Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease discovered in Laurentians
The Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife, and Parks is considering establishing hunting restrictions in hunting zones 9 West and 10 East following a case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) identified in the remains of a livestock deer in the Laurentians last week.
Although the contaminated animal was discovered on a deer farm, the risks for wild deer are considerable.
On the official Facebook page, the Ministry indicated that updates about the concerned regions would be made to their website and their social media accounts as soon as possible.
If applied, the hunting restrictions would affect areas between Saint-jérôme and the Papineau-labelle Wildlife Reserve, covering more than 10,000 square kilometers of land.
CWD affects deer-type animals such as white-tailed deer, moose, reindeer, and caribou. The fatal degenerative disease compromises the animal’s central nervous system. Symptoms include drastic weight loss, excessive salivation, aggression, lowering of the head, listlessness, and much more. It is comparable to diseases such as mad cow disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-jakob disease, which affects humans. Until now, CWD was unheard of in Quebec: only Alberta and Saskatchewan were affected. Its closest detection was in New York State in 2005, but it was quickly eradicated.
Current regulations forbid the transport of captive deer located less than 100 kilometers away from a site in which CWD was detected. Moreover, the transportation of certain anatomical pieces outside of the hunting zone near the concerned site is prohibited.
The threat of a hunting ban is already worrying some hunters, business owners, and environmentalists. On the Wildlife Ministry’s Facebook page, some users demanded a full refund of their hunting permits, claiming that the ban would render a cost-efficient hunting season impossible. According to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources’ management plan for deer population control, hunters spend over 114 M$ a year on permits, transport, equipment, lodging, and food during the season. A decrease in hunters visiting would compromise revenue for several business owners who rely on this time of year to make a profit. Furthermore, hunting helps stabilize the deer population in Quebec. An excessive number of deer surviving the season causes overgrazing and reduced diversity in forest vegetation, as well as habitat loss for small birds and mammals.
According to Canadian Food Inspection Agency, there is no direct scientific evidence to prove that CWD can be transmitted to humans. However, hunters located nearby the contaminated deer farm will have to submit their deer carcasses for CWD analysis. Tests will have to confirm that the animals are Cwd-free in order to be consumed or utilized for trophies and tanning, while affected remains must be disposed of properly. Deer hunted in other zones will not have to submit to testing, but any animal displaying symptoms must be reported to the Ministry. As an extra measure, the Ministry suggests avoiding the consumption of the brain, spinal cord, and lymph nodes.
The Ministry has called for help, asking that hunters signal any sightings of deer presenting symptoms that could be associated to the disease at SOS Braconnage by phone: 1 800 463-2191 or by email: centralesos@mffp.gouv.qc.ca.