Hunters protect deer and elk from Arizona's disease

From Stéphanie Morse |

Cronkite News

Friday, November 9, 2018

GREER – On a cool, autumnal morning in eastern Arizona, families participating in a youth hunting camp woke up before dawn to hunt elk.

Gage Martinez, 14, was one of the last to have shot a momentum, but in the middle of the morning he was skinned and hung from a tree by the hind legs.

"I was so excited that my hand was shaking," Martinez said.

Meanwhile, three Arizona Game & Fish Department biologists have gathered around the elk's head. One of them used a small knife to cut the lymph nodes in the animal's cheek. The latter will be sent to a Colorado laboratory for testing for chronic debilitating disease.

CWD is a neurodegenerative disease observed in deer, elk and moose. It is widespread in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, neighboring Arizona. Infected animals become insensitive, emaciated and eventually die.

Until now, regular tests and strict laws have helped preserve the CWD in Arizona. But that could change quickly.

"It's a big challenge," said Anne Justice-Allen, Wildlife Veterinarian at Arizona Game & Fish. "It may be an impossible challenge, because states that we think would not have it now would have it."

Last year, CWD was found in Montana. The previous year he had been discovered in Arkansas. The disease has now been detected in 24 states, where it has reduced herds by 20 to 40 percent.

"We need to make sure that wildlife populations are healthy because they really play an important role in preserving the landscape and the environment," said Justice-Allen.

Researchers are trying to learn more about the disease and find a vaccine, but there is currently no cure.

"In Colorado and other states, we do not know how to eradicate it," said Travis Duncan, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Wildlife and Park. "All we can do is manage it."

The hunting season is the key

Hunters are at the forefront of Arizona's efforts to fight the disease.

There is no way to determine if a deer or elk has a MDC until the end of the disease, when physical symptoms appear.

"You may have seen posters or posters with sick looking deer that lead us to believe that anyone can identify it visually," Duncan said. "But in reality, most cervids with CWD look perfectly healthy and you could never know it."

There is no blood test for MDC, so the animal must be dead to collect and test a lymphatic ganglion sample.

"Part of that is why the best option is to manage the problem by hunting and testing the deer that the men are catching," said Duncan.

The hunting season is the only time of year when Arizona Game & Fish can regularly test for CWD. The goal is to test as many animals as possible during this time.

Last year, the department tested more than 1,200 samples throughout the state and officials hope to test out more this year.

"Our goal is to test enough animals every year to make sure it can be detected if it is present in at least 1% of the population," said Justice-Allen.

Arizona Game & Fish has opened a new test center in Springerville in an effort to achieve this goal. Justice Allen and his team travel to other hunting camps this season to collect samples and educate the public.

"We are talking with hunters and letting them know what we are doing here and why it is important to carry out the disease surveillance project and take samples," said David Drever, trainee biologist at Game & Fish.

However, not all hunters process the meat themselves or do not take the time to voluntarily provide their animal for testing purposes. The ministry is therefore paying professional taxidermists and meat processors to fill the gaps. Justice-Allen said that about half of the samples The Game & Fish tests are collected from these sources.

Arizona is eager to act

Beyond the tests, Arizona has strict laws relating to the captive management of deer and the processing of deer meat. Experts say these measures are another key element of the state's success in keeping the MDC out of state.

Arizona has banned traditional deer farms where private owners are raising deer to hunt or sell by-products, due to concerns about the potential role that these farms might have in the spread of CWD.

But zoos and animal sanctuaries, such as the Grand Canyon deer farm near Williams, are allowed to keep deer in captivity.

Amy Kravitz, a biologist at the deer farm, said the farm was testing deer for each death. The farm also needs a special authorization from Game & Fish to import deer, she said, and can only import animals from MDC-free states.

The state also prohibits people from bringing deer carcasses or central nervous tissue – the brain and spinal cord, which contain the highest concentrations of the protein responsible for CWD – to Arizona.

In addition, Arizona is one of the few states to prohibit hunters from using deer urine or grain as a bait to catch game. Indeed, these methods may spread the disease faster.

"Some of these things are happening in other parts of the country," Justice-Allen said. "Here we are cautious and we do not allow it."

A difficult battle

Despite these efforts, chronic debilitating disease has continued to spread since its discovery in Colorado wild deer populations in 1981.

"It's something that's always worrying and preoccupying," Justice-Allen said.

This is one of the reasons why Arizona Game & Fish has redoubled efforts in recent years to collect more samples. The disease, however, is often transmitted by the natural movement of the deer, which can not be controlled. Wild deer can travel between 50 and 100 miles. It is therefore possible that MDC-contaminated deer from a neighboring state may enter Arizona.

"In some states like Montana, where it was detected last year," said Judge Allen, "it's probably been a year or two before you find it."

If the disease breaks out in Arizona, officials and hunters hope it will be discovered in a few months instead of a few years.

"We are trying very hard to manage our herds to keep them at a maximum level, and it would be enough for a serious case of chronic wasting disease to put everything off balance," said Rusty Rogers, passionate hunter and committee member. White Mountain Chapter Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The more Game & Fish can react quickly, the more likely it will be to limit the spread of the disease.

The department should remove the infected deer and any other deer that may have been in contact with the infected animal and its waste.

In other states, after the detection of CWD, officials handed out bonus tags to hunters for attempting to limit the deer population and instituted mandatory CWD tests.

A long road ahead

The Arizona Game & Fish Department spends about $ 70,000 on cervid detection tests, which represents about 27% of its budget devoted to wildlife health.

The department hires additional trainees in the fall to assist in the operation of the Springerville and another test station at Kaibab, to collect samples from taxidermists and processors. of meat and to monitor hunting camps.

"It's a lot easier for us to keep diseases off than trying to control them once they're here," Justice-Allen said.

Knowing that their game is safe for meals also provides hunters with peace of mind.

"Let's be clear, there has never been any evidence of crossing the species barrier between deer or elk and humans," said Drever, "but it's still a concern that people have in their minds: has an illness?

Despite the success so far in Arizona, experts do not expect the threat to subside any time soon.

"It's something we have to manage over the next 10 to 15 years and maybe even beyond, who knows," Duncan said. "It will be a fight of several decades, not only year by year."

-Video by Jordan Dafnis

This story is part of Elemental: Covering Sustainability, a multimedia collaboration between Cronkite News, Arizona PBS, KJZZ, KPCC, Rocky Mountain PBS and PBS SoCal.

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