[ad_1]
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Deer biologists in northern New England are preparing their plan to deal with a deadly disease that has been spreading in North America for half a century and was recently discovered on a game farm in Canada.
Chronic wasting disease has never been detected in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Biologists hope that the only case discovered in a captive deer north of Montreal can be controlled by aggressive surveillance and killing of wild deer in the area, while checking whether the disease has infected the wild population.
"If they find it in the wild, then the panic factor goes awry, because at this point, there's only a matter of time left before it happens." spread, "said Nick Fortin, deer biologist for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The discovery comes as states embark on an annual deer hunt.
Chronic debilitating disease, which always kills infected deer and related animals, is similar to mad cow disease, which affects livestock. Both diseases can contaminate forages and accumulate in the soil, where they can remain for years.
It is not known that it affects humans, but officials fear that, over time, it may damage or destroy deer herds.
Vermont and many other states have prohibited hunters from introducing deer, elk or parts of deer from regions reporting chronic wasting or hunting disease. in captivity or agricultural facilities. Hunters can come back with some transformed parts of the animals. Vermont and a number of states have also banned the sale of deer urine, which is used as a lure.
Since its appearance in mullet deer in captivity in Colorado about 50 years ago, chronic wasting has slowly spread to more than two dozen states and several Canadian provinces. States have spent millions trying to prevent this from happening.
Some people think that it is too much money to spend when you know little about the disease. Shawn Schafer, executive director of the North American Deer Farmer Association, said the organization supported many of the restrictions on moving deer carcasses, but felt that there was insufficient scientific knowledge to determine Extent of the disease.
Biologists fear that once the disease reaches a region, it could remain, but a 2005 outbreak in central New York was quickly brought under control and was not detected in the state since.
Patrick Martin, wildlife biologist for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, head of the Wildlife Health Unit, said that a test routine had discovered the case of 2005 in a deer coming from a farm in captivity. A second infected animal was then found on another farm.
Wildlife officials subsequently killed about 500 deer in the area and found two other infected wild deer. But the aggressive approach, which costs about a million dollars, seems to have worked. Since then, New York has conducted many tests and no other cases have been reported.
"It was a perfect storm for which we got there – it's kind of a silly chance to catch all the animals on display," Martin said. "The advantage was that we had found it early."
[ad_2]
Source link
