Maryland hunters must be particularly careful this year when deer hunting out-of-state and bringing home deer carcasses. The problem is chronic wasting disease (CWD), a debilitating, always-fatal deer disease ? one of several brain disorders known collectively as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE).
New Maryland Department of Natural Resources restrictions allow deer hunters to bring into Maryland from out-of-state, CWD-positive areas only meat without the backbone, meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached, a cleaned hide with no head, skull plate cleaned of meat and brain tissue, antlers with no meat or soft tissue attached, clean upper canine teeth, and/or a finished taxidermy mount/tanned hide.
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CWD has not been shown to be transmissible to humans, but why take a chance?
“The common denominator is that we do not know a lot,” said Karina Blizzard, Maryland DNR associate director of wildlife and heritage services.
The DNR has collected 2,300 samples of deer brain tissue, and all were tested for CWD.
“All have been negative,” Blizzard said of the samplings taken since 2002. They are collecting and testing more this season.
CWD is related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and similar brain diseases affecting eight mammal species. BSE caused the 1996 “mad cow disease” scare in Britain. Only one case of mad cow disease has been found in the U.S., in Washington state.
CWD began out West with mule deer and has not been found in Maryland. Cases have occurred in West Virginia and New York. Pennsylvania does not have CWD, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesperson Jerry Feaser. However, Pennsylvania’s many game farms are of concern to Doug Hotton, Maryland DNR deer project leader. Deer concentrated in game farms can lead to outbreaks of CWD.
For those hunting out-of-state, the DNR lists CWD-positive sites at www.dnr.md.us/huntersguide/chronic.asp or call 410-260-8540 for more information. If your out-of-state deer is tested and you are notified, contact the DNR within 24 hours at 410-713-3851, 410-341-7952 (fax) or [email protected]. Check for DNR tips for careful handling of harvested deer at www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/cwdinformation.html, or at the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, www.cwd-info.org.
Because of the mad cow scare, some experts caution against eating venison. However, western hunters in CWD-prone areas eat venison without problems.
All of these neurological animal diseases from cows, deer, goats and sheep are connected, according to experts. Some, such as mad cow disease in cattle, are transmissible to humans; some such as “scrapie” in sheep are not. The jury it still out on deer species, with no known transmissible case having occurred.
Right now, Maryland deer and venison is fine. However, the out-of-state CWD problems require listening to Maryland’s DNR.
It is also another good reason to hunt deer in Maryland. We don’t have CWD in deer, and we certainly don’t want it.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting, and the outdoors, and is currently working on his 25th book. He can be reached at [email protected].
