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preserve found to have CWD-

Ohio mulls killing 300 captive deer at ranch where buck is diagnosed with chronic wasting disease.

(Chronic wasting disease, a brain disease that is always fatal to white-trailed deer, has been discovered for the first time in Ohio in a male deer killed at a deer hunting operation in Holmes County. (Ohio Department of Natural Resources).

Associated Press By Associated Press
on November 02, 2014 at 7:41 PM, updated November 02, 2014 at 8:01 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio officials have not ruled out killing an estimated 300 captive deer at a hunting preserve where a buck infected with chronic wasting disease was confirmed.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture told the Zanesville Times Recorder that no decision has been made about what to do with the deer remaining at the preserve. The spokeswoman said that killing all the deer at the ranch in Millersburg is "not off the table," and there is no set schedule for when a decision will be made, said Erica Hawkins.

Meanwhile, the discovery of the rare disease has prompted the Ohio Division of Wildlife to ask for tissue samples of wild deer around the preserve known as the World Class Whitetails of Ohio ranch in Holmes County, northeast of Columbus. As of Sunday, the disease had not been found in Ohio's wild herd, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

The disease, which hasn't been shown to infect humans, attacks the brain of the infected animal, produces lesions, and eventually kills the animal. Wildlife officials are asking for deer heads on a voluntary basis in the sampling area, which is restricted to eight townships in Holmes County surrounding the preserve.

The agriculture department, which oversees captive deer operations in the state, confirmed an infected buck at the Millersburg site last month.

Bryan Richards, the chronic wasting disease project leader at the National Wildlife Health Center, told the Times Recorder that euthanizing the deer from a diseased herd has been the management tool employed at the majority of facilities across the United States and Canada to reduce the risk to free-ranging deer outside the facility

Curt Waldvogel, president of Whitetail Deer Farmers of Ohio, said it is too early to know the best response to the disease found at the Ohio ranch. The industry tries to work with the farmer and the state to develop the best solution, he said.

A message left Sunday at the ranch in Millersburg seeking comment was not immediately returned.

At least 19 states have found the disease in their wild deer populations. Ohio was the 14th state to identify the disease in its captive population.

Ohio mulls killing 300 captive deer at ranch where buck is diagnosed with chronic wasting disease | cleveland.com
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There shouldn't be a debate. Way too much at risk here for the state to play around or drag their feet. The entire herd needs to be euthanized and the carcasses burned, as well as a quarantine of the area.
There shouldn't be a debate. Way too much at risk here for the state to play around or drag their feet. The entire herd needs to be euthanized and the carcasses burned, as well as a quarantine of the area.
:thumbs_up:

Do it, stop talking about it.
There shouldn't be a debate. Way too much at risk here for the state to play around or drag their feet. The entire herd needs to be euthanized and the carcasses burned, as well as a quarantine of the area.
I'm 100% in agreement. And every hunter/motorist that kills a deer in the area around the pen should be "strongly" encouraged to submit a sample for testing. Maybe consider refunding the $ of the hunters tag in exchange for the sample within a 10 mile radius. It's our best chance of quickly determining if the cat is out of the bag.
I live within 15 mins of this place and I was informed that a few deer "escaped" from the ranch and if they are seen to shoot them on sight and to report them to ODNR.

How does a deer "escape" from a ranch that is high fenced all around the compound? I know they have had holes cut in the fence before so deer could escape but you would think they would have had these deer in areas so they can't get out.
Wow, CWD at a game ranch? Who would have thunk it.
Personally, all the deer should be killed and the place double fenced and never used again. Like an atomic bomb went off devoid of all life.

Many states have had issues within the immediate areas and everything needs to be tested for many years. Anymore found positive, then more deer are eradicated as well. This is a no win folks.

Sent from my iPhone.
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Even with a double fence could a squirrel not climb through/over come in contact with that and then pass it along to non-captive deer outside? Anyone educated on the transmission of it, is this possible?
Maybe we could all head to Holmes County and start gun season a month early like an anti-CWD lynch mob.
Like it's been said before about our government- "Our ancestors would be shooting by now."
A discount on any deer sales price would certainly be appropriate given the health findings.
Personally, all the deer should be killed and the place double fenced and never used again. Like an atomic bomb went off devoid of all life.

Many states have had issues within the immediate areas and everything needs to be tested for many years. Anymore found positive, then more deer are eradicated as well. This is a no win folks.

Sent from my iPhone.
This 1000X's over. I can't believe there were no lessons learned from the Iowa farm that had 80% of their 300-some deer test positive after the first positive case was found and de-population was delayed for 2 years.

I wonder if public input would have any sway? I see there was a name given in the article for the head of the CWD section of at the National Wildlife Health Center. Bryan Richards. His number is easy to find on their web site. I know it's not the USDA who oversees the captive deer herds, but I may call to see what his office has to say. But right now I have things to do on the farm. I'd love to be an activist on this if only I wasn't working for a living. :p
Even with a double fence could a squirrel not climb through/over come in contact with that and then pass it along to non-captive deer outside? Anyone educated on the transmission of it, is this possible?
At this point the understanding that the possibility of transmission to non cervid animals is "low".

But since a dead squirrel laying in the woods doesn't attract much attention, that conclusion is based on research and general scientific principles rather than direct observations. And the prions that cause CWD can change over time making it possible that someday, it will cross a species barrier.
As a deer farmer. I'm all for that. Knock the whole herd out. Test them all. Nip it in the butt. Ohio could learn a lot from doing so. If other deer have it then we can see the devastation it can have on a herd. And know how fast it can spread by when that deer was introduced to the preserve. But....on the flip side of that...let that farm bring in more deer from only Ohio farms who were not under quarantine at any time. No out of state farms. And every deer killed there from that point is already mandatory tested so we can also see if the disease holds on the grounds by if any others test positive. If so....kill them all again and quarantine the area. Use it as a testing spot. Learn about the disease. How its caused, and spreads. Maybe even how to kill it. It can only help. The preserve who tested positive will just have to eat his costs and that's just what the consequences should be. His fault for bringing deer in from PA where its known to be.
There shouldn't be a debate. Way too much at risk here for the state to play around or drag their feet. The entire herd needs to be euthanized and the carcasses burned, as well as a quarantine of the area.
Bureaucrats debating is like airline passengers arguing over where to sit as the plane falls out of the sky.
I'm 100% in agreement. And every hunter/motorist that kills a deer in the area around the pen should be "strongly" encouraged to submit a sample for testing. Maybe consider refunding the $ of the hunters tag in exchange for the sample within a 10 mile radius. It's our best chance of quickly determining if the cat is out of the bag.
I suggest to put a county bounty on the harvested/hit deer.
How does a deer "escape" from a ranch that is high fenced all around the compound? I know they have had holes cut in the fence before so deer could escape but you would think they would have had these deer in areas so they can't get out.
Days of strong winds and trees inevitably fall on the fence where the deer can jump out. Trophy deer are targeted by perps who cut an "escape hole" in the fence.
Wow, CWD at a game ranch? Who would have thunk it.
The military used to call these situations a BFO: a Blinding Flash of the Obvious.
Maybe the state should do a county bounty in all counties. The deer that was tested positive was otherwise a completely healthy looking deer. No way to tell until its tests. They could be walking around anywhere with it. Any county. And no one would know because the wild deer aren't all tested. No one would have known of that deer having it had it not been tested.if that happens and a wild deer was found with it...then whole new ball game. Maybe it doesn't spread like we think. The Iowa farm could have been an occurance where variables were in place for it to spread to easy. (Water bowls,food troths). Just a thought. No one knows. So doing things to actually find out should be priority.
Personally, all the deer should be killed and the place double fenced and never used again. Like an atomic bomb went off devoid of all life. Many states have had issues within the immediate areas and everything needs to be tested for many years. Anymore found positive, then more deer are eradicated as well. This is a no win folks. Sent from my iPhone.
I'm all for making life for businesses better, but I'm totally against commercializing and/or privatizing game and exotic animals. If my business were to somehow impose a risk or threaten you or your property, then you could/should sue me.

Whitetail deer are your property. There should be a class-action suit against anyone who harbors a whitetail deer in Ohio or any other state that threatens your property. Ohio should not allow permitting game or exotics to be pets, farmed/ranched for propagation and/or resale.

Why don't one of you legal beagles sue these places? You might make your fortune.

Why don't one of you youngsters start a statewide referendum to abolish those practices here in Ohio? Maybe someday they will name a wildlife area after you.
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Even with a double fence could a squirrel not climb through/over come in contact with that and then pass it along to non-captive deer outside? Anyone educated on the transmission of it, is this possible?
I'm not a veterinarian but I can pretend to be on the Internet. Deer (cervids), cows (bovines), sheep (stinky), humans and maybe other life forms suffer from one or another form of spongiform encephalopathy...I think. I don't know if there is any species jumping...yet. So, a squirrel in a corral of sick whitetails shouldn't be carrier of the disease to other whitetails or squirrels...I think.

CDC - Prion Diseases
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