Post by Woody Williams on Oct 27, 2006 8:02:09 GMT -5
Wisconsin DNR wants to kill more deer
Agency admits disease-fighting methods may prove unpopular
By LEE BERGQUIST
lbergquist@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 25, 2006
A nearly five-year-long, $26.8 million campaign that has failed to control the spread of chronic wasting disease is forcing the state Department of Natural Resources to revamp its strategy.
The agency briefed members of the Natural Resources Board on Wednesday, and in a memo, it reiterated its preference for killing a large number of deer, including the use of "non-traditional and, potentially, controversial methods."
This could mean the use of sharpshooters, bounty hunters - even employing helicopters - to kill deer where populations are not falling by traditional hunting.
"Some of these options would be difficult politically," DNR Secretary Scott Hassett said after board members met in Madison. "But one of the reasons we're doing this is to test the waters."
Hassett said the seven-member board will be briefed in February on range of initiatives, but he said doing nothing would be an abdication of the agency's responsibilities.
Chronic wasting disease is centered in a region west of Madison in portions of Dane and Iowa counties. But pockets have been found across southern Wisconsin, including northern Walworth County.
The assessment of wildlife health experts who believe these "sparks" of infection must be eliminated before they get bigger continues to concern the DNR; so does the potential devastation of a cultural tradition and economic contributor to the state.
A new concern is a study published this month by the University of Georgia that provides the best evidence to date that the brain-destroying illness is spread through saliva, meaning that high concentrations of deer could fan the disease.
"That should all put us at the ends of our seats," said board member John W. Welter of Eau Claire, because it lends credence to the policy of killing deer to reduce the infection.
One concern that seems to have diminished is the potential spread to humans, with most researchers believing a barrier exists in transmitting it to humans.
In February 2002, chronic wasting disease was discovered in Wisconsin - the first state east of the Mississippi River.
The DNR says it wants to hear from the public with its proposals, and in fact, officials acknowledge they need more buy-in if there is any hope of controlling a disease.
In addition to coming up with new methods to kill deer, Hassett said the state needs to convince hunters and property owners in affected areas that more deer must be culled from the land than they want.
In August, researcher Robert Holsman of the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point reported that a series of surveys of hunters from 2004 and 2005 found strong opposition to killing more deer than hunters could consume.
Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, agreed that "doing nothing is not a solution."
But he said the DNR faces many obstacles: its own image problems, hunters overwhelmed by complex seasons and regulations, and the potential backlash of aggressive killing techniques.
"Helicopters are not a non-starter," Kedzie said. "Sharpshooters are not positive either."
Another concern is apathy.
"The public has lived with this, and they are a lot less concerned with it than they were a few years ago," said Edgar Harvey Jr. of Waldo, chairman of the Conservation Congress, a hunting and fishing organization that advises the DNR.
"It's either time to go at it or back off, and I don't think that backing off is the right approach."
Wednesday's briefing grew out of "sobering" assessment from the agency's own staff and specialists from other state agencies and the UW System
In a retreat, DNR employees concluded that the best approach was to contain the disease, then try controlling it and only then eliminating it.
When the DNR rolled out its strategy in 2002, it sought to eradicate the disease.
"As a Monday morning quarterback, it would have been nice to have come out of the gate with (containment) five years ago," Hassett said.
"But five years ago, this was one big scary thing that popped up."
From the Oct. 26, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Agency admits disease-fighting methods may prove unpopular
By LEE BERGQUIST
lbergquist@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 25, 2006
A nearly five-year-long, $26.8 million campaign that has failed to control the spread of chronic wasting disease is forcing the state Department of Natural Resources to revamp its strategy.
The agency briefed members of the Natural Resources Board on Wednesday, and in a memo, it reiterated its preference for killing a large number of deer, including the use of "non-traditional and, potentially, controversial methods."
This could mean the use of sharpshooters, bounty hunters - even employing helicopters - to kill deer where populations are not falling by traditional hunting.
"Some of these options would be difficult politically," DNR Secretary Scott Hassett said after board members met in Madison. "But one of the reasons we're doing this is to test the waters."
Hassett said the seven-member board will be briefed in February on range of initiatives, but he said doing nothing would be an abdication of the agency's responsibilities.
Chronic wasting disease is centered in a region west of Madison in portions of Dane and Iowa counties. But pockets have been found across southern Wisconsin, including northern Walworth County.
The assessment of wildlife health experts who believe these "sparks" of infection must be eliminated before they get bigger continues to concern the DNR; so does the potential devastation of a cultural tradition and economic contributor to the state.
A new concern is a study published this month by the University of Georgia that provides the best evidence to date that the brain-destroying illness is spread through saliva, meaning that high concentrations of deer could fan the disease.
"That should all put us at the ends of our seats," said board member John W. Welter of Eau Claire, because it lends credence to the policy of killing deer to reduce the infection.
One concern that seems to have diminished is the potential spread to humans, with most researchers believing a barrier exists in transmitting it to humans.
In February 2002, chronic wasting disease was discovered in Wisconsin - the first state east of the Mississippi River.
The DNR says it wants to hear from the public with its proposals, and in fact, officials acknowledge they need more buy-in if there is any hope of controlling a disease.
In addition to coming up with new methods to kill deer, Hassett said the state needs to convince hunters and property owners in affected areas that more deer must be culled from the land than they want.
In August, researcher Robert Holsman of the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point reported that a series of surveys of hunters from 2004 and 2005 found strong opposition to killing more deer than hunters could consume.
Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, agreed that "doing nothing is not a solution."
But he said the DNR faces many obstacles: its own image problems, hunters overwhelmed by complex seasons and regulations, and the potential backlash of aggressive killing techniques.
"Helicopters are not a non-starter," Kedzie said. "Sharpshooters are not positive either."
Another concern is apathy.
"The public has lived with this, and they are a lot less concerned with it than they were a few years ago," said Edgar Harvey Jr. of Waldo, chairman of the Conservation Congress, a hunting and fishing organization that advises the DNR.
"It's either time to go at it or back off, and I don't think that backing off is the right approach."
Wednesday's briefing grew out of "sobering" assessment from the agency's own staff and specialists from other state agencies and the UW System
In a retreat, DNR employees concluded that the best approach was to contain the disease, then try controlling it and only then eliminating it.
When the DNR rolled out its strategy in 2002, it sought to eradicate the disease.
"As a Monday morning quarterback, it would have been nice to have come out of the gate with (containment) five years ago," Hassett said.
"But five years ago, this was one big scary thing that popped up."
From the Oct. 26, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel