Iowa Brakke Family Wins DNR Legal Case
March 3, 2014
Iowa Brakke Family Wins DNR Legal Case
Judge: DNR Interpretation “irrational, illogical and wholly
unjustifiable.”
DNR Case- Regarding the DNR Quarantine of Brakke’s 330 acres until December
28, 2017
On February 26, 2014, Iowa Administrative Law Judge Heather L. Palmer
issued a Proposed Decision in the matter involving the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources’ (“DNR”) Emergency Order against the Brakkes and their
property in Davis County. In the Proposed Decision, Judge Palmer held that
DNR’s interpretation of the relevant Iowa statute and rules was “irrational,
illogical and wholly unjustifiable.” Judge Palmer further held that the DNR did
not have the jurisdiction to issue its Emergency Order under any of the theories
asserted by the DNR, and thus, reversed DNR’s Emergency Order.
On February 28, 2014, DNR filed a Notice of Appeal and Motion for Stay with
the Natural Resource Commission. The Brakkes intend to resist DNR’s appeal as
well as the Motion for Stay. It is expected that the Natural Resource
Commission will issue a briefing and oral argument/hearing schedule for this
matter. Such schedule and the exact process of the appeal and Motion have not
been set at this time.
Once the Natural Resource Commission reviews Judge Palmer’s Proposed
Decision, it will issue a Final Decision. If either side is unhappy with the
Natural Resource Commission’s Final Decision, it can be appealed to the Iowa
District Court in Polk County.
IDALS Case- Regarding Compensation
The Brakkes appealed the Proposed Decision from Judge Palmer, which refused
to award compensation to the Brakkes for their deer under Iowa law, to the
Secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture (“IDALS”). The Brakkes’ appeal
brief is due to the Secretary on March 3, 2014, and IDALS must file its brief on
or before March 31, 2014. The Brakkes may then file a Reply Brief on or before
April 11, 2014. The Secretary of IDALS will then issue a Final Decision after
the briefing is completed. Similar to the DNR matter, any party that is unhappy
with the Secretary’s Final Decision can appeal the case to the Iowa District
Court in Polk County.
BIG WIN FOR SHOOTING PENS FROM BRAKKE BLUNDER THANKS TO JUDGE, BIG LOSS FOR
WILD CERVIDS AND POSSIBLE HUMANS FROM CWD
Finally a Win for Industry
Started by Rhonda Brakke , Feb 27 2014 08:56 PM
Posted February 27 2014 - 08:56 PM
We won our DNR case! Though the battle is not over, it is wonderful to have
some positive news!! Thank you all for your support!! Tom and Rhonda
Posted February 28 2014 - 08:30 AM
This means the judge ruled that DNR lacks jurisdiction to quarantine our
330DNR acre property for five years!
>>> This means the judge ruled that DNR lacks jurisdiction to
quarantine our 330DNR acre property for five years!
THEN WHO DOES $$$
IF THE DNR DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION FOR QUARANTINE, I pray that someone
can stop this farm from just opening up their gates again. that act in my
opinion was criminal.
IF THE DNR DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION, AND THE USDA INC REFUSES TO ACT
;
*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD.
The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr.
Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at
this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had
previously been occupied by sheep. ...
also, see where even decades back, the USDA had the same thought as they do
today with CWD, not their problem...see page 27 below as well, where USDA stated
back then, the same thing they stated in the state of Pennsylvania, not their
damn business, once they escape, and they said the same thing about CWD in
general back then ;
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations
in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the
respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as
a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific
research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and
consequently not their province!” ...page 26.
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations
in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the
respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as
a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific
research funding was forthcoming. The USDA viewed it as a wildlife problem and
consequently not their province!” ...page 26.
*** sound familiar $$$
Sunday, January 06, 2013
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE
*** "it‘s no longer its business.” ***
THEN WHO WILL REGULATE AND PROTECT THE WILD CERVIDS AND HUMANS FROM CWD
FROM THESE SHOOTING PENS, AND AT WHAT COST TO THE TAX PAYER ???
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:
Thursday, February 09, 2012
50 GAME FARMS IN USA INFECTED WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
Friday, February 03, 2012
Wisconsin Farm-Raised Deer Farms and CWD there from 2012 report Singeltary
et al
Saturday, February 22, 2014
*** New chronic wasting disease rules enhance risks professor John Fischer
of the University of Georgia told the 37th meeting of the Southeast Deer Study
Group
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
snip...
5. On July 16, 2012, DNR received a notice from the Texas Veterinary
Medical Diagnostic Lab ("Texas Vet Lab”) that a sample from an adult male deer
killed at Pine Ridge tested presumptively positive for CWD. (DNR has an
agreement with the Texas Vet Lab to run these preliminary tests.) Because the
Texas Vet Lab found this presumptive positive result, protocols required the
sample to be sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory ("National
Lab”) in Ames, Iowa for final confirmation. On July 18, 2012, the National Lab
confirmed the positive CWD result in the deer.
6. On July 19, 2012, DNR notified the Brakkes of the positive test by
phone. Mr. Brakke was out of state.
snip...
12. The Brakkes depopulated the Hunting Preserve, as specified in the
Agreement, from September 10, 2012 to January 31, 2013. As part of this effort,
the Brakkes, the staff and their customers killed 199 captive deer and nine
captive elk. The DNR obtained 170 CWD samples. (Samples were not taken from
fawns and one adult female who was killed in a manner that made sampling
impossible.) Of these 199 deer, two additional adult male deer tested positive
for CWD. Information provided by the Brakkes confirmed that these two additional
deer originated from the Brakke Breeding Facility.
13. DNR installed, with the Brakke's permission, an interior electric fence
on October 1 and 2, 2012.
14. The Brakkes cleaned and disinfected, under DNR supervision, the feeders
and ground surrounding the feeders on April 5, 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.
IV. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
snip...
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
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Iowa Brakke Family Farmed CWD livestock update July 3, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
IOWA Second Deer Positive for CWD at Davis County Hunting Preserve Captive
Shooting Pen
Friday, September 21, 2012
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD raises concerns about deer farms in Iowa
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Agreement Reached with Owner to De-Populate CWD Deer at Davis County
Hunting Preserve Iowa
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Additional Facility in Pottawatamie County Iowa Under Quarantine for CWD
after 5 deer test positive
Friday, July 20, 2012
CWD found for first time in Iowa at hunting preserve
Update: The quarantine placed on the property in Davis County, which
resulted from the positive CWD tests described above, was recently violated.
Attached below are the Emergency Order DNR issued and the Emergency Consent
Order DNR entered into in response to that violation. The case is currently
pending a hearing, which is scheduled for November of 2013. DNR’s attorneys are
working with the Attorney General’s Office and our staff to defend the DNR in
this case and we look forward to a resolution on this matter that will support
our efforts in Iowa to have a CWD-free deer population.
DNR Emergency Order, issued June 6, 2013
DNR Emergency Consent Order, agreed upon July 3, 2013
Iowa has tested over 42,500 wild deer and over 4,000 captive deer and elk
as part of the surveillance efforts since 2002 when CWD was found in Wisconsin.
Samples are collected from all 99 counties in Iowa; however the majority are
taken in the counties nearest to areas where CWD has been detected in other
states. Samples are collected voluntarily from hunter-harvested deer at check
stations and meat lockers. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is keeping a
close eye on the deer population as a disease spreads across the Midwest.
"What we are doing is an important part of the national CWD surveillance
and monitoring effort," said Dr Dale Garner, bureau chief for the wildlife
bureau. "It is needed to give us a good picture of what is going on within the
deer population."
Hunter participation was completely voluntary and the DNR thanks all
hunters that assisted with the CWD surveillance by providing deer heads for
testing.
Note: It should be pointed out that this testing for the CWD agent is not a
food safety test. At this writing, it is not believed that humans can contract
CWD by eating venison; however, the Center for Disease Control and the World
Health Organization recommends that hunters do not eat the brain, eyeballs, or
spinal cord of deer, and that hunters wear protective gloves while field
dressing game.
Also, hunters cannot transport into Iowa the whole carcass of any cervid
(i.e., deer, elk, moose or caribou) taken from a CWD endemic area within any
state or province. Only the boned-out meat, the cape, and antlers attached to a
clean skull plate from which all brain tissue has been removed are legal to
transport into Iowa.
For the latest updates available on EHD and CWD:
Epizootic Hemorrghagic Disease (EHD)
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
BRAKKE EMERGENCY ORDER
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, December 08, 2013
IOWA DNR to Continue Surveillance for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE PRION
DISEASE
| Update: The quarantine placed on the
property in Davis County, which resulted from the positive CWD tests described
above, was recently violated. Attached below are the Emergency Order DNR issued
and the Emergency Consent Order DNR entered into in response to that violation.
The case is currently pending a hearing, which is scheduled for November of
2013. DNR’s attorneys are working with the Attorney General’s Office and our
staff to defend the DNR in this case and we look forward to a resolution on this
matter that will support our efforts in Iowa to have a CWD-free deer
population.
|
"What we are doing is an important part of the national CWD surveillance and monitoring effort," said Dr Dale Garner, bureau chief for the wildlife bureau. "It is needed to give us a good picture of what is going on within the deer population."
Hunter participation was completely voluntary and the DNR thanks all hunters that assisted with the CWD surveillance by providing deer heads for testing.
Note: It should be pointed out that this testing for the CWD agent is not a food safety test. At this writing, it is not believed that humans can contract CWD by eating venison; however, the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommends that hunters do not eat the brain, eyeballs, or spinal cord of deer, and that hunters wear protective gloves while field dressing game.
Also, hunters cannot transport into Iowa the whole carcass of any cervid (i.e., deer, elk, moose or caribou) taken from a CWD endemic area within any state or province. Only the boned-out meat, the cape, and antlers attached to a clean skull plate from which all brain tissue has been removed are legal to transport into Iowa.
For the latest updates available on EHD and CWD:
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
pens, pens, PENS ???
*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD.
The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr.
Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at
this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had
previously been occupied by sheep. ...
also, see where even decades back, the USDA had the same thought as they do
today with CWD, not their problem...see page 27 below as well, where USDA stated
back then, the same thing they stated in the state of Pennsylvania, not their
damn business, once they escape, and they said the same thing about CWD in
general back then ;
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations
in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the
respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as
a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific
research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and
consequently not their province!” ...page 26.
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations
in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the
respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as
a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific
research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and
consequently not their province!” ...page 26.
*** sound familiar $$$
Sunday, January 06, 2013
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE
*** "it‘s no longer its business.”
Saturday, February 04, 2012
*** Wisconsin 16 MONTH age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing
Protocol Needs To Be Revised
14 YEARS AGO
THE YEAR 2000
Stop the madness: CWD threatens Wisconsin's elk, deer and, ultimately,
people.
15 July 00
The Isthmus magazine By BRIAN McCOMBIE
Imagine a disease worse than AIDS rippling through Wisconsin's deer herd.
One that's always fatal, cannot be tested for in live animals, and has the
chance of spreading to anyone who eats the infected venison. Sound like the
premise for Michael Crichton's next apocalyptic thriller?
Unfortunately, such a disease already exists in epidemic levels in the
wilds of Colorado and Wyoming. It's infected some game farms, too, and Wisconsin
game farmers have imported more than 350 elk with the potential for this
disease, including elk from farms known to be infected.
"If most people knew what kind of risk this disease poses to free-ranging
deer in the state, they'd be very concerned," says Dr. Sarah Hurley, Lands
Division administrator for the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR is now
testing free-ranging deer around these game farms for the disease: "We're
focusing our energies on those areas where we think there's the greatest
possibility of transmission."
The malady the DNR's looking for is chronic wasting disease (CWD)--better
known, to the extent it is known at all, as mad elk disease. It's a form of the
mad cow disease that devastated Britain's cattle industry in the 1980s, scared
the bejesus out of the populace, and is believed to have killed at least 70
people to date. An elk or deer with CWD can be listless, may walk in circles,
will lose weight and interact progressively less with fellow animals.
The corresponding human affliction is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
(pronounced Croytz-feld Yawkob) or CJD. People with CJD experience symptoms
similar to Alzheimer's, including memory loss and depression, followed by
rapidly progressive dementia and death, usually within one year. While CJD is
rare (literally one in a million odds of getting it), over the last few years at
least three deer hunters have died of it. There is no proof either way whether
they contracted the disease from CWD-infected venison, but new research says it
is possible.
All three varieties--mad cow, mad elk and CJD--belong to a family of
diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. These diseases alter
the conformation of proteins in the brain called prions; after-death brain
samples usually show a series of microscopic holes in and around brain cells.
No one is exactly sure how mad elk disease spreads. At first, transmittal
through blood seemed likely, as from mother to fawn. But CWD has moved between
adult animals at game farms, leading scientists to conclude that it can be
spread through saliva or simple contact. Also, the rates of transmission are
higher in areas where animals have the most opportunities for contact.
Wisconsin's concentrated population of 1.7 million deer interact freely with
each other, and scientific modeling suggests CWD could tear through our deer
herd devastatingly fast. Despite the danger, Wisconsin and other states are
relying on only sporadic testing and a system of voluntary compliance. It's a
system that some say has more holes in it than a CWD-infected brain.
At present, Wisconsin game farm owners, even those harboring elk and deer
brought in from farms with known cases of CWD, do not have to call a
veterinarian if a deer or elk suddenly dies or acts strange. They're also not
required to inform the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or the
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) if animals
escape into the wild.
"The lax attitude is pretty shocking," says John Stauber, a Madison
activist and co-author of Mad Cow U.S.A. To protect people and deer, Stauber
argues for an immediate importation ban for game farms, plus programs of testing
and surveillance. He suggests both DATCP and DNR aren't taking such measures
because, as the regulators in charge, they don't want to find the CWD he thinks
is likely already in state. "It's in their bureaucratic interest to not
[actively] look for CWD in the game farms," says Stauber. "Because if they find
it, who's to blame?"
In the wild and especially out west, chronic wasting disease is spreading
fast. Northeastern Colorado documented its first case in 1981. By the mid-1990s,
samplings of mule deer brains showed 3% to 4% testing positive for CWD. Within a
few years, the rate was 8%, and now Larimer County, the center of the endemic
area, has a 15% rate of infection among mule deer. It's also being found in deer
and elk in Wyoming.
"Fifteen percent of a wild population of animals with this disease is
staggering," says Dr. Thomas Pringle, who tracks CWD-type diseases for the
Sperling Biomedical Foundation in Eugene, Ore. "It's basically unheard of. This
appears to be an unusually virulent strain. with highly efficient horizontal
transmission mechanisms."
CWD could eventually spread to Wisconsin on its own, animal to animal. But
that would take decades. Game farms, though, provide a mechanism to cut through
all that time and distance and drop CWD smack in the middle of the state.
An open-records search by Isthmus reveals that the first shipment of farm
elk from areas with CWD in the wild occurred in 1992, with 66 Colorado elk going
to a game farm in Plymouth. In April 1998, DATCP was informed that a Bloomer
game farm had purchased one elk from a Nebraska farm later found to be
CWD-infected. This prompted a Sept. 15, 1998, memo from Steven Miller, head of
the DNR's Lands Division, to Secretary George Meyer, with copies to DATCP chief
Ben Brancel and Gov. Tommy Thompson. In it, Miller recommends that Wisconsin
follow the lead of Montana (which found CWD on two game farms) and place "a
moratorium on the importation of all game farm animals.... At present it appears
the only way to help assure the disease does not spread into Wisconsin."
But the moratorium was never put in place, so it's possible that even more
elk potentially carrying CWD are now in state.
Instead of a moratorium, Wisconsin has opted for testing. It is among 12
states and two Canadian provinces that currently test deer for CWD. Last year,
the Wisconsin DNR began testing road- and hunter-killed deer in 1999 within a
five-mile radius of game farms that have brought in elk from CWD-infected areas.
Test areas include all or part of Fond du Lac, Dodge, Jefferson, Sheboygan and
Washington counties. All of the approximately 250 brains examined in 1999 came
back negative; this year, 500 to 600 deer will be tested.
Meanwhile, DATCP is asking owners of game farms that have animals from
herds known to have cases of CWD infection to voluntarily enter a surveillance
program. The agency's top veterinarian, Dr. Clarence Siroky, argues that
voluntary compliance makes more sense than a moratorium because, ban or no ban,
game farm operators "are going to find a way to bring these animals into the
state. We don't have police patrols and impregnable borders to keep anything in
or out."
With voluntary compliance, Siroky says, at least there are records of
animals entering the state. So if CWD or other diseases are discovered, the
animals can be traced back to their original herds and other farms they may have
been at. "It's better to know where the animals are coming in from," he insists.
Siroky may be right that an importation ban would result in some game farms
smuggling in animals. But currently, game farmers can bring in any deer or elk,
even those from known CWD-infected areas, so long as they can produce a health
certificate showing the animal's been tested. The problem is that no test exists
to find CWD in live animals. Animals can carry CWD for years and still look
healthy, so some of the 370 elk shipped into Wisconsin between 1996 and 1999
from CWD areas could have the disease. The odds are even higher for animals
purchased from farms later found to have CWD.
Wisconsin has approximately 100 deer or elk farms and they're big business.
On the Internet, prices for elk calves start at $1,500, and breeding bulls go
for up to $20,000. Some farms sell venison and the velvet that peels from new
elk antlers (considered an aphrodisiac in Asia). Others offer "hunts" costing
between $1,000 and $5,000 for trophy deer, to more than $10,000 for bull elk
with massive antlers.
Given these economics, it's reasonable to question why anyone with a
suspicion of CWD in his or her herd would call in state regulators or a vet. A
farm with a proven CWD case, confirms Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt, DATCP's director of
Animal Disease Control, would be shut down indefinitely.
And if a problem develops on a Wisconsin game farm, there's no guarantee
that's where it will stay. Dr. Hurley says even fenced-in animals have easy
nose-to-nose contact with wild and other farmed animals. Besides, as the DNR's
chief of special operations Thomas Solin has documented, many game farms are not
secure. Gates are sometimes left open. Fences rust and break, rot and topple,
get crushed by fallen trees. Even if game farm animals don't escape, such
breaches allow wild deer to get in, mingle with the farmed deer and elk, then
leave.
Unlike other diseases, there's no test for CWD in living animals because it
doesn't create an immune system counter-response, detectable through blood
analysis. You can't kill CWD and related diseases by cooking the meat. One test
Stauber recounts in Mad Cow U.S.A. found that scrapie, a sheep form of CWD,
stayed viable after a full hour at 680 degrees Fahrenheit. Most disinfectants
don't kill these diseases, either, and they can exist in the soil for years.
And while diseases like mad cow and mad elk do have some trouble jumping
from species to species, it can happen. This May, Byron Caughey of the National
Institutes of Health announced that he had converted human brain materials with
mad-elk-contaminated brain matter at rates roughly equal to the transfer between
mad cow and humans.
Says Dr. Pringle, referring to Caughey's work, "CWD may not transmit that
easily, but the rate isn't zero." Pringle notes that the test Caughey used has
been a very reliable proxy in the past in determining transmission possibilities
for other diseases, including mad cow.
Once they jump the species barrier, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
diseases adapt to fit the new host and are then passed on rather easily within
that species. Unfortunately, says Pringle, no one is trying to determine if CWD
has jumped into people as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Making matters more
difficult is the fact that the disease can incubate for decades before symptoms
are seen.
In states with CWD-infected deer, thousands of people have undoubtedly been
exposed to CWD-infected venison. A February 1998 Denver Post article tells of
one hunter who's venison tested positive for CWD. By the time he was notified,
his meat had already been ground up and mixed with meat from hundreds of other
deer for venison sausage.
With AIDS, Pringle notes, there was a definite overreaction, with people
initially afraid to even shake hands with people infected with the virus.
Looking at the CWD situation in Colorado, he says there's been complete
underreaction. "It's like, oh, what the hell. Nobody's died yet--so keep eating
the venison!'" Pringle worries that if the disease is found in humans, it will
be so only after years of spreading through the human community.
Looking over documents obtained by Isthmus through its open-records
request, Stauber says DATCP is behaving more like a lobbyist for the game farm
industry than an agency bent on protecting Wisconsin's people from CWD. He
points to DATCP's Cervidae Advisory Committee as a prime example. In a Nov. 11,
1998, memo from Siroky to DATCP secretary Ben Brancel, Siroky notes that the
committee is needed to "obtain information from the public concerning disease
regulation" of farmed deer and elk, and "to help formulate action plans for
importation requirements, prevention and control" of CWD. But of the 12 people
Siroky nominates, one's a DNR warden, one's a DATCP employee, and the other 10
are game farm owners. And two of these owners were among those DATCP knew had
purchased elk from farms at high risk of having CWD.
"There's no significant input from anyone else," says Stauber. "Farmers,
deer hunters and consumers are all left out. Meanwhile, the government's failing
to take all necessary precautions to alert the public to this potential health
threat."
Wisconsin : 436 Deer Have Escaped From Farms to Wild
Date: March 18, 2003 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Contacts: LEE BERGQUIST lbergquist@journalsentinel.com
State finds violations, lax record keeping at many sites, report says
A state inspection of private deer farms, prompted by the discovery of
chronic wasting disease, found that 436 white-tailed deer escaped into the wild,
officials said Tuesday
The Department of Natural Resources found that captive deer have escaped
from one-third of the state's 550 deer farms over the lifetime of the
operations. The agency also uncovered hundreds of violations and has sought a
total of 60 citations or charges against deer farm operators.
snip...
CWD found on 2 farms
Seven deer have tested positive for the disease on game farms - one on a
Portage County farm and six on a Walworth County farm - since the disease was
discovered in three wild deer killed near Mount Horeb in western Dane County.
One deer that tested positive on the Walworth County farm escaped and roamed
free for six months.
snip...
The audit found that most farms were in compliance, but the DNR found many
violations and instances of poor record keeping. Also in numerous instances,
fences did not stop wild and captive deer from intermingling.
At least 227 farms conducted part of their business on a cash basis, making
it hard to track animal movement with financial records.
For example, both the Internal Revenue Service and the state Department of
Revenue have been contacted about a deer farm near Wild Rose in Waushara County
that is suspected of selling six large bucks for $45,000 in cash and not using
live deer shipping tags as required.
The DNR found that game farm operators have more deer in captivity than
their records show, which is "due in part because the owners of a number of
large deer farm operations were! unable to accurately count the number of deer
within their fences," the audit found.
Hundreds of deer escape
The DNR found a total of 671 deer that escaped farms - 436 of which were
never found - because of storm-damaged fences, gates being left open or the
animals jumping over or through fences.
In one example in Kewaunee County, a deer farmer's fence was knocked down
in a summer storm. Ten deer escaped, and the farmer told the DNR he had no
intention of trying to reclaim them. The DNR found five of the deer, killed them
and cited the farmer for violation of a regulation related to fencing.
Another deer farmer near Mishicot, in Manitowoc County, released all nine
of his whitetails last summer after he believed the discovery of chronic wasting
disease was going to drive down the market for captive deer.
The DNR found 24 instances of unlicensed deer farms and issued 19
citations.
Journal Sentinel correspondent Kevin Murphy contributed to this
report.
Game Farms Inspected
A summary of the findings of the Department of Natural Resources'
inspection of 550 private white-tailed deer farms in the state: The deer farms
contained at least 16,070 deer, but the DNR believes there are more deer in
captivity than that because large deer farms are unable to accurately count
their deer. 671 deer had escaped from game farms, including 436 that were never
found.
24 farmers were unlicensed. One had been operating illegally since 1999
after he was denied a license because his deer fence did not meet minimum
specifications.
Records maintained by operators ranged from "meticulous documentation to
relying on memory." At least 227 farms conducted various portions of their deer
farm business with cash. Over the last three years, 1,222 deer died on farms for
various reasons. Disease testing was not performed nor required on the majority
of deer. Farmers reported doing business with people in 22 other states and one
Canadian province. Click these links for more information
Friday, February 03, 2012
Wisconsin Farm-Raised Deer Farms and CWD there from 2012 report Singeltary
et al
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
***cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the
wild...
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.
Monday, December 02, 2013
WISCONSIN CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD DISCOVERED MARATHON COUNTY HUNTING
PRESERVE
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Wisconsin Second CWD positive deer found in Grant County
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
*** Test results provide current snapshot of CWD in south-central Wisconsin
Dane and Eastern Iowa counties Prevalence has increased in all categories
Thursday, October 03, 2013
TAHC ADOPTS CWD RULE THAT the amendments REMOVE the requirement for a
specific fence height for captives
October 3, 2013
OLD HISTORY ON CWD AND GAME FARMS IN USA
*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014
*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of
the human prion protein.
*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay
when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion
disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.
*** 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.
The chances of a person or domestic animal contracting CWD are “extremely
remote,” Richards said. The possibility can’t be ruled out, however. “One could
look at it like a game of chance,” he explained. “The odds (of infection)
increase over time because of repeated exposure. That’s one of the downsides of
having CWD in free-ranging herds: We’ve got this infectious agent out there that
we can never say never to in terms of (infecting) people and domestic
livestock.”
P35
ADAPTATION OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD) INTO HAMSTERS, EVIDENCE OF A
WISCONSIN STRAIN OF CWD
Chad Johnson1, Judd Aiken2,3,4 and Debbie McKenzie4,5 1 Department of
Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI, USA 53706 2
Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences, 3 Alberta Veterinary
Research Institute, 4.Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, 5
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Canada
T6G 2P5
The identification and characterization of prion strains is increasingly
important for the diagnosis and biological definition of these infectious
pathogens. Although well-established in scrapie and, more recently, in BSE,
comparatively little is known about the possibility of prion strains in chronic
wasting disease (CWD), a disease affecting free ranging and captive cervids,
primarily in North America. We have identified prion protein variants in the
white-tailed deer population and demonstrated that Prnp genotype affects the
susceptibility/disease progression of white-tailed deer to CWD agent. The
existence of cervid prion protein variants raises the likelihood of distinct CWD
strains. Small rodent models are a useful means of identifying prion strains. We
intracerebrally inoculated hamsters with brain homogenates and phosphotungstate
concentrated preparations from CWD positive hunter-harvested (Wisconsin CWD
endemic area) and experimentally infected deer of known Prnp genotypes. These
transmission studies resulted in clinical presentation in primary passage of
concentrated CWD prions. Subclinical infection was established with the other
primary passages based on the detection of PrPCWD in the brains of hamsters and
the successful disease transmission upon second passage. Second and third
passage data, when compared to transmission studies using different CWD inocula
(Raymond et al., 2007) indicate that the CWD agent present in the Wisconsin
white-tailed deer population is different than the strain(s) present in elk,
mule-deer and white-tailed deer from the western United States endemic region.
PPo3-7:
Prion Transmission from Cervids to Humans is Strain-dependent
Qingzhong Kong, Shenghai Huang,*Fusong Chen, Michael Payne, Pierluigi
Gambetti and Liuting Qing Department of Pathology; Case western Reserve
University; Cleveland, OH USA *Current address: Nursing Informatics; Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; New York, NY USA
Key words: CWD, strain, human transmission
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread prion disease in cervids
(deer and elk) in North America where significant human exposure to CWD is
likely and zoonotic transmission of CWD is a concern. Current evidence indicates
a strong barrier for transmission of the classical CWD strain to humans with the
PrP-129MM genotype. A few recent reports suggest the presence of two or more CWD
strains. What remain unknown is whether individuals with the PrP-129VV/MV
genotypes are also resistant to the classical CWD strain and whether humans are
resistant to all natural or adapted cervid prion strains. Here we report that a
human prion strain that had adopted the cervid prion protein (PrP) sequence
through passage in cervidized transgenic mice efficiently infected transgenic
mice expressing human PrP, indicating that the species barrier from cervid to
humans is prion strain-dependent and humans can be vulnerable to novel cervid
prion strains. Preliminary results on CWD transmission in transgenic mice
expressing human PrP-129V will also be discussed.
Acknowledgement Supported by NINDS NS052319 and NIA AG14359.
PPo2-27:
Generation of a Novel form of Human PrPSc by Inter-species Transmission of
Cervid Prions
Marcelo A. Barria,1 Glenn C. Telling,2 Pierluigi Gambetti,3 James A.
Mastrianni4 and Claudio Soto1 1Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's disease and
related Brain disorders; Dept of Neurology; University of Texas Houston Medical
School; Houston, TX USA; 2Dept of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular
Genetics and Neurology; Sanders Brown Center on Aging; University of Kentucky
Medical Center; Lexington, KY USA; 3Institute of Pathology; Case western Reserve
University; Cleveland, OH USA; 4Dept of Neurology; University of Chicago;
Chicago, IL USA
Prion diseases are infectious neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans
and animals that result from the conversion of normal prion protein (PrPC) into
the misfolded and infectious prion (PrPSc). Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of
cervids is a prion disorder of increasing prevalence within the United States
that affects a large population of wild and captive deer and elk. CWD is highly
contagious and its origin, mechanism of transmission and exact prevalence are
currently unclear. The risk of transmission of CWD to humans is unknown.
Defining that risk is of utmost importance, considering that people have been
infected by animal prions, resulting in new fatal diseases. To study the
possibility that human PrPC can be converted into the infectious form by CWD
PrPSc we performed experiments using the Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification
(PMCA) technique, which mimic in vitro the process of prion replication. Our
results show that cervid PrPSc can induce the pathological conversion of human
PrPC, but only after the CWD prion strain has been stabilized by successive
passages in vitro or in vivo. Interestingly, this newly generated human PrPSc
exhibits a distinct biochemical pattern that differs from any of the currently
known forms of human PrPSc, indicating that it corresponds to a novel human
prion strain. Our findings suggest that CWD prions have the capability to infect
humans, and that this ability depends on CWD strain adaptation, implying that
the risk for human health progressively increases with the spread of CWD among
cervids.
PPo2-7:
Biochemical and Biophysical Characterization of Different CWD
Isolates
Martin L. Daus and Michael Beekes Robert Koch Institute; Berlin,
Germany
Key words: CWD, strains, FT-IR, AFM
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is one of three naturally occurring forms of
prion disease. The other two are Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie
in sheep. CWD is contagious and affects captive as well as free ranging cervids.
As long as there is no definite answer of whether CWD can breach the species
barrier to humans precautionary measures especially for the protection of
consumers need to be considered. In principle, different strains of CWD may be
associated with different risks of transmission to humans. Sophisticated strain
differentiation as accomplished for other prion diseases has not yet been
established for CWD. However, several different findings indicate that there
exists more than one strain of CWD agent in cervids. We have analysed a set of
CWD isolates from white-tailed deer and could detect at least two biochemically
different forms of disease-associated prion protein PrPTSE. Limited proteolysis
with different concentrations of proteinase K and/or after exposure of PrPTSE to
different pH-values or concentrations of Guanidinium hydrochloride resulted in
distinct isolate-specific digestion patterns. Our CWD isolates were also
examined in protein misfolding cyclic amplification studies. This showed
different conversion activities for those isolates that had displayed
significantly different sensitivities to limited proteolysis by PK in the
biochemical experiments described above. We further applied Fourier transform
infrared spectroscopy in combination with atomic force microscopy. This
confirmed structural differences in the PrPTSE of at least two disinct CWD
isolates. The data presented here substantiate and expand previous reports on
the existence of different CWD strains.
2012
Envt.06:
Zoonotic Potential of CWD: Experimental Transmissions to Non-Human Primates
Emmanuel Comoy,1,† Valérie Durand,1 Evelyne Correia,1 Aru Balachandran,2
Jürgen Richt,3 Vincent Beringue,4 Juan-Maria Torres,5 Paul Brown,1 Bob Hills6
and Jean-Philippe Deslys1
1Atomic Energy Commission; Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; 2Canadian Food
Inspection Agency; Ottawa, ON Canada; 3Kansas State University; Manhattan, KS
USA; 4INRA; Jouy-en-Josas, France; 5INIA; Madrid, Spain; 6Health Canada; Ottawa,
ON Canada
†Presenting author; Email: emmanuel.comoy@cea.fr
The constant increase of chronic wasting disease (CWD) incidence in North
America raises a question about their zoonotic potential. A recent publication
showed their transmissibility to new-world monkeys, but no transmission to
old-world monkeys, which are phylogenetically closer to humans, has so far been
reported. Moreover, several studies have failed to transmit CWD to transgenic
mice overexpressing human PrP. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is the
only animal prion disease for which a zoonotic potential has been proven. We
described the transmission of the atypical BSE-L strain of BSE to cynomolgus
monkeys, suggesting a weak cattle-to-primate species barrier. We observed the
same phenomenon with a cattleadapted strain of TME (Transmissible Mink
Encephalopathy). Since cattle experimentally exposed to CWD strains have also
developed spongiform encephalopathies, we inoculated brain tissue from
CWD-infected cattle to three cynomolgus macaques as well as to transgenic mice
overexpressing bovine or human PrP. Since CWD prion strains are highly
lymphotropic, suggesting an adaptation of these agents after peripheral
exposure, a parallel set of four monkeys was inoculated with CWD-infected cervid
brains using the oral route. Nearly four years post-exposure, monkeys exposed to
CWD-related prion strains remain asymptomatic. In contrast, bovinized and
humanized transgenic mice showed signs of infection, suggesting that CWD-related
prion strains may be capable of crossing the cattle-to-primate species barrier.
Comparisons with transmission results and incubation periods obtained after
exposure to other cattle prion strains (c-BSE, BSE-L, BSE-H and cattle-adapted
TME) will also be presented, in order to evaluate the respective risks of each
strain.
Envt.07:
Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of Farmed and Free
Ranging White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease
Martin L. Daus,1,† Johanna Breyer,2 Katjs Wagenfuehr,1 Wiebke Wemheuer,2
Achim Thomzig,1 Walter Schulz-Schaeffer2 and Michael Beekes1 1Robert Koch
Institut; P24 TSE; Berlin, Germany; 2Department of Neuropathology, Prion and
Dementia Research Unit, University Medical Center Göttingen; Göttingen, Germany
†Presenting author; Email: dausm@rki.de
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, rapidly spreading
transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) occurring in cervids in North
America. Despite efficient horizontal transmission of CWD among cervids natural
transmission of the disease to other species has not yet been observed. Here, we
report a direct biochemical demonstration of pathological prion protein PrPTSE
and of PrPTSE-associated seeding activity in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected
cervids. The presence of PrPTSE was detected by Western- and postfixed frozen
tissue blotting, while the seeding activity of PrPTSE was revealed by protein
misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). The concentration of PrPTSE in skeletal
muscles of CWD-infected WTD was estimated to be approximately 2000- to
10000-fold lower than in brain tissue. Tissue-blot-analyses revealed that PrPTSE
was located in muscle- associated nerve fascicles but not, in detectable
amounts, in myocytes. The presence and seeding activity of PrPTSE in skeletal
muscle from CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human
diet as a precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further
clarification of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.
PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD
Sunday, August 25, 2013
***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?
PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD
Sunday, August 25, 2013
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.
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.
PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD
Sunday, August 25, 2013
***Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats, blood,
and mother to offspring transmission
Sunday, March 02, 2014
BIG WIN FOR SHOOTING PENS FROM BRAKKE BLUNDER THANKS TO JUDGE, BIG LOSS FOR
WILD CERVIDS AND POSSIBLE HUMANS FROM CWD
Monday, March 03, 2014
APHIS to Offer Indemnity for CWD Positive Herds as Part of Its Cervid
Health Activities
cwd cases must be knee deep for aphis et al to offer indemnity for cwd
herds.
BY paying indemnity to cwd game farmers et al, that’s not much of a
deterrent to stop cwd, by paying them off when they get it, due to there own
negligence i.e. cwd by captivity, environmental contamination by congregation,
and interstate transportation there from, and or escapees into the wild.
cwd farms and livestock there from, they need to be shut down and
quarantined for at least 7 to 10 years, and that may not be long enough, and it
should be at the deer farmers expense. ...I’m just saying.
kind regards,
terry
Monday, March 03, 2014
APHIS to Offer Indemnity for CWD Positive Herds as Part of Its Cervid
Health Activities
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