| Chronic
Wasting Disease |
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| Hunters
Advised to Take Precautions |
 The Arizona
Game and Fish Department is advising hunters
harvesting meat from deer and elk in other
states to take precautions.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer
and elk. It is in a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies,
which include bovine spongiform encephalopathy in domestic cattle (also
called "mad cow disease") and scrapie in domestic sheep and goats. Surveillance
in Arizona has thus far shown that CWD is not present in our deer or elk
populations. The Game and Fish Department has implemented steps to reduce
the potential for this disease so that it doesn't establish itself in Arizona.
The department is concerned that CWD might be inadvertently brought into
our state through the transport of infected animal tissues.
Precautions that should be taken before bringing any harvested animal back
into Arizona include:
| • |
Bone
out the meat and package (either
commercially or privately); do not
cut into the spinal cord or remove
the head; do not quarter (or other
method) the carcass with any of the
spinal column or head attached. |
| • |
Do
not bring the brain, intact skull,
or spinal cord back into Arizona. |
| • |
If you wish to
take the antlers attached to the
skull plate, thoroughly scrape and
clean tissue from the skull plate
using a knife or brush and bleach.
Thoroughly clean all utensils afterwards
with bleach. |
| • |
Animal skins or
capes (without skull) do not need
any further treatment. |
| • |
Sawn-off antlers
- with or without velvet - do not
need further treatment. |
| • |
Upper canine teeth
of elk ("ivories") do not need further
treatment. |
| • |
Finished, taxidermied
heads do not require further treatment. |
There is no evidence that humans or animals
other than deer and elk can get CWD. We
are asking hunters to take precautions to
protect Arizona's deer and elk herds from
the disease.
In addition, the Department is asking for your assistance in monitoring
for the disease. If you see deer or elk in poor condition, losing hair,
with droopy ears, are stumbling or that have a slow reaction to your presence,
call the department at 1-800-352-0700.
Additional information about chronic wasting disease is available from
the Chronic Wasting Disease
Alliance and Chronic
Wasting Disease (USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service)
Learn more about Chronic Wasting Disease
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
cdc.gov Use their search feature to search the site for Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease
Alliance
cwd-info.org
Hunter Highlights - What Every Arizona Hunter Should Know
About Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) [PDF,
670kb]
NOTE: External sites will open in a new browser window.
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| Notice
of Public Information |
Arizona Game and
Fish Commission
Statewide ban on cervid importation |
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Effective
May 18, 2002, the Arizona Game and Fish Department,
under direction from the Arizona Game and
Fish Commission and under the authority of
R12-4-409(G), has instituted an emergency
statewide ban on the importation of cervids
designated as restricted live wildlife under
R12-4-406(A)(9)(b). The purpose of the emergency
importation ban is to prevent the movement
of captive cervids into Arizona to protect
against the introduction of chronic wasting
disease to free-ranging or captive wildlife.
The emergency importation ban applies to cervids of the genus Alces, common
name: moose; cervids of the genus Odocoileus, common name: white-tailed
and mule deer; and cervids of the genus Cervus, common name: red deer and
wapiti (elk), except that the species Cervus nippon, Nippon deer, is not
restricted.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first recognized by biologists in the
1960s as a disease syndrome of captive deer held in wildlife research facilities
in Ft. Collins, Colorado, but was not recognized as a transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy until the late 1970s. This disease was subsequently recognized
in captive deer, and later in captive elk, from wildlife research facilities
near Ft. Collins, Kremmling, and Meeker, Colorado, and Wheatland, Wyoming,
as well as in at least two zoological collections. More recently, CWD has
been diagnosed in privately owned elk residing on game ranches in several
Western states and provinces. Although CWD was first diagnosed in captive
research cervids, the original source (or sources) of CWD in either captive
cervids or free-ranging cervids is unknown; whether CWD in research animals
really preceded CWD in the wild, or vice versa, is equally uncertain.
Much of the information we have on this disease comes from the endemic
area of northeastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming where it appears
that, on average, CWD probably infects about 5-15 percent of the deer in
the area. Modeling of the impact of this disease indicates that this rate
of infection is sufficient to suppress deer population levels in this area.
In addition to cases in captive research and free-ranging deer and elk,
CWD has been diagnosed in privately owned elk on game farms in several
states beginning in 1996. Infection has been particularly severe in a group
of interconnected facilities near Rapid City, South Dakota, that appear
to be the original source of infection for other South Dakota game farms
as well as the Saskatchewan epidemic. In contrast, infected elk in two
of three Nebraska farms originated in Colorado, and infected elk in Oklahoma
apparently originated in Montana; CWD has been confirmed in the Montana
and Colorado source herds.
At this time, the detection of CWD in new areas is expanding rapidly as
there have been detection in free-ranging deer in additional areas of Nebraska,
Alberta, Wisconsin and South Dakota during 2002. In addition to the problems
associated with this disease on wild populations, there is also a significant
economic impact with the detection of the disease in both free ranging
and captive cervids. As an example, Saskatchewan has spent approximately
$30 million in attempts at eradicating the disease in infected game farms.
In Colorado, a supplemental appropriation of $300,143 was made in December
2001, and an additional appropriation of $430,750 is being considered for
the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2002.
One of the problems with this disease is that it is virtually impossible
to eradicate once it enters into a jurisdiction. This conclusion is based
on the fact that there is no live animal test for the disease, so an agency
cannot implement testing and elimination of only infected animals. Second,
there is a long incubation period associated with the disease. Some of
the research that has been completed suggests that the incubation period
may exceed 36 months, and perhaps even longer. Another problem is that
the epidemiological links from one positive herd to 38 other infected captive
elk herds in Saskatchewan and the shipment of exposed elk from one infected
captive elk operation in Colorado to facilities in 19 states indicate the
potential for the spread of CWD via the captive cervid industry. This means
that from a few herds, the disease has the potential to have been spread
to as many as 19 other states. Finally, a significant issue with this disease
is that one of the measures considered to control its spread is extreme
reduction of animal density. This entails removal of a large number of
deer that otherwise could be harvested by hunters, which in turn equates
to a potential economic loss to not only the Department but also to local
businesses such as restaurants and hotels that are supported by hunters.
Although chronic wasting disease (CWD) is not a new disease, there are
a number of factors that have escalated the importance of this disease
in the last three months. Until recently, this disease was largely thought
of as a disease of the 11-county region comprised of southeastern Wyoming,
northeastern Colorado, and the panhandle region of Nebraska. However, recently,
this disease has been detected in free-ranging wildlife in South Dakota,
the West Slope region of Colorado, and in Wisconsin. This signals to the
wildlife health community that the disease has the capacity to expand to
outside what was thought to be the endemic area. The economic consequences
of these new detections are immense as is evidenced from the experience
in Wisconsin. Within the first month after detection, the Wisconsin wildlife
management agency expended approximately $250,000 in control and public
information efforts. This has proven to be the tip of the iceberg as the
agency has announced plans to kill approximately 15,000 animals in the
focal area. This will also cost the agency considerable money.
At this time, the most effective management approach is to take measures
to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the disease does not enter
into Arizona. Therefore, effective May 18, 2002, the Arizona Game and Fish
Department has imposed an emergency statewide ban on the importation of
cervids designated as restricted live wildlife under R12-4-406(A)(9)(b).
The Department is also initiating Emergency and Regular rulemaking on this
issue to permanently implement the ban on cervid importation.
If you have any questions, or need any additional information on the emergency
importation ban, please contact:
Chasa O'Brien, Research Branch Chief
Arizona Game and Fish Department WMRS
5000 W. Carefree Highway
Phoenix, AZ 85086-5000
(623) 236-7247 |
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