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Chronic wasting disease has yet to be found in Luzerne County or in deer anywhere in the northeastern region.
But we should all be concerned about the deadly disease that’s spreading elsewhere throughout the state.
This week the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported 12 additional CWD cases in free-ranging deer in the southcentral region. The disease was already present in that area, and the 12 new cases raise the total number of infected deer in that region to 22 since 2012. The dozen new cases were from deer tested in 2015, and it marks the highest number of incidents in a single year.
That tells me the disease is spreading.
Will it be found in the northeast one day? Unfortunately, that seems more likely every year.
In those places where CWD has been found, the PGC has established Disease Management Areas. There are a host of regulations designed to contain CWD within those areas, but they’re not being adhered to 100 percent.
Of the 12 new CWD cases, one involved a hunter who harvested a deer in a location where the disease is present. The hunter took the deer – a buck, to a processor well outside of the area. The buck was processed and the scraps – those parts that contain CWD such as the spine and brain, went to a rendering plant.
Subsequently, the buck tested positive for chronic wasting disease, and this was after it was transported and processed in another area.
That’s all it takes for the disease to spread.
The Game Commission has been pretty proactive in handling CWD in the state. One of the ideas they’re considering in light of the 12 new cases is targeted removal of deer at specific locations where CWD-positive animals have been found.
It doesn’t sound appealing – culling deer in specific areas, but the alternative may be more ugly.
“This is the one disease that has the potential to drastically change deer hunting as we know it,” Game Commission Wildlife Management Director Wayne Laroche said.
While the PGC board ponders the targeted removal approach, here are some other things that should be considered:
• Ban the sale of deer urine in the state. Chronic wasting disease has been found in deer on farms both in and out of the state. It’s been proven that the prions that cause the disease can be found in the urine of infected deer. The PGC prohibits the transportation of high-risk deer parts out of a Disease Management Area and it also has a ban in place on bringing those same parts from other states where CWD is present. Those are prudent measures, and it only makes sense to ban the sale of deer urine in the state to limit the possibility of spreading CWD.
Some will argue that there has never been a documented case of CWD being spread through the use of deer urine by hunters. Should we really wait until such an instance occurs and then act?
• Increase the penalties for transporting deer parts from a disease area and for bringing them in from other CWD states. Sometimes it takes a steep fine or more to get the message across. Last year there were 62 cases of people transporting deer outside of a DMA, and 65 in 2014. And those are the instances we know about. It’s happening far too often and is an enormous risk. Currently, those who transport deer outside of a CWD area face a $100-$200 fine. The fine needs to be higher or a different charge should be applied – perhaps unlawful possession of game or wildlife. That charge carries a fine that could reach $800 and includes loss of hunting privileges.
I don’t want CWD to ruin deer hunting in Pennsylvania and I dread the thought of it spreading. Chronic wasting disease should be a concern in every corner of the state, and it may take a few drastic steps to make sure the disease doesn’t become more of a reality.