I posted this in the Virginia section also but I know many don't check state by state.
DEER SCENT NOW ILLEGAL IN VIRGINIA
The Virginia hunting community has been in an uproar over the past few days due to a new law that allegedly passed concerning use of deer scents in Virginia. A lot of people have blamed liberalism, money-hungry lawmakers, and the fact that the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries "just doesn't care about what we want!" The law passed regardless of a majority vote by citizens during the public input period that the scents remain legal to use. Why do they even ask what we think if they're just going to go against us anyway? I'll tell you why. And I'll tell you why in just three letters: CWD.
CWD also affects elk. Photo copyright Gary Gulash.
Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, is an incurable, dangerously contagious, and 100% fatal disease
in cervids. Cervids includes mule deer, whitetailed deer, moose and elk. The disease is spread through bodily secretions like saliva, urine, feces and gland oils. It is caused by prions, which today are not fully understood by scientists and so far, are resistant to all forms of medicines. The CWD disease remains live in the environment for years after being shed from the animal, thus remaining infective to any other cervid that comes in contact with it.
There have been seven confirmed cases of CWD in Virginia, the first being a doe killed by a hunter in 2009. Since then, over 7,600 samples have been taken from hunter-killed deer, roadkill deer, and captive deer that die.
Captive deer farm
Seven cases? Virginia is actually doing pretty well when we put it into perspective. What do I mean by "perspective?" States like Colorado and Wyoming have become so overwhelmed with the disease that they have practically given up trying to eradicate it from the wild population because it's virtually impossible. Why would we want to have the same problem in our great state? We just re-introduced elk into our state, why would we want to put that population at risk, too?
Removing lymph nodes from a deer for CWD testing
Deer infected with CWD will show no visible signs of sickness in the early stages, and it is only detectable in deceased animals. Samples are taken from the brain and lymph nodes and tested for the presence of the disease. So how can all of these captive deer farms that mass produce deer urine and scents be so sure that there is no CWD? According to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, a great deal of these companies have not been compliant with their CWD testing. Basically, it's scaring the crap out of our natural resource managers.
Buck suffering from CWD.
Just last year, Virginia took a huge hit to our deer population via Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). It got us a little worried. We talked about it. A lot of us even started brainstorming ways to try to help the populations in the coming years to possibly try to help the herds recover and grow. EHD isn't even contagious...it's transmitted by a fly and is completely out of human control. Now that the DGIF is taking intiative to prevent the outbreak of a contagious disease that is completely preventable by human hands, we're all upset and in an uproar. Take a step back and think about it, folks!
We aren't alone. Other states like Alaska and Vermont have signed a similar law into action in their states, and both were for the sole purpose of preventing CWD.
So what's in the fine print?
The proposed change was for a law in the Administrative Code of Virginia, law 4VAC15-90-293: Chronic Wasting Disease Deer Carcass Movement Restrictions. The proposed amendment states, "No person shall, for the purposes of taking or intending to take, attracting, or scouting, any wild animal in Virginia, possess or use any substance or material that contains or purports to contain any excretion collected from a cervid, including feces, urine, blood, gland oil, or other bodily fluid."
This means ANY NATURAL SUBSTANCE THAT WAS OBTAINED FROM ANY LIVE CERVID. You CAN still use artificial cover scents, artificial scents, synthetic urines, or fox and coon urine. The law only prohibits use of cervid excretions. This includes but is not limited to gland oils, tarsal glands, doe urine, and buck urine. It also includes the rub-on sticks like VS-1 that uses the natural vaginal secretions of live does. It's a little fuzzy, but this may also include urine collected from a deer that you killed yourself.
Will stores continue to sell these items? Absolutely. They want to make money off of you, even if you're going to use the products illegally. They are not liable for what you do with the product once you leave the store (just like buying deer corn and minerals in November), so they couldn't care less. It all comes down to you, the hunter, to understand WHY this law was passed, WHY the deer could potentially experience an incurable outbreak due to using these scents, and be wise to the environment and the laws. Yes, the new law sucks and puts a hindrance on our hunting traditions, but we can't always think about what we want when it comes to hunting; sometimes we need to think about what's best for the wildlife and what is the best way for us to make sure that good hunting is available for future generations!
Love this blog? Be sure to visit the Virginia Hunting Forum, Virginia's leading hunting and fishing community on the net! Join in on great discussions there and share your favorite scents and attractants for deer hunting!
Posted by Virginia Hunting Forum Blog at 8:09 AM
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Bows, Broadheads & Backstraps
Email me at tookdog631@gmail.com I am in Stafford also.
Good post!
The benefit of using scents as a hunter is far outweighed by the risk to the herd.
And you can still kill deer without the use of scents. I do.
Fascinating
I think baits and lures maybe alright for trapping, but using bait I know is illegal and lures used to attract deer is pretty much like bait. I think you can take advantage by using trail cams and putting yourself down wind. You can sit in your stands and move them before season starts. Studying and using your brain will get you more game and even get you more time in the woods. OK
I have mixed feelings on this and understand where they are coming from but I dont believe any other state has gotten rid of CWD. Wisconsin initiated a Deer eradication program carried out by their "hunters". The same guys pissed and Moaned there were no deer for nearly 8 years.
It would make sense to me however, the state should better regulate the industry and make sure cervid farms are following the law.
This is yet another example of what happens when you take the money allocated for wildlife law enforcement and give it to a guy at a desk.
I've never found them to work and for sure don't want to deal with cwd! Makes sense in the long run
QuoteOriginally posted by Michael Arnette:
I've never found them to work and for sure don't want to deal with cwd! Makes sense in the long run. Maybe Oklahoma should pass something similar before we get hit badly.
QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
I have mixed feelings on this and understand where they are coming from but I dont believe any other state has gotten rid of CWD. Wisconsin initiated a Deer eradication program carried out by their "hunters". The same guys pissed and Moaned there were no deer for nearly 8 years.
It would make sense to me however, the state should better regulate the industry and make sure cervid farms are following the law.
This is yet another example of what happens when you take the money allocated for wildlife law enforcement and give it to a guy at a desk.
This move is not going to eliminate CWD from an area where it already exists, but it may very well help keep it from becoming established. You don't want it if you can help it.
I guess if there were not "deer farms" there would be nobody producing lures and doe pee... ?
Alas, seems reading the science stuff over the years, the farms have been the source of most of these type infectious ailments, or do I have that wrong from memory?
If memory is right, seems easiest way is to more closely control these farms so they don't "lose" an affected animal or having the crud get into the wild herd environment...easier said then done? Easier to just put a band-aid on it all and call it good...! And then those deer farm chaps would chap cause it's their livelihood...
We all be stump shooting stead of hunting here if'n not careful huh?
i never knew it was caused by prions. knowing that, this is a very smart move. CWD thrives in areas of overcrowding, which is exactly what you have on deer farms where most of those commercial scents are collected.
knowing that these commercial scents could introduce prions from a crowded farm into the uncrowded woods, thus furthering the spread of CWD, it seems as though someone made a sound decision based on science, and not emotion or profit.
prions are what caused mad cow disease, by the way.
Based on what this post explains-"Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, is an incurable, dangerously contagious, and 100% fatal disease
in cervids. Cervids includes mule deer, whitetailed deer, moose and elk. The disease is spread through bodily secretions like saliva, urine, feces and gland oils."-doesn't baiting/using feeders concentrate, and increase the likelihood, of spreading these type of diseases??
Selfbow, yes it does, that is why it is illegal in Virginia to feed deer. That doesn't stop the stores from selling feed though and people from feeding them.
I've never come across an overly sick deer in Colorado Ihave been here about mnine years now. Nobody I know bothers to get their animals checked any more. In my mind it's kind of like the deal with the zebra mussels, they make boaters jump through all these hurdles before they put their boats in a lake but the ducks and geese are flying from lake to lake and they have to be a more hospitable carrier of mussel eggs/larva than a boat. Pandora's box has been opened and CWD isn't going back in it, but it really hasn't been that big of deal in my eyes. JMHO
Very True Rick,
I guess my sentiment didn't come out right as I was trying to finish a thought before work.
I agree that any known way to spread a disease should be banned. But really what I wanted to relay was it shouldn't stop there.
Laws are no good without proper enforcement.
I think the antibaiting/feeding is a good move and should even include bird feeders.
CWD is scary stuff...I guess I agree with the idea of "better safe than sorry" when it comes to pouring urine that may be contaminated on the ground in the very deer woods that we hunt! I like the idea of shutting down all the deer farms..(Every case of CWD so far can be traced to or in an area near one of these farms) I really get bummed out when I read of some sketchy deer farmer moving deer illegally in a gutted out R.V...Even though it may all be in vain I think we need to take ever precaution we can to stop CWD from spreading...BeauJ
Well stated
I hate to say this, but I doubt that "deer farms" will be closed any time soon, they are big business at this point and we all know how that goes. Anything an individual can do to cooperate with efforts to stop CWD in its tracks should be done, period. I used synthetic scent last season and it worked as well as anything else I've used, which is to say it may not have worked at all--it's hard to tell unless a deer runs in and plants his nose on it!
I also bet there will be scents in the stores this fall marked "Certified CWD-FREE" true or not. I am cynical about all of it, I guess.
Reduced herd sizes in some areas
Increased pressure
Reduced areas for hunting
Could become more interesting as time goes on...
Thanks for posting Rob. Guess I haven't been paying attention!
I believe a Prion is a protein, that's why conventional medicine doesn't work, I have read that even direct fire has no effect !
On a somewhat similar note, a Kansas biologist told me this past fall, that Kansas is considering making baiting of deer illegal to prevent the spread of CWD. The biologist stated the CWD can remain active for years onces present at a bait site. If made illegal, alot of Kansas hunters will be upset.
We have CWD now in Michigan and no one seams to care. They haven't even banned baiting, which is another big contributor to CWD. To many people making money form bait to ban it.
I commend VA for doing something.
QuoteOriginally posted by recurvericky:
On a somewhat similar note, a Kansas biologist told me this past fall, that Kansas is considering making baiting of deer illegal to prevent the spread of CWD. The biologist stated the CWD can remain active for years onces present at a bait site. If made illegal, alot of Kansas hunters will be upset.
Not as upset as they would be if they had to ban hunting because CWD killed off the herd.