By Becky Gillette – Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), an incurable, infectious disease fatal to deer and elk, has been found in 11 samples taken from deer harvested in Carroll County, said Randy Zellers, assistant chief of communications, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (AG&F).
Zellers said three were found during a statewide sampling effort in the summer. The other eight came from the opening day of the modern gun hunt opening on Nov. 12. The deer testing positive to CWD mostly came from the southeastern portion of Carroll County.
“We do have a couple that are getting closer to Eureka Springs, three to four miles south of Berryville,” Zellers said.
Some hunters are having deer they have harvested tested for CWD. But most hunters don’t seem concerned about the potential to become ill from eating the deer.
“It’s possible that we’ve eaten deer with CWD and haven’t known it,” Mayor Butch Berry said. “The Center of Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have thoroughly investigated any connection between CWD and stated, ‘the risk of infection with the CWD agent among hunters is extremely small, if it exists at all’ and ‘it is extremely unlikely that CWD would be a food borne hazard’.”
Berry said many of his family members and deer hunter friends are not afraid of eating the deer they have harvested.
“I would say that I and, I think, my friends would never clean and butcher a deer or any other animal that was apparently sick and dying,” Berry said. “That kind of goes without saying.”
Zellers agreed it is common sense if you see an animal out in the woods who is sick, you don’t eat that animal. “You want to let nature take its course or put it out of its misery,” he said. “It is strongly advised not to eat an animal that is sick. All the deer with CWD in Carroll County appeared very healthy.”
The CDC says the foodborne transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) to humans indicates that the species barrier may not completely protect humans from animal prion diseases such as CWD. “Conversion of human prion protein by CWD-associated prions has been demonstrated in an in vitro cell-free experiment, but limited investigations have not identified strong evidence for CWD transmission to humans,” the CDC said.
Zellers said there is no known case of CWD jumping the species barrier outside of the Cervidae family, which includes deer, elk and moose.
“There has been no threat to livestock or people from CWD,” he said. “CWD has been around since the 1960s out west. There has been no uptick in mental diseases in humans that could be attributed to CWD.”
Zellers said it is entirely up to hunters whether they want their deer tested prior to eating the meat.
CWD is spread when deer are concentrated, such as when they are being fed corn or at food plots such as those established by AG&F. Zellers said when feeding concentrates deer in one area, they are more likely to spread disease – just like when people gather in a crowd and some have the flu.
“Feeding is known to be a vector for other diseases, as well,” Zeller said. “Because it is in a wild animal population, it isn’t something you can just fence off. Our goal at Game and Fish is to slow the spread as much as possible. We are trying to reduce the density of deer in the 10-county area where CWD has been found. White-tailed deer do roam, but in small spaces for the most part. We are trying to reduce population density because heavier deer density cause the deer move out to find new areas. In those counties we are allowing more harvesting.”
Zellers said AGFC still allows baiting deer for hunting purposes because that allows them to thin the herd. But it isn’t recommended for people to feed the deer year around.
“They feel like they are doing the deer good by feeding them, but it’s hurting the deer,” Zellers said. “It is like a kid in a candy store. That corn doesn’t have a whole lot of nutritional value. It is like a kid eating dessert first. You can be doing the deer a disservice by feeding them.”
Eureka Springs has outlawed feeding deer, but some gardeners report problems with neighbors doing it anyway. Deer feeding is also reportedly common at Holiday Island, which doesn’t have a deer-feeding ban.
Due to lack of predators, no hunting, and deliberate or inadvertent feeding of deer with garden plants, there is a large deer herd in Eureka Springs that could make CWD more likely to occur here. Zellers said some communities have had successful urban bow hunts to thin the herds. He said Hot Springs Village has been particularly successful with the result of a dramatic decrease in deer-vehicle collisions. Eureka Springs held an urban deer hunt several years ago, but after people tried to disrupt the hunt by banging pots and pans, no more urban deer hunts have taken place.
Bill Craker, president of the Bull Shoals Urban Bow Hunters Association, said he harvested at least one deer this year that was CWD positive. He doesn’t have any concerns about eating a CWD positive deer.
“The proteins or prions that carry CWD is not a protein found in the human body,” he said. “As far as hunters, I don’t think they should be concerned at all about meeting the meat. It is not located in the meat itself. It is usually confined to the brain stem, the lymph nodes and glands, and spinal fluid.”
Craker expects to see a reduction in the state’s deer herd because the disease is 100 percent fatal, killing within 22 to 24 months.
“Hunt like you always have,” he said. “Go to the Game and Fish website, talk to Game and Fish, and stay educated about this. It has been around since the 1940s and has been part of hunting since 1970s in some states out west. We need to get people educated so they know there is nothing to worry about.”