MDC considering regulation changes to curb CWD

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect accurate information.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is considering changes to state regulations to help curb the spread of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, an incurable and always-fatal disease that affects deer, moose and elk � members of the cervid family.

During a public meeting Tuesday night at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center, Barbara Keller, cervid program supervisor with MDC, gave a presentation to about 60 people on CWD and measures the department is taking to mitigate the disease�s spread, including potential regulation changes.

One potential change would prohibit importing deer carcasses from other states, Keller said. Current regulations allow hunters to bring a whole carcass into Missouri if the hunter reports the carcass within 24 hours, and takes it to a processor or taxidermist within 72 hours.

Restricting carcass movement within Missouri is also being considered, Keller said. Moving a complete carcass from a high-CWD area to an area that may not have CWD is risky, she said, and the intent is to minimize the contact between infected and healthy animals.

Nearly all nearby states have CWD in their deer populations to some degree, Keller said, and since CWD has a long incubation period, it�s entirely possible for a hunter to harvest a deer that looks healthy but is in fact infected, and that could introduce CWD to an area in Missouri that didn�t previously have the problem.

After the meeting, Keller said CWD has been shown to remain active in soil for many years.

CWD is nearly impossible to eradicate once it�s established in an area, Keller said, since it�s a disease caused by a prion. That�s a misshapen protein that, once ingested, will cause other proteins in the body to become misshapen, leading to severe damage and, eventually, death.

That�s why MDC is taking measures to try to halt the spread, Keller said, as scientific studies in other states working to manage CWD show the disease won�t simply �burn itself out,� and will instead cause serious damage to animal populations.

And MDC does not want that, Keller said.

�Deer are important to our economy and our ecosystem,� she said, adding deer are considered a keystone species.

The white-tailed deer population in the wild in Missouri was down to 400 in 1925, Keller said, and MDC has worked with landowners and hunters to grow the population to more than 1 million since then.

�We think deer are really important, and we really want to protect them,� she said.

More than 40 counties in Missouri are in a CWD management zone, meaning CWD was found in or near the county in question. Bollinger, Cape Girardeau and Perry counties are all in a CWD management zone, and are thus under additional restrictions.

Those include mandatory harvested-deer testing during opening weekend of firearm season, and a ban on feeding deer, whether through feeders or mineral licks, Keller said.

Harvested deer must be tested during opening weekend because that�s the time frame the most deer are brought in, and Keller said it�s a good, common-sense move to have deer tested regardless of when they�re harvested.

There is no direct evidence CWD is transmissible to humans, Keller said, but there�s also no reason to take chances by consuming meat from an infected animal.

The feeding ban has an exemption for landowners who feed within 100 feet of an occupied structure. This exemption was meant to allow for the feeding of birds and squirrels, Keller said, but MDC is receiving reports people are taking advantage of this to feed deer in populated areas.

Feeding deer means the animals gather, and where animals gather, their feces, urine, saliva, even antler velvet increase the likelihood of CWD transmission.

And CWD is resistant to traditional disease-control measures. An incinerator operating at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit can destroy the disease in a carcass, Keller said, but spraying disinfectant won�t work, applying heat or cold won�t work, and simply waiting it out is unlikely to be effective.

Public meetings such as the one in Cape Girardeau, and others across the state in October, including an Oct. 23 meeting to be held at Perry Park Center in Perryville, Missouri, are essential to getting the information out to people, and to receiving feedback about regulation changes under consideration, Keller said.

More information about CWD is online at www.mdc.mo.gov/cwd.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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