Category: Non-typical Stuff

CWD in Medina-Uvalde County Area

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was confirmed just over one month ago in a captive 1-1/2 year old white-tailed buck in Texas. The first deer to test positive for the disease, however, may not be alone. Reports indicate that at least two additional white-tailed deer have also (initially) tested positive.

The state, however, is awaiting confirmation from a second laboratory in Ames, Iowa, before making an official statement. If true, this would make at least three deer that have tested positive in a captive deer breeding facility in Medina County, Texas.

CWD Containment?

The additional CWD-positive deer, at least in my thinking, makes the odds of having CWD contained to a single Texas deer breeding facility much less likely. Research on the deer disease has found that it can be spread quite readily within a herd, so it would have been a little short-sided for anyone to have believed the first deer that tested positive would have been the last.

If the report of additional deer testing positive turns out to be accurate, which seems likely at this point, then the captive deer breeding industry in Texas will be more than a little unsettled about having opened Pandora’s box.

CWD Settles into Medina, Uvalde County?

Austin American Statesman: State officials said Saturday that two additional deer from a captive herd in Medina County tested positive for a contagious, degenerative neurological disease, a discovery that could lead to the annihilation of an entire herd of deer.

Two preliminary tests came back positive for CWD, but confirmation will have to wait until samples are tested by the diagnostic laboratory in Ames, Iowa, officials said. Results could be available by the middle of next week, said Josh Havens, spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

… “We aren’t going to make a knee-jerk reaction regarding the rest of the herd without having results from Ames,” Havens said. He added that “ultimately any decision made will be based on what is in the best interest of the state’s entire captive and free-ranging deer herds.”

Deer Hunting is Big Money

White-tailed deer hunting is huge in Texas. There are an estimated 700,000 deer hunters and 3.5 million whitetail in the state, making Texas number one in both whitetail hunter and deer numbers. Whitetail are important for the hunting heritage of state.

The “deer hunting industry” is estimated to account for over $2 billion annually, which according to my calculations makes each harvested deer worth about $3,400. That means each pound of boneless venison has a value of about $100. That puts things into perspective.

CWD’s Impact on Hunting

In my book, wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer and deer hunting are simply priceless. It’s difficult to imagine a time when things could significantly change, and not for the better. At the time of writing, t’s been just over a month since chronic wasting (CWD) disease was found in a captive deer herd in Texas.

What will result from the discovery of CWD in Texas? What impact will this have on the deer population in the area where CWD is found? Has there been an overreaction or an underreaction? Will CWD impact the future of deer hunting in Texas?

CWD Testing of Deer

Source: There are a number of additional factors influencing this matter. Currently, the fastest and most accurate CWD detection test and the only test recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a post- mortem inspection of the animal’s brain tissue. Captive breeder deer in Texas are property of the state, held by permit to possess.

TPWD and TAHC have the regulatory authority to seize deer in pens for testing, but are going to great lengths to reach compromise and provide options to captive deer breeders, while balancing the risks posed to the native free-range herd as well.

There are ante-mortem, or live animal, tests available to detect CWD. Obviously, this is preferable over euthanizing deer. Unfortunately, these tests require multiple rounds over several months to reach an acceptable accuracy level. Additionally, these tests are not approved by USDA, meaning that Texas would lose “status” with USDA if live animal tests were relied upon and therefore not be able to transport deer across state lines.

If the decision is made to use these tests, then a quarantine period would be necessary on exposed facilities and two additional layers of trace-out facilities while testing is completed.

The scope and scale of captive deer breeders exposed to the index facility is huge. Over 10% of the captive deer breeding industry has direct Tier 1 exposure. For disease containment purposes, TPWD and TAHC must consider additional layers of trace-out facilities from those that are directly exposed. If an additional confirmed CWD finding occurs outside of the index facility, then the process starts all over again.

This could very quickly reach an enormous share of the captive deer breeder facilities in the state. TPWD and TAHC were absolutely correct to halt all movement statewide. Fortunately, July is the lowest period of captive breeder deer movement in the year.

Unfortunately, there is spike in captive breeder deer movement from mid-August to mid-September in preparation for hunting season. This is unfortunate because it creates a financial incentive for the captive deer breeding industry to push for movement restrictions to be lifted, perhaps prematurely. There is still substantial work to be done by TPWD and TAHC on testing and containment efforts.

These agencies are literally working around the clock, but there are only so many qualified people and only so many hours in the day. They must be allowed to do their job in a careful way without outside pressure.

There are approximately 1,300 captive deer breeder permit holders in Texas, who hold approximately 110,000 deer in pens. For perspective, there are approximately 700,000 deer hunters and 3,900,000 free-ranging deer in Texas. The deer hunting industry at-large generates $2.1 billion of economic impact to the state per year.

Rural economies and even rural property values rely on deer hunting in some form or fashion.

Simply put, public faith in the health of the Texas deer herd (native free-range and captive) transcends the financial interests of 1,300 permit holders. TWA is working hard to provide that voice of reason in the discussion. As things develop more, I will continue to provide updates.

Best,

R. David Yeates TWA CEO

Predator Control for Deer Hunting

There are no shortcuts to good white-tailed deer management. There are no silver bullets for producing quality, free-ranging bucks on private lands. It takes work, time and some patience. There are many techniques for managing deer populations and all focus on different aspects of the whitetail herd and they habitat they require.

Providing healthy plant communities should be paramount for any property practicing quality deer management, but sometimes overabundant predators in an area can be one of the primary problems. This is especially true in areas where deer numbers are relatively low.

Coyote Control and Deer Management

Predators, particularly coyotes, do play an important role in the areas they are found. The diet of the coyote is varied, but they are well known predators of fawns as well as adult deer. Coyotes are opportunistic and eat what is available, so they can have a heavy impact during the fawning season.

In some situations, coyotes can keep a whitetail populations below the deer carrying capacity of an area by limiting fawn survival and maintaining the deer herd below a productive threshold. The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is offering a predator management workshop this fall to help landowners interested in addressing predator issues on their property.

Reducing Coyotes, Increasing Fawns

QDMA: “Many QDMA members have said they want to learn how to trap so they can manage coyote numbers and fawn predation where they hunt. So, we’re announcing an exciting new addition to our Deer Steward Certification program: a Predator Management module! This intensive three-day course will take place September 11-13 at Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, Tennessee, and will be led by professional trapper Clint Cary (right), owner of Tactical Trapping Services.

Clint has been a speaker at our National Convention and Deer Steward courses, and now through this course he will teach all aspects of a predator control campaign, including: pre-planning, making successful sets, laying out a property for a campaign, trap modifications, lures, baits and other attractants, and more. The instruction will be a mix of in-class and in-the-field. Previous Deer Steward certification is not required to take this stand-alone course.”

Predator Control Workshop Details

• • Date: September 11-13, 2015
  • Location: Ames Plantation, 4275 Buford Ellington Road, Grand Junction, TN 38039 (only 1 hour from Memphis airport)
  • Cost: $500 for QDMA members, $550 for non-members, $450 for Life or Sponsor members.
  • Instructors: Clint Cary of Tactical Trapping Services and Matt Ross of QDMA.
  • What’s Included: instruction, course guide, certificate, most meals (3), copy of Clint’s book, QDMA membership for non-member price.
  • What’s Not Included: breakfast, travel and lodging (lodging option reserved within 30 minutes, info provided after registration)
  • SAF CFE Credit: Approved for 5.0 hours Category 1-CF, 13.5 hours Category 2 credit.
  • To Register: Call (800) 209-3337

Game, Non-Game On

You’ve got the stereotypical pick up truck. They drive a Subaru. You hunt white-tailed deer and other game animals with guns. They “hunt” for game and nongame birds with cameras. It may sound like we are discussing two completely different groups, but they’re actually not that different.

A new study is suggesting that hunters and bird watchers are more alike than either group realizes. Despite the different forms of “hunting” that each of these groups engages in, each has a vested interest in taking care of our all-important natural resources.

Birds of a Feather…

A survey by researchers was used to determine whether wildlife recreationists were more likely to engage in wildlife conservation efforts including activities such as donating to support local management efforts, improving wildlife habitat on public lands and advocating for wildlife recreation, in the study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

They sampled hunters, birdwatchers, hunter-birdwatchers (people who regularly participate in both activities) and non-nature-based recreationists in rural New York, and found hunters and birdwatchers were more likely to participate in conservation behaviors while hunter-birdwatchers were the most involved in conservation behaviors.

Humans Love Nature in Different Ways

Source: “This reinforces the notion that we protect what we’re familiar with and what we care about,” said Caren Cooper, the assistant director at the biodiversity research lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the lead author of the study. “This means there’s all the more reason to support activities that foster that appreciation.”

Most surprisingly, Cooper found that after discussing her findings on a blog, those that enjoy hunting and birdwatching engaged in discussions that showed they were unaware of each other’s passion for conservation. “Hunters and birders were shocked with the results about one another,” she said.

“Except for people who do both, the two different communities failed to realize they’re kindred spirits when it comes to conservation.”

Cooper said birdwatchers are often put off by hunting, and hunters don’t seem to see the knowledge that goes along with birdwatching. But after learning about the study, both groups realized that they share a common passion for wildlife habitat management and conservation.

Members of both groups also enjoy long walks along the beach at sunset. What do you think about the differences and/or similarities between hunting and birdwatching? How do you define conservation?

Snorting, Blowing: What Gives?

There is nothing worse than hearing a loud, lung-collapsing deer blow while deer hunting. Ugh, why do deer blow? It’s an annoying, but effective sound (at least for the deer). This is so true when bowhunting. This is when you need deer to close the distance due to the range limitations of archery equipment. Ironically, a loud blow by a white-tailed sucks all the air out of my sail.

It can be downright unnerving when a buck or doe breaks complete silence by blowing loudly, especially at close range. If you’re like me, it’s usually at this point during a hunt that you’re ready to pack up your gear, climb down out of the stand and head for home, tail between your legs.

Why do Deer Blow? Alert!

Deer really only blow for one reason, to alert other deer in the area that something is out of the ordinary. Though I’ve heard many deer do this over the years, I’ve come to realize that their actions are not always in response to me.

There are numerous things in a deer’s environment that can cause it to react with that attention-grabbing, nasal-clearing sound. Coyotes, dogs or anything else that they perceive as a threat. Deer can also snort when concerned. Regardless of why the deer is alarmed, the result may end in an unproductive hunt if your goal is to tag a deer.

Deer Communication

Source: Blow or snort (all deer, all seasons). The deer forcibly expels air through its nostrils like a greatly magnified sneeze. The deer blows when it detects danger at a distance. These blows are drawn-out “whooshes” repeated several times. Snorts are single, very short, explosive sounds given as the deer turns to run.

There may be three reasons for these sounds. The noise warns all deer that something is radically wrong. The “sneeze” clears the nasal passages, and helps the deer sniff the air better. The sound may startle a predator into revealing its location or leaving the area.

Why do Deer Blow? Sup?

Like some of you reading this article, I can tell you from experience that deer will blow when they see or smell something that is not right. More often than not, it means the deer that you are hunting smell you. It’s frustrating — especially since so many hunters are quite meticulous about scent control and hunting under favorable wind conditions.

The best I can offer is to remember that it’s not always you. It’s sometimes you, but now always.

Avoid Detection

Scent control is not necessarily about being “scent-free” but about being low in human scent. White-tailed deer have one heck of a sniffer on them so they can be hard to fool, but it’s not impossible. Keeping your scent level down can trick them into believing that you are much further away than they think you are.

You see, it’s all about scent molecule density. You want to have very few molecules (that smell like you) floating around in the air. Do all that you can to control scent. Then, the next time you’re hunting and hear a deer blow, you can be confident that it’s not at you. So, why do deer blow? It’s a form of deer communication that alerts the herd, but hopefully they aren’t talking about you.