# And there you have it... CWD is alive and well in Ohio



## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

*I would give my opinion but the guilty parties are a protected group here...

We all saw this coming: First case of CWD in a wild Ohio white-tail deer*

Following is a release from the Ohio Division of Wildlife on the finding of chronic wasting disease in a wild Ohio deer. The animal came from Wyandot County in west-central/northwest Ohio.
It should not come as too much of a surprise. The state - via its Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and - especially the Ohio General Assembly - has done an abysmal job of doubling down to keep this dreaded disease from entering Ohio and eventually expanding.
Chief among Ohio's failure is its hand-wringing on allowing the spread and establishment of captive deer herds for fun and for profit. Similar to the state legislature from stopping totally the trade in exotic animals of all kinds as pets.
In any event, here's the Wildlife Division's press announcement on the subject:
"The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has identified a positive test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a wild Ohio white-tailed deer in Wyandot County. The Division of Wildlife is gathering additional details about the adult male deer taken by a hunter on private property. Tissue samples were submitted for testing by a taxidermist and the positive test was identified after results were obtained on Thursday, December 10, 2020. 

"CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans. 

"The Division of Wildlife will implement its CWD response plan, which includes enhanced surveillance within a 10-mile radius of the CWD positive deer location in Wyandot County. Mandatory deer disease sample collection will occur on all remaining Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area controlled hunts. Hunters who harvest a deer in Wyandot County during the remaining deer hunting season, which closes on Sunday, February 7, 2021, will be contacted to obtain disease samples by Division of Wildlife staff.

"The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, testing more than 25,000 deer without finding a CWD positive deer in the wild herd. CWD has previously been detected at captive deer breeding facilities in Ohio. Find more information about Ohio’s CWD surveillance at wildohio.gov.

"CWD has been detected in 26 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.

"Hunters should take precautions when handling and processing any harvested deer. Hunters may have a harvested deer tested at the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for a small fee. Call (614) 728-6220 for more information."


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

I'm surprised it popped up over there . I figured it would be in holmes county or a bordering county as a result of all the deer farms in that area and their shady ways of operating .


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## Southernsaug (May 23, 2019)

Who wrote this article? I didn't see any credit, just wondering. I really don't want to argue over what was or wasn't done, but disease is extremely hard to prevent spreading. Just look at covid and how with a world wide response and battle it still raged. Count me in the crowd that thinks the private deer rearing people need some serious attention and enforcement. My brother-in-law had a deer operation and he had total disregard for disease and where his deer came from and went too. EHD eventually killed most of his heard, but dept. of Ag never showed up. As many of you know, I worked a long career with ODNR/wildlife and I can assure you it was taken seriously. Even though it wasn't my job I spent many days along side a Dept. of Ag Vet working check stations and collecting deer heads for testing. I was amazed at how cooperative hunters were. You'd expect to get cussed out a lot when you ask a man if you can cut the head off his deer, but soon as you said it was for CWD screening most were very cooperative and gave consent. We rarely took bucks but if we did we just worked with the hunter to preserve his mount. It is extremely difficult to keep people from moving animals from infected areas. When it first showed up out west I still knew people who went and elk hunted in infected areas and brought meat and heads back. 

Like Covid, there are no easy answers, but plenty of blame to go around.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Perhaps the most overblown, over-politicized thing in the history of wildlife.
We should worry about things that are actually affecting deer populations, like non native predators and EHD. Not something that took nearly 20 years of constant searching just to find one case.


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## Karl Wolf (Apr 26, 2020)

Article seems rather biased.

I believe I've been hearing CWD was going to wipe out all the elk,deer and humans on earth since I was a child. Hopefully that's not the case.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

From 6 years ago and the "farmers" are still at it. Bringing infected animals into Ohio... And if your follow _THAT_ rabbit down the hole, you'll see who's responsible...


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio officials have not ruled out killing an estimated 300 captive deer at a hunting preserve where a buck infected with chronic wasting disease was confirmed.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture told the Zanesville Times Recorder that no decision has been made about what to do with the deer remaining at the preserve. The spokeswoman said that killing all the deer at the ranch in Millersburg is "not off the table," and there is no set schedule for when a decision will be made, said Erica Hawkins.

Meanwhile, the discovery of the rare disease has prompted the Ohio Division of Wildlife to ask for tissue samples of wild deer around the preserve known as the World Class Whitetails of Ohio ranch in Holmes County, northeast of Columbus. As of Sunday, the disease had not been found in Ohio's wild herd, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

The disease, which hasn't been shown to infect humans, attacks the brain of the infected animal, produces lesions, and eventually kills the animal. Wildlife officials are asking for deer heads on a voluntary basis in the sampling area, which is restricted to eight townships in Holmes County surrounding the preserve.

The agriculture department, which oversees captive deer operations in the state, confirmed an infected buck at the Millersburg site last month.

_Bryan Richards, the chronic wasting disease project leader at the National Wildlife Health Center, told the Times Recorder that euthanizing the deer from a diseased herd has been the management tool employed at the majority of facilities across the United States and Canada to reduce the risk to free-ranging deer outside the facility_

Curt Waldvogel, president of Whitetail Deer Farmers of Ohio, said it is too early to know the best response to the disease found at the Ohio ranch. The industry tries to work with the farmer and the state to develop the best solution, he said.

A message left Sunday at the ranch in Millersburg seeking comment was not immediately returned.

At least 19 states have found the disease in their wild deer populations. Ohio was the 14th state to identify the disease in its captive population.


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## Karl Wolf (Apr 26, 2020)

I heard the original Minnesota ticks that carried lime disease also were spread through human intervention. 

I guess we could bring up at least 100 instances of livestock spreading diseases to native species and humans. 

I'm just trying to understand your motive here. Are you promoting veganism? No livestock farming? 
I appreciate the information you're sharing to those who have never heard of CWD but I'm trying to understand your motives.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

I would like to see captive deer herds eliminated from the state. There is way too much risk involved for the financial benefit of so few. It is really sad to see deer raised in captivity to be released and hunted in a fenced enclosure. I just can’t fathom the concept of gaining enjoyment from it in any way. I’ve been on deer farms and seen it up close and I’ve lived in areas hit hard by CWD. It’s a serious risk.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

Karl Wolf said:


> I heard the original Minnesota ticks that carried lime disease also were spread through human intervention.
> 
> I guess we could bring up at least 100 instances of livestock spreading diseases to native species and humans.
> 
> ...


I'm a proud meat eater and killer of all things fuzzy and edible. Domestic livestock can be treated and managed. Yoder and his deer farm? Not so much. If you want to shoot farm raised deer in high fence settings, have at it. But they need to be regulated like any other livestock.

Ohio's deer population is the envy of many states. These are "the good old days of Ohio deer hunting". Once CWD gets in the wild population, well...

And, as far as I know, "Lyme" disease originated in Lyme county, Connecticut. How it got to Minnesota is probably the same way it got to Ohio...


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## Karl Wolf (Apr 26, 2020)

You mean Lime disease from Minnesota. 
Just teasing. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

You ever been to Deerasic park at Saltfork? Kind of a neat place.


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## Junebug2320 (Apr 23, 2010)

Correct me if I’m wrong but our DNR also compensates the breeders for the deer they euthanize, right? I think thats a crock. Big time. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Blackcat 86 (Feb 11, 2011)

Muddy said:


> It is really sad to see deer raised in captivity to be released and hunted in a fenced enclosure.


Shooting enclosed animals has little to do with hunting and everything to do with shopping.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

Junebug2320 said:


> Correct me if I’m wrong but our DNR also compensates the breeders for the deer they euthanize, right? I think thats a crock. Big time.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Even the "farmers" who knowingly violate the regulations. Then hide the infected deer on another farm. They were found and destroyed. The owner was compensated over $300,000.00 if I remember correctly. I don't understand the pull "those people" have. They can't be that large of a voting block. Must be something else...


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## Blackcat 86 (Feb 11, 2011)

chadwimc said:


> Must be something else...


To name but a few...
North American Deer Farmers Assn. Home - NADeFA - North American Deer Farmers Association
North American Elk Breeders Assn. North American Elk Breeders Association
Deer Breeders Corp. Deer Breeders Corporation
Canadian Cervid Alliance Canadian Cervid Alliance


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## CoonDawg92 (Jun 1, 2016)

I didn’t realize “deer ranching” was a thing until reading this thread. A few questions for those “in the know”...

Is the sole purpose of these “farms” to sell rich people the right to shoot a deer in a cage?

What about commercially selling the meat to restaurants? Is that illegal? (Ok I will Google that one). In Europe you can order a venison dish off the menu in restaurants.

Are these mostly Amish operations? Seems like that might be insinuated here, and it’s Millersburg, right?


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## Blackcat 86 (Feb 11, 2011)

CoonDawg92 said:


> Is the sole purpose of these “farms” to sell rich people the right to shoot a deer in a cage?


No. They also sell every conceivable body part: antlers, bones, hair, hides, hooves, hormones, meat, organs, sinew, semen, urine, et al. They also sell pictures, site visits, even modeling with Santa's sleigh. 



CoonDawg92 said:


> Are these mostly Amish operations?


No. The Amish have many captive cervid operations in Ohio and elsewhere, but being Amish has as much to do with commercial captive cervid operations as being Polish in Texas, Russian in Quebec, or Somalian in Finland. 



CoonDawg92 said:


> ...and it’s Millersburg, right?


Right.


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## Snookhunter52 (Apr 1, 2019)

I guarantee they outlaw bait hunting next year.


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

Snookhunter,
I agree...it’s coming


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## Had a Bite (Apr 15, 2012)

I'd be very disappointed of they move to stop hunting over bait.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

Had a Bite said:


> I'd be very disappointed of they move to stop hunting over bait.


Or, the could enforce the regulations on deer "farming". Nah. That concept seems to escape 'em for some reason. Money? Politics? I dunno...


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## FOWL BRAWL (Feb 13, 2020)

Making sportsmen pay for the unregulated mismanaged captive deer herd would be a shame, but hey Its Ohio, and that's the easy way out .


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

Harpster, Ohio — The Ohio DNR (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has identified a second positive test for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild white-tailed deer in Wyandot County. The mature doe was harvested in January during a controlled hunt on the Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area refuge, within two miles of the first positive location.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.

The first CWD-positive deer was a mature buck taken by a hunter on private property and confirmed in December 2020. The Division of Wildlife implemented its CWD response plan, which included enhanced surveillance within a 10-mile radius of the first positive location. Mandatory deer disease sample collection occurred during controlled hunts at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area, which is how the second positive was detected. The second positive deer allows wildlife professionals to focus CWD management efforts as surveillance and testing in the area continue, the Division of Wildlife said Friday afternoon in a news release.

The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, testing more than 30,000 deer without finding a CWD-positive deer in the wild herd. In 2020, approximately 4,500 deer were tested statewide. CWD has previously been detected at captive deer breeding facilities in Ohio. Find more information about Ohio’s CWD surveillance at wildohio.gov.

CWD has been detected in 26 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.


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