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“This disease has now been identified in most deer hunt areas across Wyoming and necessitates a shift in focus of the program from detection to monitoring.”
The fact that CWD has been identified in “most deer hunt areas across Wyoming”, is disturbing to say the least. It also tells me that it’s been there for a lot longer than we’d like to admit. I for one have my doubts about it being a new disease. I have a hunch that it’s been around for a very long time and is now being found thanks to increased searching. We all know that if you go looking for trouble, you’re probably going to find it and I’m leaning on that being the case with CWD.
I will go out even further on a limb and posit the theory that CWD is a slippery slope. One where we can slide from detection to monitoring to eradication programs all too quickly and if the past couple of years has shown us anything at all, it’s that nothing can be ruled out or taken for granted.
I am exceedingly grateful that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department seems to be taking cautious steps with this as the draft of the CWD management plan that I read last year was incredibly alarming and other states have already thrown the fawn out with the bathwater. I would also encourage you to do your part in submitting CWD samples as the more knowledge we have in this fight the better armed we can be to stem this seemingly dismal tide.
I don’t know what the end game with CWD is or if there is one but I do know if we as sportsmen, the one’s funding the whole deal, are not vigilant and prepared to speak our piece then our piece will be taken from us by others who are more involved.
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