# Chronic Wasting Disease in a Captive White-Tailed Deer Farm 79% positive @ depop.



## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

P04.01
Chronic Wasting Disease in a Captive White-Tailed Deer Farm


Keane, D1; Barr, D1; Bochsler, P1; Hall, M2; Gidlewski, T3; ORourke, K4; Spraker, T5
1University of Wisconsin, USA; 2US Department of Agriculture, USA; 3US Department
of Agriculture, USA; 4USDA ARS-ADRU, Washington |State University, USA; 5Veterinary
Diagnostic Laboratory, Colorado State University, USA


A white-tailed deer farm in Portage, Wisconsin, was depopulated in January 2006,
after chronic wasting disease (CWD) had been initially discovered on the property in
September 2002. Prior to the depopulation, a total of 22 positive animals had been
removed from the property: one in 2002, six in 2003, ten in 2004, four in 2005 and one
in 2006. At the time of depopulation a total of 76 animals remained: 47 females and 29
males. Age was assessed by visual examination of teeth at the time of death and
revealed 26 adult, 8 fawn and 42 yearling animals. The following tissues were
examined by immunohistochemistry for PrPCWD using Ab99/97.6.1: obex, tonsil,
retropharyngeal, submandibular, parotid, prescapular, axillary, inguinal, prefemoral and
popliteal lymph nodes, recto-anal mucosal tissue and eye. Seventy-nine percent of
animals (sixty) were found to be positive in at least one tissue; 49 were obex positive,
58 retropharyngeal positive, 56 tonsil positive, 48 recto-anal mucosal associated
lymphoid tissue positive and 4 animals were positive for PrPCWD in the retina. Prion
genotype was determined for all animals.


http://www.prion2007.com/pdf/Prion Book of Abstracts.pdf


TSS


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

Damn. 
Terry, any idea why the farm wasn't depopulated in Sept. of '02 after the discovery ? Was this some kind of experiment to see what percentage of the remaining herd would become infected under these conditions /

L & O


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

Liver and Onions said:


> Damn.
> Terry, any idea why the farm wasn't depopulated in Sept. of '02 after the discovery ? Was this some kind of experiment to see what percentage of the remaining herd would become infected under these conditions /
> 
> L & O


hello there L & O ;


politics, big business, and ignorance have spread not only CWD, but other TSEs globally 
for decades now, and will continue to spread them as long as this consistent ignorance continues,
and sadly, i see no change in the near future. i could go back of the past 7 years and show you
so much of this ignorance and deceit, just to save the industry, and at the same time allowing the
continued spread of this agent via a multitude, _proven_ routes and sources, but then again, i could
go back from that point, another 8 years, and in terms of human and animal TSE, the same 
ignorance and deceit existed. so, i suppose my question is, what will the next 4 to 8 years 
bring us in relations to the continued spreading of human and animal TSEs, both of which
are on the rise in the USA ? it's a slow process, one of which is catching up i.e. incubation. 
will it sustain itself ? i say just look how long it has already, with no end in sight. and if you
believe that there is only 3 mad cows in the USA, then you will believe anything. that probably
ranks right up there with how long the consumer was lied to about asbestos and tobacco. only
problem is, the body bags have not stacked up ...............yet. and thats due to many reasons
i.e. lack of surveillance, the cjd surveillance in the USA is a joke, and there is evidence of some
mis-diagnosis, and the incubation period itself. yes, you are more likely to die of a car wreck than
CJD, however my mother and many other peoples loved ones did not die in a car wreck, they died
of CJD, and we are still looking for answers. in fact, we demand them. as history and time have proven,
as the TSE's grow, they become more virulent. you know theres' work now showing that there are different
phenotypes of CWD. it will be interesting to learn how many, and if they become more virulent, i could not
imagine being more virulent then CWD already is in the wild and captive, but time will tell. ...terry



CWD SPREADING, GAME FARMS, AND LAWSUITS

http://montanawildlife.com/newsletter articles for site/June 2005 Outdoor News.doc


DNR targeting game farm where 6 chronic wasting cases reported
By LEE BERGQUIST
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 26, 2004
Almond - For more than a decade, hunters from as far away as New York and the Deep South have come to Stan Hall's game preserve in Portage County to shoot big bucks.

Chronic Wasting Disease



Farm Targeted


Graphic/Enrique Rodriguez 
Hall's farm


Archived Coverage

For complete archived coverage of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin, go to our SPECIAL SECTION 

Buy a link herePerched in tree stands, hunters have their pick of deer that Hall releases from pens for the shoot.

A longtime hunter, Jim Alford of Houma, La., came to Hall's farm, Buckhorn Flats, in October 2002 with his sons. The visit produced three large bucks.

"It's a real nice place," Alford recalled, though he added: "There is really not a lot of sport in it. It was the first time I had done it. It's more like shooting than hunting."

Now Hall's business could be ending. After the discovery of chronic wasting disease on his farm in September 2002, state officials fear it could spread from his fenced, 82-acre compound to the surrounding countryside.

So far, six of his deer have tested positive for the fatal disease, according to the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. One was shot as recently as Dec. 4.

No sign of the disease has been found in wild deer in Portage County. But as the numbers mount on Hall's farm, the agriculture department has banned him from selling live deer and wants to kill all of his 120 deer, as state law permits.

Hall is challenging the state's order, signed on July 29, that would have dispatched a government team to methodically shoot the deer, lop off their heads and remove brain tissue to learn whether they carried the disease.

Hall and his attorney declined to comment for this article. But in previous interviews and in discussions with officials involved in his case, Hall has criticized the government's testing methods and said he is being made a scapegoat.

DNR battling disease
Ever since chronic wasting disease was found in western Dane County in February 2002, Wisconsin officials have used a two-pronged attack to contain the disease.

The Department of Natural Resources is trying to wipe out as many wild deer as possible where the disease is known to exist. The DNR says 13,000 deer were killed during the 2003 hunting season in regions where the disease is festering.

On a separate front, the agriculture department has ordered the killing of captive herds, such as Hall's, that test positive. So far, two deer herds, in Sauk and Walworth counties, and one elk herd in Manitowoc County have been exterminated.

Hall and deer farmer Wayne Kuhnke of Walworth County, who the agriculture department says sold deer to Hall, are next on the list. Like Hall, Kuhnke also is fighting the order before an administrative law judge.

Researchers are struggling to learn as much as they can about chronic wasting disease, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, in which an abnormal protein invades the brain of a deer, disrupts its ability to eat and drink and causes the animal to waste away and eventually die.

Most researchers believe that the disease is transmissible by deer-to-deer contact, according to Robert G. Ehlenfeldt, the state veterinarian.

Deer farms under scrutiny
Wisconsin officials willingly concede that they will probably never know how chronic wasting disease got to Wisconsin, but a leading theory points to the role of game farms.

Deer farmers were not required to keep detailed records until last year, so "it's going to be very, very difficult, if not impossible, to say where CWD came into this state," said Karl Brooks, a game warden with the DNR.

The deer at Buckhorn Flats live behind an 8-foot-high wire fence amid the cover of mature oaks, planted pines and open swaths of farm fields. This is vegetable crop country - table-top flat - where the snow swirls and drifts in the winter like a windswept desert. With plenty of open space, wild deer can cover a lot of territory fast.

The DNR is concerned that Hall's farm, or any other suspect deer farm, could infect wild deer by contact along a fence. Worse, part of the fence could fall down, as Hall's did, during a windstorm in 2001.

Fences aren't perfect
"Accidents happen," said Tom Hauge, director of the DNR's Bureau of Wildlife Management. "I would feel terrible if something happened and animals escaped and something got started there."

DNR game wardens inspected Hall's fence last year and found it to be in good shape, but Hall has raised the possibility that deer may have escaped in the past. In September 2002, during another visit, he told them that he did not believe he had ever had an escape, according to the wardens' report obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Then the wardens wrote:

"Hall stated that he possibly lost some bucks during the storm of June 11th, 2001, because he had damage to fences on his property."

The windstorm is a memorable event in these parts. Trees knocked down power lines and blocked roads. Neighbors brought out their chains saws, trucks and tractors to clear off roads so people could drive to town.

Hall "was checking his fence so fast that night," said Matt McLarnan, who lives across the road from Hall. "He keeps things in tip-top condition."

Fences around captive facilities have not kept deer from getting loose in the past. During inspections, the DNR last year found that 436 deer had escaped from Wisconsin deer farms and that one-third of the 550 farms reported an escape at one time or another.

There are no signs of chronic wasting disease in the wild deer population in Portage County, where 615 deer were tested in 2002 and 2003, according to the DNR.

Wisconsin was the first state east of the Mississippi River to be hit by the disease. The sudden discovery surprised wildlife officials and triggered anxiety among hunters during the 2002 season.

Hall was the first deer farmer to turn up a positive deer, after a Larchmont, N.Y., man shot a buck on his property.

In previous interviews, Hall has questioned whether officials have been able to conclusively trace the first positive deer to his farm, and after hiring an independent lab, he has questioned whether the first deer was actually sick. But he has declined to talk about the last five infected deer.

The trouble at Buckhorn Flats has led to the quarantine of seven other game farms, including Kuhnke's, that have bought or sold deer among one another.

Hall "is willing to de-populate the animals, once the animals, especially the first animal, are properly identified," said Gary Nelson, president of Whitetails of Wisconsin, the state deer farming association. "How long this drags out is up to the state."

His neighbors describe Hall as a friendly, meticulous sort who waves to passers-by while driving his tractor and tending to his deer. Sometimes Hall gives away venison to a down-on-his-luck neighbor, he told the DNR.

Some neighbors concerned
"Stan's a great neighbor," said Mike Wiesner, a bowhunter who lives a few hundred yards away. "I stood behind him for the first few deer. But now with the last couple, I'm a little worried."

So is Jim Hunkins, also a deer hunter, who is fearful that diseased deer will turn up in the wild and force the DNR to create a zone intended to wipe out most of the deer.

"If it gets out, the DNR is going to hammer the deer population. Something's got to be done."

But three women - all of them non-hunters - said they were not worried. Sharon Johannes said she was more worried about bears that prowl the neighborhood.

Another neighbor, Alan Koch, said Hall's farm did not worry him.

"I was raised on venison," Koch said. Chronic wasting disease has "been in the wild for decades. That's nothing new. I think the state is harassing him."

Loss put at $150,000
Hall moved to Buckhorn Flats in 1990 or 1991, according to the DNR, after starting a deer farm in Waushara County in 1987.

Hall's attorney, Gary L. Dreier of Stevens Point, said in a letter to the agriculture department that his client stood to lose $150,000 if his deer were killed. The lawyer claimed that DNR wardens traveling to New York to fetch the head and antlers of the first positive deer told the hunter that the DNR planned to put Hall out of business.

State regulations say a farmer can receive no more than $1,500 in compensation per deer that is destroyed, even though the deer may be worth more. Nelson, of Whitetails of Wisconsin, said bucks shot at game farms can fetch $1,000 to $10,000 each.

State rules require any adult deer that dies on a game farm to be tested.

During 2002 and 2003, in addition to Hall's six positive deer, 57 others were healthy, according to the agriculture department.

All told, 5,365 captive deer have been tested, and 14, or 0.26%, have been positive for chronic wasting disease.

Wisconsin's deer farming industry argues that it's under siege from regulators when the real problem is in the wild deer population. To date, 281 wild deer have tested positive, which is 0.52% of the total deer analyzed.

"We've got a much bigger problem in the wild," said Nelson, of the state's deer farming group.

Meanwhile, Nelson's member farms are cooperating with the state and operating under stricter testing protocols than for deer shot in the wild. While demand has remained strong for venison and breeding stock, Nelson estimated that one-third of the state's deer farmers are getting out of the business.


http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=202694


FARM TARGETED

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=202696


WITH infection rates as high as they are with CWD, there is no room for error. ...TSS


DRAFT
WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE MANAGEMENT PLAN
February 17, 2006


5. Predicted population effects on free-ranging elk based on captive elk
chronically exposed to the CWD prion. Forty-three female elk calves were
trapped at the National Elk Refuge and transported to Sybille in February
2002. Elk were housed in pens, assumed to be environmentally contaminated
with the CWD prion. Elk will be held throughout their lifetimes. Elk dying
will be examined and cause of death determined. From these data, it will
should be possible to model free-ranging elk mortality and population
dynamics under extreme circumstances of CWD prion exposure and transmission.
As of December 2005 (46 months post capture), 11 of 43 elk have died due to
CWD. This compares to 100% mortality in less than 25 months in elk orally
inoculated with different dosages of the CWD prion.


http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/CWD2005reviseddraft.pdf


What would happen if we did nothing to manage CWD?



Because there is no evidence of genetic resistance

to CWD in deer, the idea that it could simply burn itself out is nearly
impossible. A simulation model suggests

that if left unmanaged over the next ten to thirty years, CWD will spread
widely throughout Wisconsin and

increase in prevalence to more than 40 percent of adult deer. Colorados
situation supports this model because

prevalence in mule deer on some local winter ranges there now exceeds 25-30
percent. To put this in perspective,

in some sections of Wisconsins core area prevalence is as high as 8-12
percent. In addition, the known affected

area of Colorado and Wyoming has expanded more than one hundred miles to the

west and northwest during the past five years.



http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/Whealth/issues/CWD/doc/CWDfacts.pdf



Wildlife disease experts have concluded that in the absence of management
intervention, CWD will most likely increase in prevalence and distribution.
There is no evidence that CWD will burn itself out if left alone. A
simulation model suggests that if left unmanaged over the next 10-30 years,
CWD will spread quickly throughout Wisconsin and will substantially increase
in prevalence to more than 40 percent of adult deer.
Simulations of effects on deer population size in the CWD affected area
depend on the assumptions made about the transmission process, but all
models show a moderate to substantial long-term reduction in deer population
density. The model simulations are consistent with recent findings in
Colorado that have shown increases in prevalence over the past few years in
numerous local populations. Prevalence on some local winter ranges now
exceeds 25-30 percent. In addition, the known affected area in both Colorado
and Wyoming has expanded to the west and northwest more than 100 miles
during the past five years.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/cwd/doc/ask06.htm#05



CWD INFECTION RATE OR STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND AND IGNORING

In one contaminated research facility, more than 90% of the deer housed for
more than two years contracted CWD.

Such infection rates in wild deer populations would have devastating
effects. .......



http://wildlifecontrol.info/CWD/PDF/CWDinNYS.pdf



continued


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

Northwestern Nebraska: In 2001, active surveillance in the vicinity of a CWD-positive

captive elk herd in Sioux County disclosed several infected white-tailed deer. On the

ranch with the positive elk, a CWD infection rate of approximately 50% was found

among 179 wild deer inside a high fence enclosure built on the property at the time the

elk enclosure was constructed in the early 1990s.



http://www.uga.edu/scwds/topic_index/2002/CWDinWildDeerandElk.pdf


Additionally, recent research indicates that there may be pockets of
infection with very high rates of the CWD within the larger endemic area.
Also, mature bucks appear to be infected at a higher rate than other
portions of the population.

Upon learning that a number of captive whitetail taken inside the Sioux
County game ranch tested CWD positive, and concerned about the Kimball
County results, Commission staff in January 2002 began a culling operation
within a 15-mile radius of the Sioux County game ranch. Of 113 wild animals
taken in that culling operation, nine tested positive for the disease, for
an overall infection rate of nearly eight percent. Of those testing
positive, five were culled within two miles of the game ranch boundaries,
two were culled within two to five miles, and two were culled within five to
seven miles.

At the same time, Commission staff culled 172 mule and white-tailed deer
from within the captive game ranch in Sioux County. Of 154 test results
received, 79 animals tested positive. An additional culling, in cooperation
with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, along our common
border resulted in a sample size of 193 deer with all being negative.


http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/guides/CWD/cwd.asp


In states where the disease has been present for more than a decade, the
prevalence of CWD in wild deer populations has been observed at 1%-15%. This
rate, by itself, is not sufficient to cause
reductions in deer population size.
However, these observations occurred in states where deer populations do not
achieve the high densities that occur in New
York and Wisconsin. In captive deer herds, CWD can reach remarkably high
infection rates. In one contaminated research
facility, more than 90% of the deer housed for more than two years
contracted CWD. Such infection rates in wild deer
populations would have devastating effects.
Hunting is the wildlife managers most important tool for regulating deer
abundance. High deer population densities lead to
more rapid spread of CWD in an infected herd. Consequently, programs to
reduce the deer population, which may include
increased harvest of female deer, will be implemented in areas where CWD has
been detected.


http://wildlifecontrol.info/CWD/PDF/CWDinNYS.pdf



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 more than 2 years died
or were euthanized while suffering from CWD.
Recently, high CWD prevalence (about 50%)
has been demonstrated in white-tailed deer
confined in association with an infected
Nebraska elk farm. Among captive elk, CWD
was the primary cause of adult mortality (5 of 7,
71%; 4 of 23, 23%) in 2 research herds, and
high prevalence (59%) was detected 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
has been estimated at less than 1% in elk and
less than 1% to 15% in mule deer. Modeled
CWD epidemics failed to achieve a steady-state
equilibrium in infected deer populations,
suggesting that CWD may lead to local
extirpations of infected deer populations if left
unmanaged. (Excerpted and modified from:
Williams, Elizabeth S., Michael W. Miller, and
E. Tom Thorne. Chronic Wasting Disease:
Implications and Challenges for Wildlife
Managers. Transactions of the 67th North
American Wildlife and Natural Resources
Conference. In Press.)

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=secwdspubs


February 14, 2003
Chronic Wasting Disease and the Science in support of the Ban on Baiting and Feeding Deer.
Timothy R. Van Deelen Ph.D.
Wisconsin DNR Research
Summary
Reliable science provides support for a ban of baiting and feeding of white-tailed deer to reduce disease
risks for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Peer-reviewed research papers published in reputable
scientific journals indicate the following:
 CWD is transmitted laterally (live diseased deer infect other deer)
 Deer can get CWD by ingesting something contaminated with the disease prion
 CWD prions may be shed in feces and saliva
 Disease course and symptoms indicate high potential for transmission where deer are
concentrated
 Evidence from captive situations indicates that deer can get CWD from highly contaminated
environments.
 Baiting and Feeding causes unnatural concentration of deer
 Reduction of contact through a ban on baiting and feeding is likely very important to
eradicating or containing a CWD outbreak.
 Baiting and feeding continues to put Wisconsins deer herd at risk to other serious diseases
In addition, experts in CWD, wildlife disease and deer nutrition support bans on baiting and feeding as
part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent and/or manage CWD.
Under a baiting and feeding ban, disease outbreaks are more likely to be smaller in scale and more apt to
be contained or eliminated. With the long CWD incubation period and other factors that make discovery
of a new outbreak difficult, an outbreak that is already widespread when detected because of baiting and
feeding may not be able to be contained or eliminated.
This document provides details and explicit links to the supporting science.


full text ;

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/Whealth/issues/Cwd/doc/cwdscsu.pdf


tss


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## Direwolfe (Sep 11, 2007)

I'm afraid that in another ten years we'll look back and wonder why we spent all our time discussing matters that paled in comparison to what ended up killing our sport, CWD, etc. Given reports that the prions remain in the ground for infecting additional animals, there is no excuse for not immediately de-populating any game farm that has an incident.


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## sagittarius (Jun 2, 2004)

Direwolfe said:


> Given reports that the prions remain in the ground for infecting additional animals, there is no excuse for not immediately de-populating any game farm that has an incident.


 Yes, tell that to your state legislators. Politicians are very reluctant to pass any legislation that restricts small businesses, especially agricultural/livestock/game farm type businesses. The reason the DNR did not jump in and promptly remove the infected herd is because they did not have the legal grounds/authority to immediately do so. 

Remember several years before CWD came to Wisconsin, the DNR asked the state legislature for regulations on transporting game farm animals into Wisconsin, similar to regular farm livestock. The fear was if CWD came to Wisconsin, with our extremely high deer population, the effects could be devistating. Our state politicians said NO, leave those small businesses alone. The rest is history. 

DNR efforts have slowed the spread of CWD, but it continues to spread. SEveral land sections in the core area have indicated 10-12% infection rates in wild deer. That is 10% of the wild population that could eventually be dieing annually without the influence of hunting.


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