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"FOOD" for thought??... CWD & Never eating venison again?!?!?

Sligh1

Sligh1

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Got a chance to speak in person or email with some of the folks at the DNR on CWD. Went over what their goals were, concerns, etc. I did ask "If you don't get a cure & the prions are in the soil forever & can be transmitted in plant material & from birds.... How is eradicating deer WITHOUT FINDING A CURE, going to make any difference?" "We may find a cure" (very short & condensed take-away) was the response. Ok, fair enough & that would be wonderful if it happens.

ANOTHER ONE that caught my attention while I had a discussion with a DNR biologist from another state... "It's likely a good idea to have a deer tested for CWD before eating it". Diving in..... "It's not proven it can transmit to people but who knows and would you want to take any risk?" is a short version of the position & a reasonably wide ranging & growing feeling among the public. Which lead my brain to this point.... 1) There is no 100% positive test that will uncover a CWD positive deer. So, with that logic, we shouldn't even take that chance. 2) Here's the BIG ONE!!!..... You bring your deer to a processor!!!!!.... Your deer 110% sure did NOT have CWD!!! Great news!!! But, you are worried that if you ate a deer with CWD, somehow there's a chance it could transmit to humans. Well, that processor is doing a GAZILLION DEER through all their grinders, saws, knives, processing tools, storage, delivery area, etc. Since you can't burn, poison, chemically treat or destroy a prion - it's not going to be killed. So, one would think - if yours doesn't have it, likely, one of the gazillion other deer that was processed there did. YIKES!!?!?!? Follow that one down the rabbit hole!!!?!?!?!? Outlaw processing? don't allow deer to be eaten period? I mean, let's be consistent & follow that logic through. I'm not saying I agree with it what-so-ever OR that there isn't a billion risks with ANYTHING. Heck, if you want to look at scientific health risks associated with eating meat- we should never eat meat again! & for that matter - don't eat veggies or fruit either with all the pesticides or even bacteria in organic foods. This is a widely growing view & it just takes 30 seconds of thinking through this to understand how & why and what some possible results are. If folks really believe all this stuff, the logical answer is to never eat venison again. Yikes! Your thoughts?
 
This is why I posted the article on CWD a week or so ago. Never got any responses. CWD prions have the possibility to be nearly everywhere once you really start to think about it (assuming CWD continues geographic spread)


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I'm curious what the DNR had to say as far as an action plan if any. If they simply model other states that will be a major disappointment. I would rather "do nothing" than see eradication efforts that, in my opinion, do absolutely nothing in the long run.

As far as eating deer. I will continue to do so. To my knowledge, there has never been a human complication of any kind related to cwd. I have a LOT of other thoughts that I plan to expound upon later
 
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The whole subject is quite scary. Don't know exactly what to think about it. Hasn't been found anywhere near me that I know of but I'm sure it's on its way.
Got me thinking how many rabbits will it take to make 50 lb of ground. I do have really good rabbit habitat.

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EatSleepHunt said:
The whole subject is quite scary. Don't know exactly what to think about it. Hasn't been found anywhere near me that I know of but I'm sure it's on its way.
Got me thinking how many rabbits will it take to make 50 lb of ground. I do have really good rabbit habitat.

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Thing is rabbits eat grass and the like, which deer poop on. The grass uptakes the prions. Are prions now in the rabbit which can go to the human? I’m not sure but the chain can go on and on


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It's been around a long time in other areas. Not sure I have heard or it wiping out an area. Stands to reason in those areas it's still in the ground and animals. Has yet to be an epidemic of poisoned people. I mean it should be in almost all animals in that given region. I think deer density could be an issue, and I think that doing supplement feeding and drawing deer in an un naturally concentrated area dont help. Feeders, feeding sites, mineral licks, have to be detrimental. I saw a video from a hunting "personality" last spring close to the "hot zone" standing by a feeder and it looked like a cattle feed lot.

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Still not a fan of their action plan, and myself personally I'm not gonna sweat it until its proven to be transferrable to humans. The locker I take a few deer to a year is in a cwd county. Chances of them having already run a CWD deer through their machines and into product is very high in my opinion. I think if you tested every deer it would be in majority of counties in the state. I wouldnt be as apt to feed it to my kids or wife but I dont think I'd have a problem eating it.
I heard randy newberg talk about his sons elk. Came from a hotbed CWD zone in Arizona where 80% test positive. Never had it tested and it's already half eaten. I've been proven wrong before, but right now with the information available that's my stance
 
Here’s a few thoughts:

1. Process your own deer. It’s not that bad, it’s actually rewarding. I do 4-5 each year in my garage, sometimes with minimal resources.

2. CWD has been around 50 years, scrappie much longer. It’s not jumped to lions, coyotes, wolves or bears. They eat organs first.

Test? Yes. Stop eating? I say no.
 
Until there's a human outbreak, directly linked to venison consumption, processing and consumption will never be banned. Just continue to be discussed in coffee clutches and knitting circles, like it is now, and will continue to be for years to come.
 
That's what I say. Process your own. Been doing it since I was 17 yrs old. Now 66. I am not too concerned. Most all my male relatives passed this world in their early 60s. I have made it past them so anything here on out is a gift .!
 
Like 7mmsendero stated above scrapie has been around for a long time, similar to CWD but in sheep and as the article stated in another post scrappie prions can stay in dust for years! Haven't heard of farmers getting creutzfeldt-jakobs disease from sheep yet! Not saying it is something to ignore but for now a lot of vegan blogger material.
 
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Bryan Richards uses the term "Overabundance of caution" when talking about the CDC and consuming CWD positive deer. Remember, the CDC has to cover their arse. If asked for an opinion on the communicability of any disease, in this case CWD, the CDC is going to error on the side of safety or they would be liable for any damages caused by consuming CWD positive venison. The said "don't eat it" so they are off the hook. I have been told that mad cow victims in England all ate head cheeses from one butcher shop. I haven't found that story probably because I haven't looked.
 
Fishbonker said:
Bryan Richards uses the term "Overabundance of caution" when talking about the CDC and consuming CWD positive deer. Remember, the CDC has to cover their arse. If asked for an opinion on the communicability of any disease, in this case CWD, the CDC is going to error on the side of safety or they would be liable for any damages caused by consuming CWD positive venison. The said "don't eat it" so they are off the hook. I have been told that mad cow victims in England all ate head cheeses from one butcher shop. I haven't found that story probably because I haven't looked.
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Appears that cases related to BSE in humans is called vCJD. A little scary.
 
So we should take any deer we harvest to be tested to be safe. Is this possible here in Iowa? You supposedly cant tell if your deer has it by observation. They can be infected and seem healthy. Takes time to show.
 
loneranger said:
So we should take any deer we harvest to be tested to be safe. Is this possible here in Iowa? You supposedly cant tell if your deer has it by observation. They can be infected and seem healthy. Takes time to show.
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....and there is no live test for CDW... at least that I know of. Takes a head off a dead deer.
 
I think Bonker is right about the CJD in England being traced to butchering practices and consumption of brain and spinal tissue.

Personally I am going to keep butchering my own and not worry about eating it.
 
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