Fascinating topic, kind of like looking in a cobra's eyes.

I think someone was wondering where the cows in Europe originally acquired BSE -- best I remember, their food had SHEEP BRAINS (read scrapie) mixed in at one point, probably as a cheap source of dietary fats. This was several years ago that I heard it, and I don't know how epidemiologic research panned out.

And yes, prions are practically indestructible -- they cannot be inactivated by direct heat, autoclave, proteins that digest other proteins, etc. The possibility of environmental transmission (in the case of the animal research center that was disinfected and had all new animals) is particularly frightening; I hope that doesn't turn out to be the case.

I am not able to deer hunt this year for other reasons, but next year, I'm still not sure if I'll go.

Todd

Todd,
BSE in England was caused by the mandatory use of a harsh systemic pesticide to control the warble fly outbreak. Caused large chemical imbalances, leading to the BSE outbreak.
This whole 'infectious prion/cross-species jump through the use of meat/bonemeal' theory was introduced by scientist in the pocket of big-chemical/pharmaceutical as a way to cover their ass. Scientist have been trying to prove this theory for 20 years. They can't do it because it is basically a bunch of BS. Unfortunately for us, this theory has been around for so long that people have accepted it as the truth even though there is hardly a single piece of proof to back it up.
I think everyone needs to take a step back and read through those links posted by jackfish. We are all getting the wool pulled over our eyes on this one. If this disease were in fact as 'infectious' as claimed it would have spread like wildfire a long time ago.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be careful, just that we really need to get to the truth on this one. They've given over 20 years to the 'infectious prion' theory and gotten nowhere. I think its time they start looking for some other possible causes.

Barry

I am not a scientist, but I do have a few opinions. First, I am grateful for the fortitude Mr. Bush showed when he disallowed the addition. It is shameful that some politicians will not let their monitary needs stand on their own and feel the need to hide them in some larger and mainly unnecessary bill. Make them a stand alone issue or put them where they go, which might be with the CDC funding or with the National Wildlife Service funding. Stop trying to play with it as an add-on and deal with it seriously instead of an afterthought "me too".

As far as the CWD itself is concerned, I don't know a lot about the science, and this discussion is the best I've found yet, it seems to me as someone said above, maybe this is a part of natural selection. I think it should be studied, but I don't think we should go off and try to deal with it just because it may effect our hunting. The health issues are greater. In other words, if it takes the almost complete erradication of the deer and elk herds through whatever means in order to keep the human population healthy, then I am for it. I am more for letting it take it's natural course, if possible, so that we MAY end up with a herd that is more resistant through natural means. In a multi-mellinium sense, species come and go, are we hurting the process?

I also believe that a great deal of the problem has to do with over population of the deer and elk. If numbers were reduced to the carrying capacity of the HERD and not the LAND, then maybe the problem would be lessened. We spend so much time planting food plots and enhancing the land for more and bigger deer that we don't usually ask ourselves if it is GOOD to bring that many deer and elk into such quantities or proximity to each other. Just some thoughts.

The bottom line: Scientists do not know for sure how CWD is transmitted; Scientists do not know for sure if it can cross the species barrier; It is loose in one of the largest Whitetail populations in the country (1.8 million in Wisconsin). To me these three things are extremely scarry, but I will hunt as usual but have any deer I harvest tested before I consume any of the meat.

I will hunt in an area that has been shown to have a 5% CWD positive herd. When I kill a deer I will have it checked - because it is mandatory and free. I will take it home, cut it up, and eat it. If I am proven wrong, then I guess a lot of questions will be answered... But I have lived on venison since I was a baby, cannot slow down now.
I think it has always been around and does not move on to humans. Many theories will be disproven this year as people all over Colorado have their heads tested.