PENNSYLVANIA ADJUSTS CWD RULES Release #069-13 September 20, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 20, 2013
Release #069-13
PENNSYLVANIA ADJUSTS CWD RULES Game Commission lifts requirement for
hunters to take harvests to check stations.
Hunters harvesting deer in areas of Pennsylvania where chronic wasting
disease has been found will need to comply with special rules during the
upcoming hunting seasons.
But the Pennsylvania Game Commission for the 2013-14 seasons has removed
the requirement for successful hunters within a Disease Management Area to take
their harvests to a check station where samples can be collected for disease
testing.
Instead, the Game Commission will use other methods to determine how
prevalent the disease might be in areas where it has been found.
The changes correspond with changing circumstances in Pennsylvania
regarding chronic wasting disease (CWD), a disease that always is fatal to deer,
elk and moose but that is not known to be transmitted to humans.
When CWD first was detected in Pennsylvania in captive deer at an Adams
County facility in 2012, there was no evidence any of the state’s free-ranging
deer had been impacted by the disease. Intensive monitoring efforts that
included requirements for certain Pennsylvania hunters to take their harvests to
check stations were intended to determine whether CWD might have spread from the
captive to the free-ranging deer population.
Since that time, however, positive CWD test results have been returned in
relation to three free-ranging deer harvested by hunters in Blair and Bedford
counties.
And now that CWD has been found among some of the state’s free-ranging
deer, the Game Commission must focus on managing the disease rather than trying
to prevent it, said Calvin DuBrock, director of the Game Commission’s Bureau of
Wildlife Management.
“Now that we know CWD is in the wild, our mission is to determine how
prevalent it is in the areas in which it’s been found and to do what we can to
slow its spread,” DuBrock said. “We have already begun collecting and testing
samples to give us a clearer picture of the disease’s impact, and we will be
asking hunters within the state’s two Disease Management Areas to comply with
special rules, but there won’t be quite so many demands on hunters this year in
relation to our monitoring.”
Hunting within Disease Management Areas
Special rules apply to hunters and residents within the state’s two Disease
Management Areas (DMAs).
DMA 1 encompasses an about 600-square-mile area that includes parts of York
and Adams counties. DMA 2 – which was established earlier this year as a result
of CWD positives in free-ranging deer – spans nearly 900 square miles in parts
of Blair, Bedford, Huntingdon and Cambria counties.
Detailed maps of those DMAs, which form their borders along roads and water
courses, are available online at the Game Commission’s website,
www.pgc.state.pa.us, and also appear on pages 53 and 54 of the 2013-14
Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest.
Those hunting within either DMA need to know that deer carcass parts
determined to have a high risk of transmitting CWD cannot be removed from the
DMA.
High-risk parts include the head (including brain, tonsils, eyes and any
lymph nodes); spinal cord/backbone; spleen; skull plate with attached antlers,
if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; cape, if visible brain or
spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if root structure or other
soft tissue is present; any object or article containing visible brain or spinal
cord tissue; unfinished taxidermy mounts; and brain-tanned hides.
The meat from harvested deer may be removed from the DMAs, so long as it
does not contain any high-risk parts. Hunters also may remove from the DMAs any
cleaned skull plates with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord
tissue is present; tanned hide or raw hide with no visible brain or spinal cord
tissue present; capes, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present;
upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft tissue is present; and
finished taxidermy mounts.
The use of urine-based deer attractants is prohibited within the DMAs, as
is the direct or indirect feeding of wild, free-ranging deer.
Those who hunt within a DMA, but who live in another area, need to plan
what they will do with any deer they harvest within the DMA.
Harvested deer can be taken to any cooperating processor or taxidermist
associated with the DMA, and the processed meat or finished taxidermy mounts can
be removed from the DMA when they are ready.
Hunters who want to process their own deer may remove the meat from the
carcass and dispose of any high-risk parts at dumpsters to be set up at
locations within the DMAs.
Proper disposal of high-risk parts is important because CWD can be
transmitted from deer to deer through both direct and indirect contact, and
dumping high-risk parts in areas where free-ranging deer might be exposed to
them increases the risk of spreading the disease.
Sampling for CWD
The Game Commission has continued disease sampling on road-killed deer
within the DMAs for the last several months, and the agency will collect some
samples during the upcoming deer archery season. But the bulk of samples are
likely to be collected during the regular two-week firearms season for deer,
which opens Dec. 2.
The commission has set a goal of collecting 1,000 samples from each DMA.
DuBrock said that testing 2,000 samples will provide biologists with a solid
indication of how prevalent the disease is where it is known to have existed.
The Game Commission intends to stop sampling after it reaches the
benchmarks.
The Game Commission will notify hunters of any deer that are sampled and
test positive for CWD. However, hunters should understand that their deer, even
when taken to a cooperating processor or taxidermist, might not be tested for
the disease.
Some hunters might want to know for certain that a deer they harvest will
be tested for CWD, and the only way to assure the animal will be tested is to
take the harvested deer’s head to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
laboratory in Harrisburg. Transporting a deer head for disease testing is a
permitted exception to the prohibition on removing high-risk parts from the DMA.
Before transport, the head should be placed in a plastic garbage bag, with that
bag then placed in a second plastic garbage bag.
Other high-risk parts should not be removed from a DMA and should be
disposed of properly within the DMA instead.
Hunters who have their deer tested by the Department of Agriculture will
need to pay a fee. Those interested in testing should call the Department of
Agriculture at 717-787-8808 before making a trip there. More information about
this process can be found by clicking on the CWD link of the Department of
Agriculture’s website, www.agriculture.state.pa.us.
Chronic wasting disease is not known to be transmitted to humans; however,
out of an abundance of caution, hunters are advised not to eat the meat from
animals that test positive.
Hunters also are urged to never shoot deer that appear sick. Instead, deer
that appear unhealthy should be reported to the nearest Game Commission regional
office. Game Commission officers will investigate such reports.
Disposal of high-risk parts
While using a cooperating processor or taxidermist does not guarantee
hunters that the deer they harvest will be tested for CWD, it does assure that
the high-risk parts from harvests are given proper disposal.
Because CWD is transmitted from deer to deer both directly and indirectly,
and because the prion that causes CWD can live in the soil – perhaps forever,
hunters should never dump high-risk deer parts anywhere living deer might come
in contact with them. Doing so only increases the risk of further spreading the
disease.
Instead, hunters should make certain all high-risk deer parts make their
way to a landfill for disposal.
Cooperating processors and taxidermists who are contracted by hunters for
their services have pledged to properly dispose of high-risk parts. A list of
cooperating processors and taxidermists is available at the Game Commission’s
website, www.pgc.state.pa.us and will be updated regularly with any changes.
Some of the cooperating processors and taxidermists associated with either
DMA might be located just beyond the DMA’s border. Hunters harvesting deer
within the DMA may use those processors – this is another permitted exception to
the prohibition on removal of high-risk parts. In such cases, deer should be
taken directly from the DMA to the cooperating processor or taxidermist.
Hunters who process their own deer can dispose of high-risk parts by
bagging them with other trash that’s destined for a landfill. Hunters within the
DMAs also can take high-risk parts to one of four sites on state game lands –
two in each DMA – where dumpsters will be set up to collect high-risk parts.
Collection sites in DMA 1 will be at State Game Lands 242 and State Game
Lands 249, and in DMA 2, sites will be set up at State Game Lands 147 and State
Game Lands 41.
Dumpsters at those sites will be available for use from the first day of
the archery deer season until the close of the flintlock muzzleloader season
(Oct. 2 to Jan. 11).
The exact locations of dumpsters can be found on the Game Commission’s
website.
Information on CWD
Four public meetings have been scheduled – two in each DMA – to explain the
rules that apply to hunters and to answer general questions about CWD.
The first meeting was on Sept. 17 in York County, and meetings are
scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Spring Cove Middle School, 185 Spring
Garden Drive in Roaring Spring, Blair County; on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Bermudian
Springs High School, 7335 Carlisle Pike in York Springs, Adams County; and on
Monday, Oct. 28 at Northern Bedford High School, 152 NBC Drive in Loysburg,
Bedford County.
All meetings start at about 6:15 p.m.
While chronic wasting disease is new to Pennsylvania, it is not a new
disease. CWD first was discovered in 1967, and it has been researched since.
Scientists believe CWD is caused by an unknown agent capable of transforming
normal brain proteins into an abnormal form.
There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, nor is
there a vaccine. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and ears,
uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, weight loss, increased thirst,
excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death. There currently is no scientific
evidence that CWD has or can spread to humans, either through contact with
infected animals or by eating meat of infected animals.
Much more information on CWD, as well as a video showing hunters how they
can process venison for transport and consumption, is available at the Game
Commission’s website.
CWD precautions
Wildlife officials have suggested hunters in areas where chronic wasting
disease (CWD) is known to exist follow these usual recommendations to prevent
the possible spread of disease:
- Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that appears sick; contact the
state wildlife agency if you see or harvest an animal that appears sick.
- Wear rubber or latex gloves when field-dressing carcasses.
- Bone out the meat from your animal.
- Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.
- Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field-dressing is
completed.
- Request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from
other animals being added to meat from your animal, or process your own meat if
you have the tools and ability to do so.
- Have your animal processed in the endemic area of the state where it was
harvested, so that high-risk body parts can be properly disposed of there. Only
bring permitted materials back to Pennsylvania
- Don’t consume the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph
nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field-dressing, coupled with boning out a
carcass, will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all
fatty tissue will help remove remaining lymph nodes.)
- Consider not consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive for
the disease.
###
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
Monday, June 24, 2013
The Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease on the Pennsylvania Cervid Industry
Following its Discovery
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
CWD GONE WILD, More cervid escapees from more shooting pens on the loose in
Pennsylvania
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.
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Pennsylvania Game Commission has established the state’s second Disease
Management Area in parts of four counties in response to three hunter-killed
deer that tested positive for CWD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 01, 2013
Friday, March 01, 2013
Pennsylvania CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE FOUND IN BLAIR AND BEDFORD COUNTIES
GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD CWD NEWS CONFERENCE MONDAY, MARCH 4
Friday, February 15, 2013
PENNSYLVANIA CWD UPDATE 9 FARMS ARE STILL UNDER QUARANTINE
Friday, February 08, 2013
Pennsylvania Additional Deer Farms Released from Chronic Wasting Disease
CWD Quarantines
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
Sunday, January 06, 2013
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA PURPLE 4 ESCAPED CAPTIVE FOUND FREE OF CWD, what about the
deer in Louisiana ?
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Pennsylvania Sportsmen upset with agriculture’s lack of transparency on CWD
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Pennsylvania CWD Not Found in Pink 23 PA captive escapee, but where is
Purple 4 and the other escapees ?
News for Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Senator Casey Urges USDA To Take Smart Steps to Implement New Measure That
Could Help Combat Chronic Wasting Disease Among Deer
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2012 11:50 AM
To: Press_office@casey.senate.gov Cc: ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com ; Terry S.
Singeltary Sr.
Subject: Casey Urges USDA To Take Smart Steps to Implement New Measure That
Could Help Combat Chronic Wasting Disease Among Deer
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA 2012 THE GREAT ESCAPE OF CWD INVESTIGATION MOVES INTO
LOUISIANA and INDIANA
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA 2012 THE GREAT ESCAPE OF CWD
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA Second Adams County Deer Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting
Disease
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
PA Department of Agriculture investigating possible 2nd case of chronic
wasting disease
Thursday, November 01, 2012
PA GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS CWD Release #128-12
Friday, October 26, 2012
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD PENNSYLVANIA GAME FARMS, URINE ATTRACTANT
PRODUCTS, BAITING, AND MINERAL LICKS
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
PA Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free
Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 10:44 PM
Updated: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 11:33 PM
Pennsylvania CWD number of deer exposed and farms there from much greater
than first thought
Monday, October 15, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION AND AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT TO HOLD PUBLIC
MEETING TO DISCUSS CWD MONITORING EFFORTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15,
2012 Release #124-12
Commissioner Strain Sir, I believe you can see the history here, where the
state of Pennsylvania DNR forum banned me for speaking about CWD back in 2005 ;
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Pennsylvania Confirms First Case CWD Adams County Captive Deer Tests
Positive
Pennsylvania CWD number of deer exposed and farms there from much greater
than first thought
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 10:44 PM Updated: Wednesday,
October 17, 2012, 11:33 PM
Thursday, August 08, 2013
***PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS
Characterization of the first case of naturally occurring chronic wasting
disease in a captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) in North America
Sunday, August 25, 2013
***PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS
Prion2013 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats,
blood, and mother to offspring transmission
Sunday, July 21, 2013
***As Chronic Wasting Disease CWD rises in deer herd, what about risk for
humans?
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
***Review and Updates of the USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) National
Chronice Wasting Disease (CWD) Program 2012-2013
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
Sunday, September 01, 2013
hunting over gut piles and CWD TSE prion disease
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
USAHA 116TH ANNUAL MEETING October 18 – 24, 2012 CWD, Scrapie, BSE, TSE
prion (September 17, 2013)
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Mother to Offspring Transmission of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
TSE prion disease
TSS
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
1:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home