In the wake of the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets announcing the first confirmed case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in New York, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is calling on New York's state legislators and Governor George Pataki to immediately ban "canned hunts"—the trophy shooting of captive animals on fenced ranches—because the activity is associated with the deadly wildlife disease. The legislature is now considering A 5877 by Assemblyman Scott Stringer and S 2933 by Senator Frank Padavan which would ban canned hunts of exotic mammals, and S 1240 by Senator Carl Kruger which would ban canned hunts of all animals. Governor Pataki vetoed a canned hunt bill in 2003, even though the legislation had passed both chambers with a two-thirds majority and bipartisan support.
CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer and elk and is similar to Mad Cow Disease in cattle or scrapie in sheep. Though research on the mode of CWD transmission is ongoing, it is apparently transmitted laterally, from animal to animal. Some evidence suggests that animals may also be infected indirectly, by coming into contact with a contaminated substrate such as soil. CWD cannot be treated and no vaccination currently exists; once symptoms appear, the disease is invariably fatal. The New York case, the first confirmed case east of Illinois, was discovered in a captive deer herd in Oneida County. Because live animals may carry the infection for a year or longer before showing symptoms, the entire captive herd will be killed and tested.
CWD first appeared in captive deer and elk facilities in Colorado. Although CWD is now found in some wild, free-roaming deer and elk populations, wildlife disease experts have suggested that the close confinement of deer or elk held in captivity—such as on canned hunt facilities or game farms—may facilitate the transmission of the infectious agent. The sale and shipment of deer and elk among canned hunt or game farm facilities is believed to have contributed in the past to the rapid movement of the disease over long distances.
The discovery of CWD in New York puts the entire New York deer herd at grave risk, as wild deer can be infected by captive deer who escape, or who are contained behind inadequate fencing. If CWD enters the wild deer population, state wildlife agencies may attempt to halt its spread by killing tens of thousands of animals at enormous cost to the taxpayers of New York, and even that draconian measure might not succeed. States such as Wisconsin and Colorado have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to eradicate CWD, and some have experienced declines in hunting license sales because of the infected game populations.
This is a preventable disaster. If Governor Pataki had not vetoed the wildly popular, bipartisan, legislation to ban canned hunts of exotic mammals in 2003, he could have taken a step toward making New York's wildlife populations safer. Whatever funds New York must now spend to control this threat would not have been wasted if the state had the right policy on captive cervids and canned hunts. It is urgent that New York's legislators and Governor Pataki protect the state's wildlife populations by supporting legislation to ban canned hunts.
