 PART
2:
Responsible Deer Management
For several years I have been writing about what I call "Responsible
Deer Management" and why and how it should be practiced by many states
in the Upper Midwest. I've written about how deer management policies like
"Maximum Sustainable Yield" which promotes the idea of "maintaining the
breeding population" of the deer herd "at the highest level that the habitat
and landowners will tolerate ..." (MN Department of Natural Resources publication)
often results in deer herds that are not socially balanced between sexes
and age classes, and in deer populations that are at or above the carrying
capacity of the habitat, which may lead to physical stress and malnutrition
of the deer, and can result in the increased risk of the spread of disease
in the herd and death to many of the animals. Although CWD is not prevalent
in many of the states of the Upper Midwest, the fact that CWD has been
found in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the size of the deer herds
in those and neighboring states, makes it highly possible that CWD may
spread throughout the Upper Midwest in future years.
The threat of infectious diseases spreading through deer and elk herds
is one reason why some hunters and game managers have been asking for changes
in wildlife management policies in some states, or areas of some states,
in recent years. While some state game agencies have been managing their
deer and elk herds for increased and/or maximum numbers of animals, some
hunters and game managers in those states would like to see deer herds
managed for more evenly balanced sex ratios, and for herds that are more
in line with the carrying capacity of the habitat. The threat of the spread
of CWD may now cause game managers in several states to reassess how they
manage the deer and elk herds in their areas.
What Can Wildlife Managers Do?
Game managers in each state must assess the potential for the spread
of CWD in their areas, and the impact of CWD on their deer and elk herds,
based on the carrying capacity of the habitat, the number of animals per
square mile, the impact on hunting, and the present and long term management
goals for the deer and elk herds. Where deer or elk herds are below the
carrying capacity of the habitat, or where there are low numbers of animals
per square mile (as in some western states), the threat of CWD may be lower
and the importance to management practices may be less of a factor, than
in areas where herd numbers are at or above carrying capacity, where there
are high numbers of animals per square mile, or where male to female ratios
may be out of balance (as in some mid-western and eastern states).
Management Policies
In areas where herd numbers are below carrying capacity, or where the
number of animals per square mile is low, the threat of the spread of CWD
may be low, and there may be no need to do anything more than monitor the
herds by routinely for evidence of CWD. In areas where deer herd numbers
are above carrying capacity of the habitat, where the number of animals
per square mile is high, or where the male to female ratio of the herd
is out of balance, the threat of the spread of CWD may be high, and there
may be the need to reduce herd numbers by increasing the number of antlerless
permits to reduce yearly population increases, or, in cases where the number
of animals per square mile is extremely high, there may be the need for
special hunts or eradication programs to reduce herd numbers, before infected
animals have a chance to spread CWD to a large portion of the herd.
Testing and Surveillance
Game managers in each state should conduct tests on deer harvested
by hunters, and on any dead deer that are found, to determine if CWD is
present in their herds, and determine the extent of the spread, and the
possible number of infected deer in their herds. They should also implement
a program to eliminate CWD from farmed elk and deer similar to the one
proposed by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Services (APHIS).
The provisions of this program proposed by APHIS will include fencing
requirements, animal identification, herd inventory, surveillance of deaths
in animals over 16 months of age, and herd certification with increased
status (relaxing movement restrictions for animals from non-infected herds)
based on the number of years of surveillance without the evidence of diseases
including CWD. Additions to any herd will have to be from herds with the
same or a higher degree of status. Animals that test positive for CWD will
be identified by the use of approved tests performed by APHIS' National
Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) or and NVSL approved laboratory.
Under this plan, CWD positive herds would be depopulated or quarantined.
Animals from an infected herd that have come in contact with animals from
a second herd would be removed from the second herd, or they would be euthanized.
Animals from the both herds would then be quarantined and put under surveillance.
If an animal in either herd tests positive, the entire herd would be treated
as positive. All euthanized animals would also be tested for diseases.
The USDA plans to implement this program by 2003.
Baiting, Feeding and Minerals
Because of the uncertainties about how CWD is spread, and how CWD may
impact deer and elk herds, State wildlife agencies must be aggressive in
how they manage their deer. Since the most likely means of transmission
of CWD is from one animal to another through direct contact, or through
contact with infected soil or other surfaces, wildlife managers and hunters
should both be aware of the fact that the more deer come into contact with
each other, the more likely it is that CWD will be spread. In the off chance
that baiting and feeding of deer may lead to the spread of CWD, both of
these practices should be banned. When it comes to the spread of infectious
diseases, especially one as deadly as CWD, it is far better to be safe
than to be sorry.
Although at least one animal nutritionist (who subscribes to the copper
deficiency hypothesis) suggests that hunters do not need to stop supplying
minerals to deer (because supplying minerals leads to healthier deer),
the risk of the spread of CWD (where deer congregate at mineral sites)
far outweighs the benefits of supplying mineral supplements to the deer.
If hunters and wildlife admirers want to provide supplemental nutrition
for deer, they should do it through habitat improvement and food plots,
where the spread of CWD is less likely to occur.
What Can Commercial Game Farmers Do?
The USDA strongly urges deer and elk farmers to enroll in State CWD
surveillance and control programs. Game farmers should notify the appropriate
authorities of any sick or dead elk and deer in their herds. They should
only purchase, trade or acquire deer and elk from farms that have been
enrolled in State programs or are otherwise known not to have been exposed
to CWD. As a result of the threat of CWD, the numbers of sales, and the
prices, of live deer and elk, has dropped significantly in the last year.
But, once the government surveillance and testing programs are in place;
and deer and elk herds are certified free of CWD, the restrictions on the
sale of deer and elk should be relaxed, and prices should rise.
Because copper deficiencies in the diet of ruminants may result in deer
and elk being more susceptible to CWD, game farmers may want to make sure
their animals receive sufficient amounts of copper in their diets. Game
farmers may also want to consider double-fencing their enclosures, to keep
animals from outside the enclosures from coming into direct contact with
and infecting animals inside the enclosures.
NEXT: Can
Humans Become Infected With CWD?
For more information on
specific T. R. Michel's seminar titles and times contact;
T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain
Outdoors / T.R. Michels Guide Service, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983,
507-824-3296, trmichels@yahoo.com,
www.thehunterseye.con/trmichels
| To
List Of T.R. Michels Articles:
T.R. Michels
T.R. Michels is a nationally
recognized big game researcher, and outdoor writer and speaker. He is the
author of the Whitetail, Elk, Turkey and Goose Addict's Manuals, and the
Deer Addict's Manuals. He is the innovator of the Moon Indicator, which
predicts peak monthly movement of deer and elk, based on the forces of
the moon. T.R.'s latest products are the 2002 Revised Edition of the Whitetail
Addict's Manual, the 2002 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and
Whitetail Notes and Activity Factors.
For a catalog of books
and other hunting aids contact:
T.R. Michels
Trinity Mountain Outdoors
PO Box 284
Wanamingo, MN 55983
507-824-3296
E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com
Web: www.TRMichels.com |
|
| To
List Of T.R. Michels Articles:
T.R. Michels
T.R. Michels is a nationally
recognized big game researcher, speaker and writer. He is the author of
the series Whitetail, Elk, Turkey and Goose & Deer Addict's Manuals
and the innovator of the Moon Indicator.
T.R.'s latest books, available
for 2001, are the Deer Addict's Manual, Volume 7: Hunting Tactic; the Scrape
Addicts Manual; and the Outdoorsman's Cookbook, Volume 1 and 2.
Contact:
T.R. Michels
Trinity Mountain Outdoors
PO Box 284
Wanamingo, MN 55983
507-824-3296
Web: www.TRMichels.com
E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com |
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