Suppiemental feeding and CWD

[noodle one]

Can anyone tell me why the DEC is against feeding deer with suppiemental feeding in the winter. I know that they say CWD is one of the reasons , this is misleading  and leave many people misinformed. I know that once someone startes suppiemental feeding ,they must continue through the winter, because if they stop it will do more harm than good. There is no connection or any scientific prove that suppiemental feeding of deer will cause CWD.

The state of Wisconsin has a big problem with CWD and they also allowed baiting of deer. So baiting and suppiemental feeding of deer was one of the first things they did a indepth study and found no connection what so ever. The DNR issue a statement saying that they could not find any substantial prove that CWD is caused by baiting.

The state of Pennsylvania allows suppiemental feeding of wild game throughout the year. PA does not allow baiting of deer or bear and all suppiemental feed has to be removed 30 days before seasons open. There are many people in PA who feed deer year round, and if the PA PGC  had any scientific prove that feeding of deer had any connection to CWD, they would outlaw it all suppiemental feeding.

Now can anyone tell me the reason NY DEC  does not allow the suppiemental feeding of deer.

[Geno C]

i dont think feeding deer has any signifigant connection to CWD, thats just my opinion... with year round feeding that takes place in NY illegally how many cases of CWD drummed up??? little to none...

they also said CWD was coming in to area in the form of bottled doe urine as well... so i dont really belive the whole CWD gripe, i really dont... it wouldnt make to worlds of a difference to me if supplelemtal feeding was legal or not. but there is plent of natural environments where natural feeding patterns occur such as maybe one consintrated area of oaks producing acorns and a herd feeding on them, are they susceptable to CWD, why or why not? food plots, corn fields i mean c mon... its really crazy if you think about it. if deer congragte in one area to feed its ok so long as its natural but if someone is feeding deer then that herd will likely have CWD? ok lol

alot of other states feed deer, supplimental feed, minerlas and so on. whats there CWD cases like???

[Geno C]

oh, i am sure also that diseases carried by ticks and biting flies have nothing to contribute to that either...

[Doc]

I once read that supplemental feeding does little to help those deer that need it. It seems that the stronger deer dominate the feed source, driving away the deer that are weaker than themselves. So the weaker deer are drawn to and are concentrated near the artificial food source, but are not allowed to actually feed.

Another feature of artificial feeding is that it tends to concentrate the herd in one area and creates the effect of a deer yard in places where that yarding effect might not otherwise actually happen. The result is that some of the deer will feed on the artificial food source and many others will over-browse the surrounding natural food sources causing long-term natural habitat damage.

Also, I would guess that the DEC may have a problem with the additional enforcement problems of monitoring and legally separating legal supplemental feeding from illegal baiting for hunting purposes where feeders and such would pose temptation and opportunity to be used for baiting purposes. Since their resources are not unlimited, probably the last thing they need is new additional widespread enforcement challenges which causes them to have to monitor food piles to ensure they are not used for baiting.

These are just a few thoughts that popped into my head when I read the question. However, I'm sure the DEC probably has some official positions on the subject that they would share if you contacted them.

[bpb]

Any time animals are concentrated the chances of disease transmission are increased, regardless of the disease or virus in question.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a whole other deal. Infectious agents of CWD are neither bacteria nor viruses, but are hypothesized to be prions. Prions are infectious proteins without associated nucleic acids. Research has shown that CWD is very contagious, so deer feeding at a concetrated food source WILL become infected.

 

[Fantail]

I am under the impression that if deer concentrate on a food source that is outside of the norm for what their digestive system can handle this time of year then that process can be interupted.

[SteveB]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Plus wild animals never should never be feed - to do so removes the "wildness" as least to some degree.

[5.9cummins]

http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/about.main

[bpb]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Plus wild animals never should never be feed - to do so removes the "wildness" as least to some degree.

  ;D

  AND it's not legal

[nyantler]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Plus wild animals never should never be feed - to do so removes the "wildness" as least to some degree.

I'm with you on that Steve

[adk3006]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Obviously you have never seen the winters in the Adirondacks because what you have stated above could not be farther from the truth.

[bpb]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Obviously you have never seen the winters in the Adirondacks because what you have stated above could not be farther from the truth.

AND it's not legal

Those legal and ethical issue's sure are conflicting.

[adk3006]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Obviously you have never seen the winters in the Adirondacks because what you have stated above could not be farther from the truth.

AND it's not legal

Those legal and ethical issue's sure are conflicting.

At any point in my reply did I say supplemental feeding was legal??  What I said was many deer die of starvation in the dacks during the winter and it isn't because the herd is beyond capacity.  Right now there is 4+ feet of snow in the dacks, any spring won't be here for quite a while so IMO supplemnetal feeding in some places is more beneficial to the deer than not.

[SteveB]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Obviously you have never seen the winters in the Adirondacks because what you have stated above could not be farther from the truth.

The real capacity is what the habitat will support naturally in the worst season.

If deer die without supplimental feeding, they are beyond the capacity.

The only answer is to improve the habitat - not sustain the herd at an artifical level.

[erussell]

And yet there are still deer in the Adk. Its been this way for thousands of yrs. Deer do not need our interferance. The weak will die and become food for something else, its just the way it is in the ADK. If man had not logged off everything and made fields in the south it would be the same way here to. If you want to help the deer herd in the North stop the loonies from shutting off logging in the Park and I bet you would be suprised how many deer you will have. The worst thing they could do was make the Park forever wild. Mature forests look pretty but are not good for wildlife.

[erussell]

Because if deer need supplimental feeding, the herd is beyond capacity.

Obviously you have never seen the winters in the Adirondacks because what you have stated above could not be farther from the truth.

The real capacity is what the habitat will support naturally in the worst season.

If deer die without supplimental feeding, they are beyond the capacity.

The only answer is to improve the habitat - not sustain the herd at an artifical level.

+1

[adk3006]

I agree with improving habitat but that is hard to do in much of the adirondacks due to NYS owning and over whelming amount of acearage.

Also if deer don't need our interferance then why do we hunt to try to control the population?