Scientist Finds Game Ranches to Blame for Spread of Deadly Chronic Wasting Disease |
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©The HSUS |
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A new scientific paper puts wildlife managers on notice that game ranches threaten the health of wildlife. |
Everyone has heard of
mad cow disease. Less well known, but just as deadly, is chronic wasting disease (CWD), the form of mad cow disease that infects deer and elk. Like its bovine cousin, CWD invariably causes dementia, debility and death.
Dr. Travis Longcore, Research Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California, Lecturer at the University of California-Los Angeles and Science Director of the Urban Wildlands Group, has made an extensive study of the scientific literature on CWD and presented his findings in a paper titled "Captive Deer and Elk as Vectors of Chronic Wasting Disease" [PDF].
Dr. Longcore found that the movement of captive animals between game farms plays an important role in the spread of CWD. Game farms, through escaped animals, fence-line transmission or environmental contamination, spread CWD to the wild, where it is predicted to cause dramatic declines of game populations.
His conclusion should be a wake-up call for state and federal wildlife managers: game ranches, such as captive hunts, are putting our wild herds at grave risk.
Updated July 7, 2008
Related Links
Captive Deer and Elk as Vectors of Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease: An Emerging Threat to America's Deer and Elk
The Thrill of the Kill: Captive Hunts
