So it seems like the position of many on here that CWD was cooked up in a lab in CO and got away from them from there... Laughable.
It also sounds like some are so deadset upon defending what they believe that they dismiss the points made by someone with firsthand knowledge connected to a university which was researching CWD...Equally laughable

I’m following Mark Twain’s advice on this one;
“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

Have fun with your doomsday speculations.

whats laughable are your idiotic posts about CWD.

The link above from Tony leads to "Testimony of Dr. Krysten L. Schuler Wildlife Disease Ecologist, Cornell Wildlife Health Lab, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York", who appears to have extensive expertise in the field, even more than some of the posters here. Some interesting highlights I "bolded" for those without the time to read the full link:

- "A prion is not a bacteria or virus. There are no treatments available. Antibiotics are not effective on prions. There have not been any successful vaccine trials in cervids. Deer and elk show no true genetic resistance (immunity)." - If it ever mutates, I would hate to be the first human diagnosed with CWD.

- "Prions are one of the most resilient pathogens known. They are very resistant to high heat and harsh chemicals. Prions will bind to soil particles, particularly those found in clay soils, and remain infectious in the environment. CWD prions are known to last at least two years; a study of scrapie prions found infected farms retained infectious prions after 16 years."

- "Prions can also bind to or be taken up into plant tissues and spread disease. Experimental food crops testing positive thus far include alfalfa, wheat, corn, and tomatoes. These findings present a potential route of prion exposure for wildlife, domestic animals, and humans following consumption of these plants. Additionally, there is concern that other countries may ban export of crops from areas with CWD. Agricultural commodities, such as hay and straw, in CWD-affected areas may be baled with infected feces and moved inter-state or internationally."


- "At its core, CWD erodes our public trust resources. Because the public is told not to consume infected animals, hunter participation has decreased. For example, 37% of hunters said they would stop hunting if a hypothetical CWD prevalence was 50% in their state. Consequently, CWD puts a economic strain on state agencies revenue due to declines from fewer license sales. Additionally, financial and personnel resources are often redirected when a CWD outbreak occurs. For example, an audit following a CWD outbreak in Wisconsin showed that the Department of Natural Resources bore the brunt (83%) of the $32M spent trying to eradicate the disease in the first five years after its discovery. That money was not spent on other natural resource programs. Finally, the response to CWD has generated significant mistrust of agenciesin several states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. A subsequent lack of public cooperation has hindered disease response actions in those states, as the ability to use hunting as a population management tool is diminished.

Although management of free-ranging cervids is the prerogative of states, CWD is a potential public health and natural resource crisis that requires federal support. Congress appropriated between $14-18M annually from FY2003 through FY2011 for CWD. Since that time, USDA has received $1-3M annually for cervid disease management, not exclusively CWD. Funding for indemnity payments to captive cervid operations is limited to $1M annually, which is not been sufficient to compensate owners for depopulating infected herds. Consequently, some of these herds retain their CWD-positive animals and pose a significant risk to wild free-ranging cervidsoutside the fence.

The biggest risks for spreading prions is via movement of subclinically infected live cervids and their parts or products. Both the captive cervid industry and wildlife agencies move live cervids intra- and inter-state. Hunters regularly travel hundreds of miles to other states and provinces to hunt. An analysis of successful hunters in the four-county region of Wisconsin with the highest rates of CWD showed that over 32,000 deer were taken and that a “hot zone” carcasses went to 49 different states. Some of these areas have prevalence rates over 50% in adult males and 35% in adult females."

Nothing in this thread has convinced me the intrastate transport/commerace or commercial farming of game should continue.

More for your reading pleasure:

Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance

Chronic Wasting Disease Experts

Dr. Glen Zebarth. Veterinarian.
Dr. Margaret A. Wild. Wildlife Veterinarian
Dr. Kurt C. VerCauteren.Research Wildlife Biologist
Dr. Pamela Swift. Wildlife Veterinarian.
Dr. Terry Spraker. Wildlife Pathologist.
Bryan Richards. CWD Project Leader. USGS - National Wildlife Health Center.
Dr. Margo J. Pybus. Wildlife Disease Specialist
Dr. Katherine O'Rourke. Research Microbiologist.
Dr. Kerry Mower. Wildlife Disease Specialist
Dr. Michael Miller. Wildlife Veterinarian Colorado Division of Wildlife
Dr. Trent Bollinger. CWD Leader - Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre
Dr. Ermias Belay. Medical Epidemiologist - National Center for Infectious DiseasesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention