CWD Found in North Missouri

[LCWhitetails]

I just talked with a lady at Heartland Ranch and they have found a case of CWD. They are having meetings today.

[Jerry]

Was this in the wild or a farmed deer?

[Midwest Deer Sales]

David are these meetings open to anyone or just them and the ag dept.?

[LCWhitetails]

It is a Hunting Ranch. Do know if it was Elk of Whitetail? I just asked if it was true or a bad joke someone was playing on me.

[acutting]

Keep us informed I can't find any info out on it so don't know if its true or not yet.

[ANTLER VALLEY]

Oh, this can't be good...

It appears to be true. Just found this:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — State officials say a captive white-tail deer in northern Missouri's Linn County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The disease is transmitted from animal to animal or from soil to animal. The state veterinarian said Thursday there was no risk to domestic animals or humans.

Chronic wasting disease is a neurological disease found in deer, elk and moose. It has been documented in 15 states and two Canadian provinces.

The farm-raised deer in Linn County had been inspected as part of Missouri's chronic wasting disease surveillance and testing program. The agriculture department said the state immediately initiated a contingency plan to limit spread of the disease among the deer population.

[Jerry]

Does anyone know the details of Missouri's contingency plan.

[Russell]

Missouri Department of Agriculture
Agriculture News

For Immediate Release: Feb. 25, 2010
Media Contact: Misti Preston, (573) 751-8596

Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Captive Deer

(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) - The Missouri Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Health and Senior Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that a captive white-tailed deer in Linn County, Missouri has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a neurological disease found in deer, elk and moose.

"There is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to domestic animals or humans," said State Veterinarian Dr. Taylor Woods. "We have protocols in place to quickly and effectively handle these situations."

The animal that tested positive for CWD was a white-tailed deer inspected as part of the State's CWD surveillance and testing program. Preliminary tests were conducted by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

Upon receiving the confirmed CWD positive, Missouri's departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Health and Senior Services initiated their CWD Contingency Plan. The plan was developed in 2002 by the Cervid Health Committee, a task force comprised of veterinarians, animal health officers and conservation officers from USDA, MDA, MDC and DHSS working together to mitigate challenges associated with CWD.

CWD is transmitted by live animal to animal contact or soil to animal contact. The disease was first recognized in 1967 in captive mule deer in the Colorado Division of Wildlife captive wildlife research facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. CWD has been documented in deer and/or elk in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. There has been no evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans.

"Missouri's proactive steps to put a testing protocol in place and create a contingency plan years ago is proving beneficial. We are in a solid position to follow pre-established steps to ensure Missouri's valuable whitetail deer resource remains healthy and strong," said Jason Sumners Missouri's Deer Biologist.

For more information regarding CWD, please contact Dr. Taylor Woods at (573) 751-3377.

[Reed68]

What is going to happen to all the animals sold at auction here lately, to leave the state?

[ToddM]

MY BEST ADVICE, GET NADEFA INVOLVED ASAP

Here in Michigan we went through this a year and a half ago. NADeFA was GREAT abd helped to save our states industry! Im sure that they are already all over this.

[CurtisLloyd]

this is where we need some real and consistent work put into a 100% accurate live test that can give confidence to everyone ....buyers,sellers, and the general public

[acutting]

They have a live test but refuse to release it for general use. The FDA won't approve it yet from what I've found out on it, the test is very very accurate.

[Headley]

Curtis you or so right do you know if anyone is working on that? It would be the best thing that ever happened to our industry.

[CurtisLloyd]

the last released data I have is 75-80 %, but your right it needs to be 100% , with no false positives before it can be used as an effective tool, if they have it and don't use it ...WHY????, WHAT ARE THEY AFFRAID OF????

[Headley]

acutting I sure hope NADeFA will get in on chacking on that test as soon as they get
over this CWD thing in missouri

[acutting]

we have a guy here on the board who knows quite a bit about it. TrudyUSDA. He works at the faucility where they are testing/using it. From what I understand.

[Antler333]

There is no fully accurate live CWD test available, just a live rectal lymph node screening test that works at about the same stage as the brain test but without having to kill the animal. Unfortunately, it can produce false negatives from animals that are early stage positive. this makes it unsuitable for true whole herd screening.

NO clean and reliable CWD has yet been found and personally I dont think they will find one soon, unless there is a shift in the thought pattern as to what CWD is and how it moves.

[IndependenceRanch]

The current Bruc and current TB tests are also not 100% accurate as far as negative or positive so any sort of test is apparently better than no test as far as that goes. At least it seems to have been for many years now.

What everyone needs to remember is that this is not big news here folks. The list of states and provinces that have found CWD is not a short one. And it will continue to keep growing as it is looked for.
If you look for it you will find it. If you haven't found it yet you just haven't looked hard enough yet. Fact is testing at a rate of only 30% it surprises me it was found this soon.

I think this may be a great opportunity for our industry to shift the focus of this "always fatal, highly contagious" disease to a position it should really be at. The fact that it is nothing more than an illness than can occur from environmental conditions pretty much anywhere. And the fact that 99.99% of the animals we raise and in the wild will succumb to another form of death LOOOOOONG before they ever do to CWD. If this wasn't true wouldn't they actually find dead deer in some of these "CWD hot spots" in CO, WY, NE, IL, WI, the Canadian provinces, and elsewhere? But they don't. Instead they kill hundreds and thousands of deer by hunters or by DNR snipers and then talk about how the animal "looked so fat and healthy" but then it tested positive.

I hope everyone takes a deep breath and doesn't knee jerk react. Use this to the industries advantage instead.

[darren]

I have watched this industry survive alot of big bumps in the road and several times through the years I thought it was the end of the road, for lots of different reasons. Everytime I thought O.K. this is the end of an era, I'll just keep a few deer around to keep my 15 year long project alive. Somehow this industry has amazed me everytime. This is something that is in our blood. We are not switching from Emus then potbelly pigs then deer.This may be the biggest bump yet,but its also where the rubber hits the road. We have proved to be a very resilliant bunch of people. The phone has rang nonstop today, everyone trying to do what they could to help.I will do eveything in my power to help and I have alot of faith in Shawn Shaefer, NADEFA, our state assn. and every deer farmer in North America. The firstthing we can do is not panic.Pay close attention yo how this plays out, because other states are probably going to deal with the same thing soon. Up to the challenge, Darren

[Midwest Deer Sales]

Guys
Here is what we know so far. Heartland Wildlife Ranch has had a doe found to have tested positive for CWD and has been confirmed by two sources. The doe was born on the farm as the ranch does not sell any breeding type animals, so no animals from Heartland Wildlife Ranch have left their facility. The doe in question was in an 800 acre preserve and she was in direct contact with many elk and in the same pen with many elk. Right now Heartland Wildlife Ranch is in discussions with the Mo Department of Conservation, The Mo Department of AG, and the USDA on a propagation and contingency plan that Missouri has had in place since 2002 just in case something like this were to happen. I will keep you all posted and I know Bill Pittinger and NADeFA have been contacted, and will be staying on top of this issue as will many of the deer breeders close by and in the area.
I spoke with Joe at Heartland Wildlife ranch earlier today and he said he would keep me posted and let me know what took place in the meetings as soon as possible. I will try calling him in the morning.

[roughcountrywhitetails]

Any new news? I heard there are several states that have closed thier borders to MO. I know OK. is one of them I had deer going there this coming week and now I am being told they can not go. What is the point of being 5+ years CWD if when it is found in your state others even states that already have CWD won't let you in I just don't get it.

[darren]

Missouri is the 21st state have a confirmed CWD case.There has been a plan in place for several yaers that was ready to go when the first case was detected, if you look long enough and hard enough CWD will be found, regaurdless of where your looking.Missouri is fortunate to have leaders like Sam James, Bill Pittenger,Kevin Grace, Eric Pingston, Jerry Campbell and the MWBHRA, with the combined efforts of these people and NADEFA we will get through this I guarantee you.The deer farmers of Mo. will be ready to help when CWD shows up in other states. This is the Show- Me state.

[darren]

Rough country, there is a meeting set for Thursday. The Powers that be will talk about what actoins should be taken. There are several states that have had cases of CWD that now allow the movement of deer in and out of that state, lets see what happens at that meeting. Gotta go feed my deer.

[PaintedMeadowsBJs]

From: Martin, Karen
Date: 03/01/10 08:39:39
To: Undisclosed recipients:,
Subject: Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Captive Missouri Deer


February 25, 2010

Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Captive Deer

The Missouri Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Health and Senior Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that a captive white-tailed deer in Linn County, Missouri has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a neurological disease found in deer, elk and moose.

"There is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to domestic animals or humans," said State Veterinarian Dr. Taylor Woods. "We have protocols in place to quickly and effectively handle these situations."

The animal that tested positive for CWD was a white-tailed deer inspected as part of the State's CWD surveillance and testing program. Preliminary tests were conducted by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

Upon receiving the confirmed CWD positive, Missouri's departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Health and Senior Services initiated their CWD Contingency Plan. The plan was developed in 2002 by the Cervid Health Committee, a task force comprised of veterinarians, animal health officers and conservation officers from USDA, MDA, MDC and DHSS working together to mitigate challenges associated with CWD.

CWD is transmitted by live animal to animal contact or soil to animal contact. The disease was first recognized in 1967 in captive mule deer in the Colorado Division of Wildlife captive wildlife research facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. CWD has been documented in deer and/or elk in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. There has been no evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans.

"Missouri's proactive steps to put a testing protocol in place and create a contingency plan years ago is proving beneficial. We are in a solid position to follow pre-established steps to ensure Missouri's valuable whitetail deer resource remains healthy and strong," said Jason Sumners Missouri's Deer Biologist.

For more information regarding CWD, please contact Dr. Taylor Woods at (573) 751-3377.

[Tim Condict]

The only information Oklahoma Dept of Ag has right now is what has been officially given them. It is Oklahoma's protocol to quarantine until the trace outs are done. There may be no traceouts in this case, but until thats verified by the officials, there is no way they know the circumstances surrounding this case. I can tell them but that does not matter. I have no idea how long this will take but it is not a ban. We are all on your team but there is a protocol and we will have to live with the time frame of what is done.
I wish you all the best.

[SJames]

I guess its time to jump in!

Tim, our state vet Dr. Taylor Woods will be calling OK to verify this. I have plenty of does sold to OK and plan on moving them as soon as they get this straightened out.

First of all I want to say that Missouri was more than ready for this. Our CWD task force which is made up of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, the Conservation Department, the Missouri Whitetails Breeders and Hunting Ranch Association, USDA reps, APHIS reps, and a few state legislators has met countless times since it was formed in 2001. We talked about and knew that it was a matter of "When" not "If" we finally un-covered a positive. We have a “Contingency Plan” for a CWD positive and have implemented the plan. We will be meeting as a task force on Thursday to discuss how we can move forward and contain the damage from all the bad press.

As we see it, our biggest problem is going to be with others perception!

Here is what we know:

1. The lab in Ames IA has determined that a sample sent to them was positive for CWD in both the brain stem and the lymph nodes. The way I understand it, they did the test 2 times and it came back positive both times. Since they don’t send any real explanation on how the test is performed or any pictures or video, I guess we just have to trust them. I saw a copy of their report and it claimed that “This manually prepared report is being provided to you during a system outage of our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) When LIMS service is restored, a final report will be released to you by our LIMS, per standard operating procedure”. Now if that doesn’t instill confidence in the lab, I don’t know what will! I won’t get into how I really feel about all this!

2. The positive was located on a hunting ranch in the North Central part of the state.

3. The positive came from a healthy hunter harvested deer (yes, I am going to tell everyone the fact that this deer was in perfect health) with no tags in a high fenced preserve that totaled over 1000 acres.

4. The positive was sent in with 28 other samples that all came back negative. The area had been sampled every year since 2003. I have not heard the total number of samples but am guessing that about 200-300 samples have been taken, all negative. We’ll have better statistics in a few days.

5. The samples were collected during the season, foramalin-fixed, placed in jars, and sent in at the end of the season. I don’t think the actual head or carcass was located. There was no “extra” sample kept for DNA.

6. Of course the entire herd was placed under quarantine and a herd plan will be made up with the help of the USDA, the MDC, the MWBHRA, and the herd owner. At this time, Dr. Woods has indicated that some further sampling will probably be conducted.

7. No deer have ever left this area. So the trace out will probably result in no trace out.


This is all just what I’ve been told by talking with Dr. Woods and the herd owner. I have not yet talked to the USDA or MDC. We should learn more on Thursday and I’ll keep you informed after the task force meeting. Since I have deer moving to WI, MN, IA, IL, LA, IN, OK, OH, and PA it will be interesting to see how all the states react. I will also post that here. Of course all of our herds are at least 6-7 years CWD monitored. It shouldn't matter that we have a positive 150 miles from here. But somehow I just know better! :p

[roughcountrywhitetails]

Sam,

Thanks for the info.

[Tim Condict]

Sam,
You know what I think of CWD, but me telling these facts have no bearing. I have told them all of these things last week when it first broke. Until they get official word of what the situation is they will keep the quarantine on. At this time not knowing the facts they feel they cannot let deer move. They don't know that the deer was not bought 150 miles away and feel they would jeprodize our industry if it turned out different than we have been told. We will assist you guy's as soon as the officials give us a way to do so. I feel that our department will be fair, but I also understand the need to expidite due to the time of year we are in. Keep us informed and we will assist in any way possible.
Good luck,
Tim

[SJames]

Tim,

Like I said in the post, Dr. Woods plans on calling OK tomorrow. If they don't listen to him, then we are in trouble. He also said he would call any state that we asked him to. He has been great so far. :)

Thanks for the help!

[Whitetail Sanctuary]

Sam,what do you think our chances with Indiana are?

[Wild Rivers Whitetails]

At least until recently, I know that Indiana would not let deer in from WI since we have had CWD. I also know what Missouri is going through - since we were one of the first states it really wasn't much fun! Until they have found it in every state - there will always be some states that think they are protected by not moving deer in - I think we can conclude that isn't true.

[SJames]

Indiana is a tough one because they really hate deer farming. And while they have some great deer and people, they are one of the worst mid-west deer farming states as far as regulations and dealing with regulatory authorities (MI being one also). They just don't care to make any sense and look for any opening or crack to push their personal opinions and agendas (or those of the hidden organizations like USHS or Peta). We need open borders FOR EVERY state to push this industry on a national level. The mentality to keep borders closed to help the industry within a state is very short sighted and goes against all capitalistic ideals. Thats one reason I am very suprised that Texas borders remain closed. They are usually very conservative and back basic capitalism principles like free trade! To use the disease excuse is just..well a handy excuse. Nobody who knows the facts can look me in the eye and say they are worried about CWD as a threat to any whitetail population. They are kidding themselves, and know it! They are simply worried about competition. ;)

In order to have a viable, growing industry we HAVE to be able to move our products.

Whoops I think I'm on the wrong thread...Sorry!

[Headley]

SJames is so right. Talk to so of your friends in Alabama and condiencs them to see the light .

[Scott Heinrich]

Today, I found out the Louisiana Dept. of Agriculture "temporarily" closed its borders to the importation of WT deer. This was done until tracability issues from the Missouri case of CWD have been resolved.

[acutting]

This is causing an interesting domino effect I didn't expect to see through the industry. I figured states would close their borders to MO deer but not to everyone. Here's an interesting thought though. What if they find that there is no tracability? What if this is a random occurance of CWD? The researchers can't seem to find 100% proof of who this disease is spread so it could be simply possible that it will randomly pop up. I guess I'm just frustrated to see people over reacting to a "disease" that doesn't seem to kill the deer off like "experts" claim. CWD was found in Wisconsin they went in and killed who knows how many deer and spent way to much money doing yet oddly the deer in that area aren't dropping like flies. It hasn't spread from that area like wildfire (which tells me its not highly contaigous). Now one case of CWD has states shutting down their borders to deer imports? This thought process bothers me. The officials are being reactive instead of proactive.

[shasta]

Good Point ....acutting

[shasta]

They found it in Virgina and they got no deerfarms to blame.

[SJames]

I think most states are just shutting down until they hear the details from our State Vet, Dr. Woods. We were issued permits to move deer today to several states after they were informed of the details. I anticipate that all the states that were open before, will open back up in a matter of days. I guess you can't blame them for wanting to know the details. Even IN has shown some signs of letting deer come in after a short time. CWD is a lot like global warming. Over a period of years, very suspicious, non-scientific data was manipulated to help move an agenda while other opposite good data was ignored. It only takes time before all the predictions are proven untrue and people start thinking that maybe all those people were just wrong! It would be quite refreshing to have at least one of them stand up and say "Man I screwed that up, Sorry"!

I just wish the press would print the headline "Earlier CWD predictions all proven wrong over time". I'm holding my breath! :D

[Deerchaser]

I think closing the border until the traceout is confirmed is proactive. The question is what will happen after the trace out. If everything returns to normal that would be a great improvement over the past. It seems as if MO has a good plan assuming they follow it and do not become histerical.
I hope that we could start to develop a plan in Alabama. A good plan should help control personal agenda's and over reacting. I believe what Sam James said about when and not if CWD is found in MO. Each of us is probably in the same boat as to "when not if" CWD comes to our state. That is why I hope MO can be an example of how to correctly handle a positive test. We don't need the fiasco's of the past. I say congratulations to MO for being prepared!

[Whitetail Sanctuary]

I have to agree border closing should happen as part of any contigincey plan for any outbreak in any state for it's own protection and its neighbors.But how other states react and the actions taken by them after the final outcome should be based on the facts of cwd and the fact that Mo. is the 21st state to show up with cwd and i'm sure we wont be the last! Lets all stand together as an industry and help get FACTS about cwd out there and not the MYTH, That those ignorant to the truth keep trying to push out to the people! Sam, I know i speak for the MAJORITY of Mo. deerfarmers when i say we know you,Bill and all the other leaders in our state org. HAVE GOT YOUR "DEER FRIENDS" BACK IN THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all the people in my state and others working to get this problem resolved! :)

[foodplot]

Has CWD ever been found in MO. before this case?

[acutting]

Nope this is the first case.

[elamwoods]

Louisiana has reopened its border for import from Mo except for a 25 mile radius around this one farm where CWD was reported. When applying for permit from State Vet office in La please have the location of the farm available so they can check this distance and you should have no problems.

Bill Holdman
Elam Woods Whitetails
President of Whitetials of Louisiana

[Scott Heinrich]

Bill, isn't it refreshing to have a progressive agriculture department that makes sound logical decisions and does not over-react to issues? II for one am glad to have these folks regulating our industry in Louisiana.

[CurtisLloyd]

What about deer from any farms that have brought deer to their farms from inside that 25 mile radis, are they able to move them or not???

[Scott Heinrich]

You can contact the LA Dept of Ag and ask them your specifics. As of now, we know for sure we can import from Mo except for a 25 mile radius around this one farm where CWD was reported. My guess is that if you are shipping an animal into LA that originated on the farm with CWD it will not be allowed.

[foodplot]

Any news yet?

[LCWhitetails]

They are going to start shooting deer the 10th. They are going to kill 50 and check them, no idea how long it will take? They have 50 to kill and check.

[SJames]

Here is an update for everyone.

We went to the CWD Task force meeting last Thursday. There were about 50 people in attendance including state and federal vets, the Department of Health, the Missouri Department of Conservation, various state senators and reps, and the Missouri Whitetail and Hunting Ranch Association, Dr Woods our state vet and Dr. Henry talked about the positive and made the following points:

1. The positive was found in an 800 acre enclosure that had a majority of whitetails with some elk and red deer.
2. The positive was found in an adult male that was hunter harvested and was healthy. He was considered a management buck.
3. The positive was collected in the fall, stored in formulin and submitted in February 2010.
4. The animal appeared to be born and raised in the enclosure.
5. All the animals in the enclosure appear to be very healthy.
6. The area was quarantined and a team of epidemiologists tried to do trace-outs and look for any sources.
7. No animals have left the area during the last 10 years. Only animals meeting the state requirements for CWD testing had been imported.
8. The herd plan was initiated to harvest 50 additional animals from the enclosure for testing. That number was determined to be significant to arrive at a confidence level on whether CWD exists in the herd. Every effort was going to be made for quick results and the ability to utilize the meat from these animals.
9. An additional 10 animals would be taken at several other close enclosures and the Missouri Department of Conservation was going to initiate some testing on the free ranging herd in the area.

Dr. Woods allowed everyone that wanted to speak to do so and Bill Pittenger and I tried to explain our concern, the impact of the media, and how we needed to try to control the damage the media would cause. We pointed out how many of the states had closed their borders to Missouri and that we needed true information given to the state vets so that we could get them opened back up as soon as possible.

We also wanted the group to hear some interesting facts on the last couple states to have CWD positives and ask a couple questions. Here is what we discussed:

We asked them about the transparency of the test and how confident they were is the validity of it. As it was explained, a slice of the obex and lymph nodes is taken, stained and placed under a microscope. In the case of a positive, the staining shows prions that are associated with CWD. I asked them how many prions it takes to make a positive and they said it was positive if any showed up.

I then asked them if these prions could appear in these places for some other reason other than CWD. They didn’t think so but were not really sure.

I then stated that most of the whitetails found to be positive across the country were healthy and if it was possible that whitetails might exhibit a genetic resistance to actually contracting CWD disease. Much like the srapies in sheep. They said it was unknown but possible.

I then asked them to explain to me how the positive cases in Minnesota and Michigan could have occurred and how come the media never published the results and the CWD scientific community never really acknowledged them. I explained how I could find lots of information about the positive cases and the gloom and doom press associated with them but could not find any of the follow up testing information. Was it because good news is not news worthy? Here are the two cases in a nutshell:

CWD was found in MN in a 7 year old healthy elk slaughtered for meat. It was in a very large herd and had been for quite some time. 750+ animals were slaughtered and 3 more positives were found in healthy elk.

CWD was found in MI is a whitetail deer that was part of a 52 animals herd that was in a very small enclosure. The animal was 3 and had been in the herd since it was a fawn. The rest of the herd was killed along with 2 other herds including a herd containing the mother of the positive animal. Many animals were also tested in the wild surrounding the enclosure. NO OTHER POSITIVES WERE FOUND. WOW!

I thought it was pretty amazing that I had never heard these results and that they were not really even put out in the media. That is some real data that doesn’t seem to be recognized and helps prove that either the test is not that accurate, CWD might be able to crop up anywhere, and lastly if the animal really had CWD, it is not very contagious!

I asked anyone in the group to explain what happened in the MI case. No-one really had a good explanation.

I want to end by saying that everyone involved in the Missouri case is doing a very good job and we are lucky to have some very good people working on it and a task force and contingency plan in place. We are taking this positive VERY seriously and are going to do everything possible to study what caused it. Bill Pittenger and Dr. Woods have been relentless in talking to other states and informing them on what we have found. Most states have opened back up.

We will continue to investigate this case and find the problem if in fact one exists. We will also make sure that everyone has the results and some conclusions to go along with them.

We’ll keep you informed when the next series of tests are back. :)

[Willows & Whitetails]

Sam, in the Michigan case, was the deer healthy, or was it showing signs??

[HAB Whitetails]

Sam,
Thanks for keeping us updated.
There are not two better guys to have on the Deerfarmer side than Sam and Bill.

[SJames]

Willows,

I never found that out? It is amazing to me that clinical signs, the very basics of diseases management are never discussed or reported along with a positive.

Does anyone from MI know? Thanks in advance.

[Autry]

Thanks for the info Sam.

[CurtisLloyd]

of any the positive CWD cases I am aware of here, none showed visual signs of CWD , in one case all the animals "flagged" by vets to be suspect before testing (20+ animals) all turned out to be negative

[Predator3]

Since it sounds like Indiana has closed its borders to Missouri for 5 years. I have a question. Does this mean they cannot receive deer from any other state? I will assume since I can send one to Illinois and that farmer decides to sell it to a farm in Indiana it would be ok. Can you say STUPID! I have another title for my picture besides the president of PETA we now have the Indiana DNR.

[Rick]

I delivered a deer from OH to Indiana last week both states were great to work with

[LCWhitetails]

I would like to know where these states come up with the 25 mile rule. I am 7 years CWD tested and live within the 25 miles and now I can't sell deer to several states. Now the question is if anyone in Missouri buys from me are they band from them states also? Does anyone know?

[IndependenceRanch]

Here in WI our Ag Dept state vet says he feels that it should be like 8 miles from a positive. But he will have to follow whatever the feds use.
According to the research they are getting from radio collared whitetails the range is less than 8 miles so why use any thing more. And that is assuming an "infected" deer is roaming between the farm with the positive and your farm David.
Really it is all crap. What they are really saying is no ones status means anything. And that is just plain WRONG!

[Jack]

Rational thinking, if they believed in the CWD testing wouldn't make a mile rule of any kind. Unless you are fence to fence with the farm with a positive it really should make no difference as most of us have five years or more in this CWD program. I've been in the CWD program sense 1999. It looks like your status means nothing to the FEDS or the State. It also looks like the people running these programs have no faith in the tested status of any deer farm under the CWD program or you would be allowed to move your animals even if a guy had a positive down the road. Even after some forty plus years of studying this disease they really still know nothing. Like Roger said all crap.

[Applecreek Scott]

Sam,

I have always have been amazed at how well you market and promote your deer and hunting. But after reading your update tonight and seeing how you and Bill share information to help others I can see why so many people buy and trust doing business with you. From another deer farmer thank you for your leadership in helping others. (what a gift):)

Scott

[Midwest Deer Sales]

We will all find out in the real near future after they get the other 50 tested and know where we stand. If the 25 mile radius stays in effect and I live in the 25 mile radius, there will be action taken. I am guessing other guys that fall with in that radius will be asked to take action as well. A little class action suit might make a little difference. We have all played by the rules, tested, done all of our paper work, and still are considered criminals. The animal that is in question was in a preserve that has not sold an animal in over 10 years and was not even sick. What is the purpose of a CWD Monitored herd if we all don't have any say in what happens when there is a positive. I have several questions about the whole system. Why do all breeders have to test 80 t0 100% of our animals but the conservation department only test the ones that they want too? If we test 80% they should have to test 80% as well. That is why they find more in our pens and none in the wild. I would also like to know if the Cervid industry has a non biased vet in the department where the test are being performed. How do we know that there is not a positive outside of the breeder pens and it is being covered up? The Missouri Dept. of Conservation is the richest conservation dept in the United States. In Missouri we have the Sunshine law where 1/8 of every cent of tax dollars goes to the Conservation Dept. The 2009 FY budget for the Missouri Dept of Conservation was $145,534,841. Another thing I would like to know is how many deer have been tested in the last 7 years and how many tested positive from all of our deer in the breeding industry and Preserves. I'll bet it is less than 1/10 of 1/10 of 1%. We will see what happens, just hope and pray that Mo Dept of Ag/USDA has some common sense and works to keep integrity in the industry and the process we have in place.

[darren]

What would happen if Indiana found CWD tommorow and all states were as closed minded towards them? The deer farmers of Indiana would be in a bad way.

[SJames]

Eric,

You are exactly right. Our monitoring programs should stand on their own merit! A rouge positive test should have no effect on anyone. I can't even believe they publicize it until the additional testing is done. To me its like a suspect TB test. Additional testing needs to be done. And even if the area is found to have additional positives (and I don't think it will) deer should be allowed to move from ANY 5 year monitored herd no matter where it is! That's the purpose of why we monitor those herds. WE NEED THE FEDERAL RULES!

Bill and I have already talked about the fact that there are about 30 producers in the county or surrounding counties where the positive was found. At the task force meeting I mentioned the fact that the Missouri Department of Conservation has tested very little since they did that 3 year testing project. Obviously, if we are the only ones looking for it, when we found it (and we knew we would), we would be blamed for it and be the ones that suffer for it. We stressed that the next stage of testing must be done quickly and that all the necessary precautions need to be taken to make sure everything is done right!. Then we will call a board meeting and decide what we need to do as an association. We will pursue every avenue we can to open up the market for the producers that are affected.

We have your back and will be working to free up the market. We will be calling the Department of Ag every week to see how the testing is proceeding. We all know that all our deer are the healthiest, most highly tested animals ever raised. No other industry has had to test or has the restrictions that they have placed on our animals. As a result of that, we have built up an amazing pile of paper trails that will prove how healthy our animals really are. Next week at Nadefa we can hopefully exchange some ideas on how to use that to our advantage. Keep positive and we'll see you next week. :)

[SJames]

Darren,

I just wish we would find the positives in EVERY STATE and get it over with. Then maybe we could move on to more important items. The Feds are really the ones to blame for not coming out with the federal rules. They have only had 10 years! Level the playing field and take down all the borders! Then watch our industry grow! :D

[darren]

Sam, I was thinking the same thing, after they find it everywhere then all borders should be open, and by the way the deer that tested positive in Mo. died of a gunshot wound, not CWD. How many of the millions of "healthy" wild deer in the U.S. would test positive?

[Deerchaser]

Which states has cwd been found in so far? The wild deer probably have way higher rates of cwd but how would you test the wild herd? The fact that they find any in the wild herd would indicate the rate is a lot higher because so few get tested.

[darren]

Every state needs a Sam on thier board of directors, thanks Sam.

[Arrowhead Whitetails]

Sam, keep up the good work. I know that you guys will pull through this in great shape. With you, Bill and the rest to the MO gang good things are bound to happen.

[roughcountrywhitetails]

Sam,

Do you know how many states still have there borders closed to Mo.

[darren]

Indiana and Hawaii

[SJames]

Good point Darren! If we tested every deer harvested in the US I can assure you that every state would have a CWD positive! In Missouri, during that 3 year period of testing the free-ranging deer, they tested about 15-20,000 deer out of about 1,000,000 deer that were harvested. Thats about 2%

Our industry tests somewhere between 80-100%

I just read where Ohio was proud that they tested about 500 deer. I don't know how many they harvest in OH each year but 500 is a VERY small percentage.

And the wild deer can travel across state borders and have been recorded to move over 100 miles!

If they keep looking they will find one in every state. :confused:

As far as closed borders, only IN remains closed but we are seriously concerned about the 25 mile rule or county rule that some states have implemented. We'll be talking about it next week at Nadefa. A good reason for everyone to try and attend!

[Midwest Deer Sales]

Sam
Could you please post the states that won't take animals with in the 25 mile radius from Missouri? I know Indiana and Louisianan won't. Who eles won't take them?
Eric

[Predator3]

I called the Oklahoma AG Dept yesterday and they are not excepting our animals either. They are waiting for the next 50 animals to be tested.:mad:

[Wild Rivers Whitetails]

Sam you are right on it being found in all states. The sooner that happens the better - then we are all on the same playing field. That is a comment Gary has made several times. Since WI had the honor of being the first state to come up with a positive - we've been waiting a long time for it to trickle through.

The only thing that should matter with movement is your CWD monitoring status. If you have 5 years you should be good to go anywhere. And as for federal rules - just goes to show - don't start counting on government to do anything for you.

[SJames]

Paul,

We talked with OK yesterday. Bill told me he had visited with Joel Trammel and that they thought we had it worked out. I'll talk to Dr. Woods today and see what he says. If the state vet from OK has talked with Dr. Woods and still does not open up OK we are going to be extremely disappointed in them. That would simply be a political decision instead of using common sense. We'll let you know as soon as I talk to Dr. Woods.

[IndependenceRanch]

Actually Jane, WI wasn't the first state. It was just the first state that some bleeding heart liberal decided to push a personal agenda in.
I agree that it is everywhere. These places that test small percentages aren't really looking for it they are just making it look like they tried to find it so they can claim they made the effort.
Our industry should push that all states must test significant numbers in the wild to show one way or the other that they have it or don't have it. Get it over with and show this is all hokus pokus. Then the "news story" can die away once and for all.
Testing 2% or even 5% of the wild deer don't prove squat.

[TRIGGER]

i called the Oklahoma dept of ag today and they said they are still closed and do not have any more info on when they thought they would be able to reopen. when are the other 50 animals being tested and about how long is it suppost to take?

[roughcountrywhitetails]

Trigger,

I called today as well and was told it would not be anytime soon. They said that there were going to be more test and the results of those test need to be in before they would consider opening the borders back up.

[SJames]

We'll work on it today. I thought we had something worked out. I'll let you know what we find out.

[Predator3]

Here are the rest of the states that have found CWD. Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

[TRIGGER]

Oklahoma just opened back up its borders except for linn county and one other county not sure which one

[gcw matt]

Illinois has only found CWD in the Wild Herd NEVER in a captive herd! Illinois uses an area method for importing or shipping with in the state. I haven't checked, but I bet we will be using the 25 mile or something like it for MO. I also understand this is a case by case decision? I live in Southern Illinois, and I cannot bring deer down from the "infected" area. Even though it has never been found in our captive herd, Illinois isn't allowed to ship into all the states (Indiana), or within its own state! I don't know why we have 5 yr status if it doesn't mean anything.