CWD

[Muley_Stalker]

New for 2020. They added more CWD units to the list. Also, for 2020 if you kill a deer in a CWD unit during rifle seasons. You need to bring the head to a DOW station for inspection. No option. It's mandatory.

What I don't understand is if you kill a deer in a CWD unit during muzzleloader/archery seasons you don't need to have it inspected. A deer with CWD isn't a problem in Sept but is in Oct? Can anybody explain this?

 

[AmericanLongrifle]

It's our state being stupid again. That makes absolutely no sense. I just looked at the big game brochure and none of the units I hunt are in the CWD testing area....which is odd as it's pretty much the epicenter of the disease.

Also looks like they are trying to thin out the bear population in areas also with "add-on" bear licenses for archery and muzzle loader.

 

[AmericanLongrifle]

What I am confused about is the fact that deer, elk and moose can all contract CWD, yet they are only testing deer? What's up with that?

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Yes, I wondered about elk too. I normally just hunt for a cow elk now that i'm too old to get a bull out. I don't want to have to haul out a cow's head. Then drive 60 miles to get it inspected.

 

[Pelican]

[QUOTE="ElkStalker, post: 2949388, member:
What I don't understand is if you kill a deer in a CWD unit during muzzleloader/archery seasons you don't need to have it inspected. A deer with CWD isn't a problem in Sept but is in Oct? Can anybody explain this?
[/QUOTE]
The mandatory testing rotates between units depending upon year. Most of the harvest occurs during rifle season, so they can get enough samples to estimate CWD prevalence from rifle kills alone.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Caveat I don’t know anything about the testing in Colorado specifically, but you can make educated guesses based on how surveillance usually gets planned....

They likely quit testing at the “epicenter” because they already have tons of data there. I would guess they are trying to determine distribution and prevalence in new areas. The emphasis on deer is because they are by far the species most susceptible to CWD. Prevalences in elk and moose are generally very low, for reasons no one fully understands. Depending on what they are trying to learn, focusing on those species would be a waste of time. I would guess the seasons they choose to focus on has something to do with sampling intensity...that’s probably where they get the most bang for the buck as far as numbers of samples go.

It all boils down to getting the numbers of samples they need to draw statistically valid conclusions, and how much that’s going to cost.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

What would they have to lose by testing everybody? Don't all the hunters want to know if the deer they shot has CWD?

I would and my answer to the problem is to stop hunting for deer. I never like mule deer venison anyway. Taste like sage to me.

 

[AmericanLongrifle]

What would they have to lose by testing everybody? Don't all the hunters want to know if the deer they shot has CWD?

I would and my answer to the problem is to stop hunting for deer. I never like mule deer venison anyway. Taste like sage to me.

I like speedgoat over mulie meat. Elk is amazing also. For deer though, nothing beats some good whitetail.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I like the challenge of hunting for a mature muley buck but eating it is a chore. I'm done with that problem. A nice tasty cow is a much better choice.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

What would they have to lose by testing everybody?

Money. Limited funding can't cover everything.

 

[sbhooper]

Lmao. Here we go again with more irrelevant bullshit.

 

[Stay Sharp]

But hey!!! at least they are doing "Something".

We covered this in detail in the CWD thread.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

CWD report, I hunted 52 this year where it was mandatory.

My buck was negative but my buddies from the same property was positive.

Definitely going to consider testing my bucks going forward. The positive buck was totally asymptomatic, watched him for a couple of months.

 

[TOGIE]

It’s a somewhat older question in the thread, but anybody can get their deer tested, I think during any season, if they want to. It’s just that it’s only free if you’re in a required testing unit and season, I think it’s 25 bucks if not.

 

[Zach]

What would they have to lose by testing everybody? Don't all the hunters want to know if the deer they shot has CWD?

I would and my answer to the problem is to stop hunting for deer. I never like mule deer venison anyway. Taste like sage to me.

You need to find a better alfalfa field to hunt next too...

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Money. Limited funding can't cover everything.

Exactly, I imagine it would be somewhere around 1MM just for deer.

 

[Mountain Man]

I plan on testing every deer and elk I kill in the future.

 

[kentuckybow]

its all about contractors making money doing the testing. there is zero scientific evidence that cwd has done any long term damage to any herd of big game animals on the planet. a fraction of a percentage point of deer ever develop illness and die, more get hit by cars by far. they are working to go beyond the testing phase somehow to have some lab or other outfit get contracts. the game departments nationwide should be ashamed of themselves for sensationalizing it........

 

[trb]

its all about contractors making money doing the testing. there is zero scientific evidence that cwd has done any long term damage to any herd of big game animals on the planet. a fraction of a percentage point of deer ever develop illness and die, more get hit by cars by far. they are working to go beyond the testing phase somehow to have some lab or other outfit get contracts. the game departments nationwide should be ashamed of themselves for sensationalizing it........