Because this is a hunting site

[Buckrub]

and because some of you might be interested, I post this.

Arkansas has encountered a massively serious problem with our cervid population. First one elk, then one deer, then another deer, and now...............

http://www.thv11.com/mb/sports/outdoors/19-more-cases-of-chronic-wasting-disease-confirmed-in-arkansas/99460687

This is not just 19 out of a million. This is 19 out of 49 tested. No one knows where it came from, no one knows really what to do about it, and the Ark Game and Fish Commission is not sharing enough info or answering the really tough direct questions about it. But the bottom line is that this is very serious, and is the first foray of this terrible blight into this state, and from a national map review, it appears to be working its way south and east.

Hunting here just could be over............I doubt it's that drastic, but our AGFC is a crazy bunch, and who knows where we'll be in 6 months.

The political world is insane, and now my hunting world is possibly turned upside down. Can't fish for the floods, but that's temporary. I've sat in deer stands in our hot October and November weather and often thought "Why am I sitting here swatting wasps when I could be crappie fishing in 75 degree weather?"....... and now I may just get my chance.

At any rate, I felt there were some folks here that might want to know this and wouldn't find out in other ways.

[Chicken Dinner]

That's some serious stuff, Bucky. We've got it near here in WVa and as a result the deer from VA counties adjacent to there are subject to testing and there's restrictions on being unprocessed deer across the state line. You may want to start processing your own deer and deboning them without cutting intimate spine. I would also expect they may ban feeding deer and/or baiting. That's another thing they've done around here.

[Buckrub]

A lot of Q and A here:

http://www.agfc.com/hunting/Pages/HuntingDeerCWD.aspx

Arkansas hunters are going beserk. Misinformation and wild ideas are flying all over. This is a mess.

[Big Skyz]

That is a pretty high percentage. Not a good thing.

[Big Muddy]

The ironic thing about CWD is that Texas is absolutely saturated with whitetail breeding facilities, elk breeding facilities, as well as non-native cervids, to include hundreds of species of African hoof stock.

Looking at the map of CWD incidences, Texas has had 3 incidents, and if my memory serves me correctly, I believe those incidents occurred about 10 years ago, and there have been zero since then....so, go figure.

[Bwana]

Yep, CWD is a big deal and most western states have regulations relating to the handling, movement, and processing of critters from known areas of infection.

There has been one area of our state where it was confirmed to exist several years ago. Luckily ongoing testing has shown that it has not spread to other adjacent locales.

Best of luck.

[Buckrub]

I have no idea. This stuff makes no sense to me.

6820

[Big Muddy]

The wildlife biologists and scientists admit there are tons of info. they don't know about CWD....it's been around for nearly 50 years, and elk seem to be the most susceptible to it....and, the whitetails that do contract CWD are usually in close proximity to elk populations, especially where their ranges overlap....my point being, the infected Ark. whitetail was found only about 15 miles from the infected Ark. elk.

My personal opinion is that EHD kills tons more whitetail deer each year than CWD ever will.

So, my question to the Ark. wildlife officials would be: """Why the f**k did you idiots ship in animals(elk) that are the most CWD-susceptible animal known to mankind?"""

Oh wait, I know....money !!!....it's those expensive elk draw hunts that you sell.

[Buckrub]

Because they could, I guess.

Because they were here originally, and it was some pet project of someone, somewhere, back there. My good friend is retired Regional Director of RMEF here, and he's turkey hunting in Florida now but I need to pick his brain and figure out how he views it.

Most Arkansas deer hunters, especially the "North" part of the state (where it's hilly, and almost all land is private and not leased), are in arms that Elk were ever brought in and hurt their deer herd.

"South" Arkansas hunters (like me) are wringing our hands hoping that somehow it doesn't spead south. But it's already spread south to get to North Arkansas!

Misinformation rules, right now.

[Arty]

It's probably due to the deer eating from all the GMO crops planted everywhere. :)

[jb]

We have it here also, not my part of the state, but it's about 200 miles south. Not good !

[Big Muddy]

Yep, ages ago, elk were native to nearly every U.S. state....many of those herds were decimated, due to over-hunting and land development/habitat destruction....but, I'll tell you one thing, I hope our D.O.W. never gets the hair-brained idea to re-introduce elk, down here.

[Buckrub]

Yep, ages ago, elk were native to nearly every U.S. state....many of those herds were decimated, due to over-hunting and land development/habitat destruction....but, I'll tell you one thing, I hope our D.O.W. never gets the hair-brained idea to re-introduce elk, down here.

We have some for sale cheap.

Hurry. Supplies are VERY limited.

[quercus alba]

The last resort is to kill every deer and elk within a ten mile circle of the epicenter. If any are found outside the kill zone, expand another ten miles and so forth an so on until no infected animals are found. Kind of a reverse quarantine.

If there is a positive out of all this it's maybe some of those Texans and louisihannans will stay home and shoot their own deer for a change

[Thumper]

This is a hunting site?? ;)

[quercus alba]

Says so in the title, Good Hunting Outdoors. Surprised me too, I thought it was a nascar and baseball site