Author: Sarah Bowman / Source: Indianapolis Star
CWD is a deer-killing disease that leaves their brains full of holes. What is this always-fatal condition and how do people fight its spread? Wochit
A deadly disease that likely would devastate Indiana’s deer population is knocking at the door.
And experts say it is a matter of when — not if — it comes barreling in.Chronic Wasting Disease, which is fatal for any deer that contracts it, has been found in three neighboring states. In two of them, Michigan and Illinois, deer with CWD have been found within 30 miles of the Indiana border.
“Indiana cannot be surrounded on three sides and not have it come in at this point,” said Joe Bacon, an avid hunter and president of the Indiana Deer Hunter’s Association. “Hunters and Hoosiers are and should be scared of the disease reaching Indiana.”
“Someone once told me this is Pandora’s box opened up,” he added, “and I believe it.”
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Bacon is not alone in his concern of the devastation the disease can bring.
Deer numbers will dwindle, either through the disease itself or efforts to control its spread. With that, experts worry that hunting will also take a dive and businesses or communities that rely on hunting could struggle. And other programs and services could suffer as funds are diverted to disease management.
“We view the disease as being one of the most pressing threats to hunting and deer management in the U.
S. We fully believe it is that big of an issue,” said Kip Adams, the conservation director for the Quality Deer Management Association.“As soon as it arrives, it changes everything for hunters,” he added. “All of the additional regulations it brings are necessary to protect future herds, but suddenly deer season and hunting as you remember it is gone.”
Humans help spread deadly disease
CWD is a contagious neurological disease that affects deer, elk and moose. When an animal is infected, its brain degenerates, which often results in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and ultimately death.
The disease has no cure or preventative measures at this time, according to Emily Wood, executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation. So if an animal is infected, it will die.
The exact origin of CWD is unknown, but it was first found in Colorado in the 1970s. Many believed that it would take more than 100 years for the disease to work its way east, the Mississippi River serving as a natural border. That, however, was not the case. CWD made it across the river and landed in Wisconsin in 2002.
“Since then it has grown very rapidly to be in more than 25 states and seems to grow almost monthly to a new county or state,” Adams told IndyStar. “With the help of humans, it moves very quickly.”
The disease is believed to spread through saliva, urine or feces from live deer or through contact with high-risk parts such as the backbone, eyes or spleen of harvested deer. The disease can spread through the natural movement of deer, Wood said, but it spreads farther and quicker when humans move the deer.
That most frequently is the case with captive deer hunting operations, where businesses will move deer from one state to another. A law was passed to allow fenced hunting in Indiana in 2015.
Despite the possible symptoms of the disease,…
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