel C) according to data from state and provincial wildlife agencies.
 
 
 
 
In addition to locations of known CWD-positive individuals, other spatial risk factors related to CWD exposure should be considered. For example, the risk of free-ranging animals being exposed to CWD is likely greater in areas where captive cervid facilities have or had CWD-positive animals. Current evidence indicates that CWD infection rates are much higher in captive facilities than in wild populations (Keane and others, 2008), and perhaps this is driven by environmental contamination (Miller and others, 2006). This higher rate of infection in captive animals can increase the risk of disease exposure to surrounding wild populations. Furthermore, movement of infectious animals, carcasses, or other materials across the landscape, naturally or with human assistance, likely increases the risk to uninfected populations. The frequent movement of farmed elk (Cervus elaphus) and deer between production facilities, the concentration of infected animals on some facilities, and the possibility of their escape into the wild increases the risk of spreading CWD to uninfected populations of free-ranging animals. Because the infectious prions may persist in the environment for long periods, the introduction of either captive or free-ranging uninfected animals into a contaminated environment could increase their risk of infection. For example, locations from which sheep have been removed may remain contaminated with scrapie agent for more than 15 years (Georgsson and others, 2006). In a similar manner, translocation of cervids from areas that have not been documented to be CWD-free could pose a risk of disease introduction. In this situation, the risk of introduction is likely related to the probability of infected animals being moved and their ability to spread CWD to other susceptible animals or into the environment. Thus, surveillance on and around cervid farms or free-ranging populations that have received animals from known CWD areas and bordering jurisdictions with CWD-positive animals can increase the likelihood of disease spread. Additional risk factors, such as the presence of scrapie in sheep populations that are sympatric with deer and elk (Greenlee and others, 2011), feeding of animal protein to cervids (Johnson, McKenzie, and others, 2011), baiting and feeding programs (Thompson and others, 2008), or other environmental factors also may be considered, although their roles in CWD epidemiology has not been clearly established.
 
 
 
 
please remember, captive cervids are now considered _livestock_ $$$
 
 
 
Final Rule: Traceability for Livestock Moved Interstate January 11, 2013 Summary of General Requirements by Species Effective Date: March 11, 2013 The Traceability for Livestock Moved Interstate rule establishes minimum national official identification and documentation requirements for the traceability of livestock moving interstate. The species covered in the rule include cattle and bison, sheep and goats, swine, horses and other equines, captive cervids (e.g., deer and elk), and poultry. The covered animals moved interstate, unless otherwise exempt, would have to be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection (ICVI) or other movement document. The requirements do not apply to livestock moving:
 
 
 
 
see full text ;
 
 
 
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
 
cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
 
 
 
 
Thursday, September 05, 2013
 
Possible Patient Exposure to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Announced New Hampshire DHHS
 
Press Release
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
 
11 patients may have been exposed to fatal disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease CJD Greenville Memorial Hospital
 
 
 
 
Thursday, August 02, 2012
 
CJD case in Saint John prompts letter to patients Canada CJD case in Saint John prompts letter to patients
 
 
 
 
Thursday, January 17, 2013
 
TSE guidance, surgical, dental, blood risk factors, Part 4 Infection control of CJD, vCJD and other human prion diseases in healthcare and community settings (updated January 2013)
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
 
Late-in-life surgery associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a methodological outline for evidence-based guidance
 
 
 
 
Sunday, June 9, 2013
 
TSEAC March 14, 2013: Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Advisory Committee Meeting Webcast
 
 
 
 
Friday, August 16, 2013
 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) biannual update August 2013 U.K. and Contaminated blood products induce a highly atypical prion disease devoid of PrPres in primates
 
 
 
 
Sunday, August 11, 2013
 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease CJD cases rising North America updated report August 2013
 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease CJD cases rising North America with Canada seeing an extreme increase of 48% between 2008 and 2010
 
 
 
 
Sunday, September 1, 2013
 
Evaluation of the Zoonotic Potential of Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy
 
We previously described the biochemical similarities between PrPres derived from L-BSE infected macaque and cortical MM2 sporadic CJD: those observations suggest a link between these two uncommon prion phenotypes in a primate model (it is to note that such a link has not been observed in other models less relevant from the human situation as hamsters or transgenic mice overexpressing ovine PrP [28]). We speculate that a group of related animal prion strains (L-BSE, c-BSE and TME) would have a zoonotic potential and lead to prion diseases in humans with a type 2 PrPres molecular signature (and more specifically type 2B for vCJD)
 
snip...
 
Together with previous experiments performed in ovinized and bovinized transgenic mice and hamsters [8,9] indicating similarities between TME and L-BSE, the data support the hypothesis that L-BSE could be the origin of the TME outbreaks in North America and Europe during the mid-1900s.
 
 
 
 
kind regards, terry
 
layperson
 
 
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
 

posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at 12:42 PM

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