Opinion

Editorial: With CWD, better to be safe than sorry

11/3/2009 7:45:01 AM

Comments (2)

The expression "better safe than sorry" might not sound terribly official or scientific, but it's an important principle, especially if you're dealing with infectious diseases in animals.

The issue: Three of the 560 elk destroyed at an acreage near Pine Island this summer tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

Why it matters: Chronic wasting disease is an imminent threat to Minnesota's wild deer herd as about a half-million hunters prepare to take to the woods this weekend.

Our view: Although only a small percentage of elk tested positive, the state made the unpleasant but correct move of destroying the entire herd.

Concerning the elk that once roamed a large acreage north of Rochester, we now have conclusive proof that the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and everyone involved were wise to take the unpleasant-yet-safe course -- destroying 560 animals that may have been exposed to chronic wasting disease.

We learned Friday that three of these animals tested positive for the always-fatal brain-wasting disease. When you add the cow elk that tested positive earlier this year, nearly 1 percent of the herd was infected.

That's bad news. This is the first time in Minnesota that a single herd of farm-raised elk or deer has been home to more than one CWD-infected animal, and with the firearms deer hunting season set to begin Saturday, the area around the proposed Elk Run biobusiness park will be under heavy scrutiny. The Department of Natural Resources will be at deer registration stations in this region to obtain tissue samples from hunter-harvested deer. Participation is voluntary, but we encourage hunters to do their part.

Minnesota has gone through this process before. Since 2002, CWD has been found on three other farms across the state, and each time the DNR did massive testing of wild deer from that vicinity. So far, not a single wild deer has tested positive, and everyone will be crossing their fingers, hoping for the same results this time around.

The stakes are high. Roughly 500,000 deer hunters will be in Minnesota's forests, fields, pastures, swamps and woodlots when the sun comes up on Saturday, and the average orange-clad enthusiast spends $500 each year on gas, ammunition, weapons, lodging, food, clothing and deer processing.

That adds up to a statewide economic impact of $250 million. If CWD reaches our wild deer herd, that number likely would take a serious hit.

We probably won't know if we're in the clear for several months after the hunting season ends. But in the meantime, there is one "better safe than sorry" step to help keep our deer healthy: don't feed the deer.

We understand the temptation. It's fun to look out the back window on a cold winter morning and see a dozen deer munching on corn in your yard. But the fact is that deer almost never starve in southeastern Minnesota, even during the harshest winters. Setting food out results in unnaturally high concentrations of deer that can easily spread disease through nose-to-nose contact at the feeding trough.

They're wild animals. The best way to protect them is to let them fend for themselves, as nature intended.

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hlasny
Bludov, Cz

Posted on 11/3/2009 at 4:31:37 PM

However, chronic wasting disease (CWD) can be a naturally occurring disease, so not an infectious disease, so not “sorry”. WHY? See the Chapter; Prions are a symptom of the (metabolic)chronic wasting disease and do not cause the disease; in my web (www.bse-expert.cz) and the UK Organic Farming (www.matt-reed.co.uk/?page_id=300). My recommendation about this theory testation;

(1)There is necessary to make fertilization trial and take your U.S. recommendations into the practice. Fertilization should coincide with spring green-up or about mid-March. Around the first to the middle of May apply ammonium nitrate at a rate of 100 pounds per acre ( 112 kg of N / ha as NH4NO3). Natural forage production can be doubled and crude protein content of many plants can be pushed well beyond the basic requirements of white-tailed deer. White-tailed deer in most southern habitats have access to adequate amounts of forage most of the year. White-tailed deer need a minimum of 17% crude protein in their forage year-round for maximum body and antler-growth and other natural deer forages do not contain this minimal amount of protein. Thus food quality, not quantity, may be the limiting factor in producing high quality white-tails on a sustainable basis. There probably is no better off-season forage that one can plant for deer than soybeans. Soybean foliage is high in protein, the soybean seed is extremely high in protein and other nutrients. Soybean plants are utilized heavily from sprouting through seed production. Cowpeas are annual legumes like soybeans and produce high protein forage during the off-season (www.pfmt.org).

(2)There are also recommendations; about the high protein intake in deer and elk rations, see these U.S. literature sources; Elk that are rapidly growing or lactating and bulls recovering from the rut have higher protein needs. To some extent, greater protein requirements can be met by increased intake. However, the percentage of protein in diets designed for these animals is usually increased as well. Maintenance rations should be at 10 - 12% crude protein, whereas rations for lactation or antler growth should provide 14 - 18% crude protein. Growing rations should contain 16 - 20% crude protein. If a single diet is fed to all gender and age groups, a 16 - 17% crude protein level is optimal. Total dietary protein content must be determined to follow these general guidelines. Urea may be used to replace a portion of true protein nitrogen in an elk ration with no adverse results. In practice, total amounts of urea or ammonia (non-protein nitrogen) that could be used in a ration depends upon the roughage source. Feeds naturally high in protein include legumes (alfalfa, clover, trefoil) and vegetable protein supplements such as roasted soybeans, soybean meal, canola meal and linseed meal. In general, feeds containing non-protein nitrogen are less expensively priced (http://www.deer-library.com/artman/publish/article_117.shtml).

(3) Take into practice also other U.S. recommendations; Protein Feeders. Nutrition is the key to successful wildlife and game management. And nothing is more important than protein. Protein is absolutely essential to the health of your entire herd and to the potential for trophy bucks. Whitetail deer need protein all year round, especially after the rut and during the critical 200-day antler-growing period. Protein feeding is the ideal complement to natural forage and food plots to attract as well as to feed more deer. Sweeney has a variety of Wildlife Feeders, Game Management Protein Feeders, and Scatter Type Deer Feeders to suit your needs. Sweeney Automatic Protein Feeders are totally dependable, providing protein on time, every time, all year round. The Gravity Protein Feeder or Bulk Protein Feeders are ideal for free choice protein feeding and are great high quality tools for your game and wildlife management endeavors (www.sweeneyfeeders.com).

In conclusion; keep the level of 20% CP in the protein concentrate (with soya bean meal) during a mininimum of six months! I am sure that the CWD will be develope in some animals… WHY? Because also 13% ; six from the 47 experimental dairy cows developed clinical signs of BSE; after six month incubation period; without meat and bone meal, however, with high protein concentrate feeding. See a nutritonal experiment performed in England; published in Veterinary Record (MOORBY et al., 2000) and in Journal of Dairy Science ( DEWHURST et al., 2000; MOORBY et al., 2000). Sincerely, Josef Hlasny, DVM, PhD., veterinary surgeon in Bludov, Czech Republic

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Haag1
Rochester, MN

Posted on 11/4/2009 at 10:08:37 AM

Thanks for the insight on high-quality whitetails from the Czech republic Borat!

Spam.

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