- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,007
ODFW Asks Hunters to Help with Disease Research
ODFW
8/29/02
Hunter help is needed this fall to gather up to 500 biological samples from mule deer and elk as part of a disease surveillance effort.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) biologists will need the trachea, heart, and lungs for tuberculosis (TB) testing and a small section from the base of the brain stem for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing. The sample collection will not harm taxidermy mounts or game meat processing.
Deer and elk hunters in some Northside and Heppner unit hunts will receive a letter asking them to bring samples to a collection site where ODFW staff will collect necessary samples. Throughout the rest of the state, hunters may be contacted in the field and asked to assist by providing samples. Biologists are asking hunters to make the harvested animal available for sample collection within 24 hours. The head, trachea, heart, and lungs should be kept cool and stored in a clean plastic bag to help maintain sample integrity.
Last November, bovine TB was confirmed in a single domestically raised elk at a ranch near Monument, Oregon. CWD has recently been identified in wild and privately held deer and elk in as many as eight states and two Canadian provinces. Due to the seriousness of these diseases, ODFW is monitoring for these diseases in Oregon’s wild deer and elk. TB sampling will focus on the area around Monument. CWD sampling will occur statewide.
Following the detection of TB in one captive elk, 195 elk on the game ranch were destroyed and all carcasses were examined. All were found to be negative. All cattle on the ranch also tested negative for the disease after being euthanized or slaughtered. Results of the "DNA fingerprinting" performed on the tuberculosis bacteria isolated from the single infected elk found it to be similar, and likely related, to bacteria from a 1991 outbreak in Montana.These results indicate a very high probability that the infected elk was carrying the disease when it was imported into Oregon. A very low probability exists that the infection was spread to wild elk.
CWD is found in free-ranging or captive mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The untreatable disease leads to progressive loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation and death. Currently, no evidence exists that suggests humans may contract a CWD or similar diseases by eating the meat of infected animal, but research is ongoing. The origin and transmission of CWD are not clearly defined. No live animal test exists for elk. A newly developed live animal test for mule deer is not feasible for use in large wild populations.
ODFW biologists also are tracking adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in deer. Between May and August, 2002, more than 400 deer died from the virus in the Crooked River Ranch area and near Sisters.
Chronic symptoms include ulcers and abscesses in the mouth and throat. Acute symptoms include rapid or open mouth breathing, foaming or drooling at the mouth, diarrhea (possibly bloody), weakness, fluid in the body cavity. Death can occur within three to five days from the time the deer was exposed to the virus. There are no known cases of this virus being spread to humans, livestock or pets.
If herd inventories indicate reduced populations, recruitment, or buck ratios, then tag numbers in future years may be reduced until the herd rebounds to former levels.
###
Hunters Leaving State to Hunt Must Follow New Rules
Oregonians who hunt deer, elk or moose in other states or countries may bring their game meat home, but they cannot import any part of the head or spinal column, according to new rules adopted to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.
The rules apply to all animals in the Cervidae, or deer family, except reindeer. Caribou are the wild version of reindeer and also are not governed by the new rules. Affected species include, but are not limited to, mule deer, white tailed deer, black tailed deer, axis deer, fallow deer, sika deer, Roosevelt elk, Rocky Mountain elk and moose.
Hunters may bring harvested game into Oregon in one of the following forms:
Quarters or other cuts of meat with no part of the spinal column or head;
Cut and wrapped meat;
Boned out meat;
Clean skull plate with antlers attached;
Antlers with no tissue attached;
Hides with no head attached;
Finished taxidermy heads; and
Upper canine teeth (buglers, whistlers, ivories).
Hunters may bring untanned hides home for taxidermy in Oregon. Bucks and bulls must be "caped," and the antlers and skull plate must be cleaned before coming into Oregon. Either the hunter or a taxidermist in the hunting area can perform this task.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is sending letters to all licensed taxidermists and meat processors in Oregon with information about the new rules.
CWD is found in free-ranging or captive mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The untreatable disease leads to progressive loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation and death. In the later stages, small holes appear in the brain tissue of affected animals are visible with a microscope, producing a spongy look characteristic of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Similar TSE diseases exist in domestic sheep (scrapie), cattle (bovine TSE or mad cow disease), and humans (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Currently, no evidence exists that suggests humans may contract a TSE disease by eating the meat of infected animal, but research is ongoing.
Researchers believe an abnormal type of prion protein serves as the disease agent, but the origin and transmission of CWD are not clearly defined. No live animal test exists for elk. A newly developed live animal test for mule deer is not feasible for use in large wild populations.
ODFW reminds hunters to check with the state or province where they are hunting for current harvest regulations. For example, Oregon’s laws requiring hunters to produce the proof of the sex of the animal harvested do not apply to animals killed out of state. Local proof of sex regulations must be followed in other states. Several states recently have adopted similar laws to Oregon to prevent disease transmission.
Oregon’s temporary rules regarding the importation of hunter-harvested game will be in effect through Feb. 11, 2003. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission plans to consider a similar permanent rule in November, 2002 that would be valid through August, 2004. Public comments on the permanent rule change currently are being considered.
The temporary rule adopted by the Commission also prohibits the importation of all live cervids, except reindeer.
ODFW
8/29/02
Hunter help is needed this fall to gather up to 500 biological samples from mule deer and elk as part of a disease surveillance effort.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) biologists will need the trachea, heart, and lungs for tuberculosis (TB) testing and a small section from the base of the brain stem for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing. The sample collection will not harm taxidermy mounts or game meat processing.
Deer and elk hunters in some Northside and Heppner unit hunts will receive a letter asking them to bring samples to a collection site where ODFW staff will collect necessary samples. Throughout the rest of the state, hunters may be contacted in the field and asked to assist by providing samples. Biologists are asking hunters to make the harvested animal available for sample collection within 24 hours. The head, trachea, heart, and lungs should be kept cool and stored in a clean plastic bag to help maintain sample integrity.
Last November, bovine TB was confirmed in a single domestically raised elk at a ranch near Monument, Oregon. CWD has recently been identified in wild and privately held deer and elk in as many as eight states and two Canadian provinces. Due to the seriousness of these diseases, ODFW is monitoring for these diseases in Oregon’s wild deer and elk. TB sampling will focus on the area around Monument. CWD sampling will occur statewide.
Following the detection of TB in one captive elk, 195 elk on the game ranch were destroyed and all carcasses were examined. All were found to be negative. All cattle on the ranch also tested negative for the disease after being euthanized or slaughtered. Results of the "DNA fingerprinting" performed on the tuberculosis bacteria isolated from the single infected elk found it to be similar, and likely related, to bacteria from a 1991 outbreak in Montana.These results indicate a very high probability that the infected elk was carrying the disease when it was imported into Oregon. A very low probability exists that the infection was spread to wild elk.
CWD is found in free-ranging or captive mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The untreatable disease leads to progressive loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation and death. Currently, no evidence exists that suggests humans may contract a CWD or similar diseases by eating the meat of infected animal, but research is ongoing. The origin and transmission of CWD are not clearly defined. No live animal test exists for elk. A newly developed live animal test for mule deer is not feasible for use in large wild populations.
ODFW biologists also are tracking adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in deer. Between May and August, 2002, more than 400 deer died from the virus in the Crooked River Ranch area and near Sisters.
Chronic symptoms include ulcers and abscesses in the mouth and throat. Acute symptoms include rapid or open mouth breathing, foaming or drooling at the mouth, diarrhea (possibly bloody), weakness, fluid in the body cavity. Death can occur within three to five days from the time the deer was exposed to the virus. There are no known cases of this virus being spread to humans, livestock or pets.
If herd inventories indicate reduced populations, recruitment, or buck ratios, then tag numbers in future years may be reduced until the herd rebounds to former levels.
###
Hunters Leaving State to Hunt Must Follow New Rules
Oregonians who hunt deer, elk or moose in other states or countries may bring their game meat home, but they cannot import any part of the head or spinal column, according to new rules adopted to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.
The rules apply to all animals in the Cervidae, or deer family, except reindeer. Caribou are the wild version of reindeer and also are not governed by the new rules. Affected species include, but are not limited to, mule deer, white tailed deer, black tailed deer, axis deer, fallow deer, sika deer, Roosevelt elk, Rocky Mountain elk and moose.
Hunters may bring harvested game into Oregon in one of the following forms:
Quarters or other cuts of meat with no part of the spinal column or head;
Cut and wrapped meat;
Boned out meat;
Clean skull plate with antlers attached;
Antlers with no tissue attached;
Hides with no head attached;
Finished taxidermy heads; and
Upper canine teeth (buglers, whistlers, ivories).
Hunters may bring untanned hides home for taxidermy in Oregon. Bucks and bulls must be "caped," and the antlers and skull plate must be cleaned before coming into Oregon. Either the hunter or a taxidermist in the hunting area can perform this task.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is sending letters to all licensed taxidermists and meat processors in Oregon with information about the new rules.
CWD is found in free-ranging or captive mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The untreatable disease leads to progressive loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation and death. In the later stages, small holes appear in the brain tissue of affected animals are visible with a microscope, producing a spongy look characteristic of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Similar TSE diseases exist in domestic sheep (scrapie), cattle (bovine TSE or mad cow disease), and humans (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Currently, no evidence exists that suggests humans may contract a TSE disease by eating the meat of infected animal, but research is ongoing.
Researchers believe an abnormal type of prion protein serves as the disease agent, but the origin and transmission of CWD are not clearly defined. No live animal test exists for elk. A newly developed live animal test for mule deer is not feasible for use in large wild populations.
ODFW reminds hunters to check with the state or province where they are hunting for current harvest regulations. For example, Oregon’s laws requiring hunters to produce the proof of the sex of the animal harvested do not apply to animals killed out of state. Local proof of sex regulations must be followed in other states. Several states recently have adopted similar laws to Oregon to prevent disease transmission.
Oregon’s temporary rules regarding the importation of hunter-harvested game will be in effect through Feb. 11, 2003. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission plans to consider a similar permanent rule in November, 2002 that would be valid through August, 2004. Public comments on the permanent rule change currently are being considered.
The temporary rule adopted by the Commission also prohibits the importation of all live cervids, except reindeer.
