I am writing in response to Wade Robertson’s Feb. 27th column on “Tough Winter for Wildlife”. Wade is correct in that our current winter has been harsher than many recent ones, and wildlife from mice to whitetails are ready for warmer temperatures and the highly anticipated spring green-up. Like Wade, I am passionate about ice fishing and wildlife, and appreciate his encouraging other sportsmen and women to get engaged with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and share their views on wildlife management.
However, to be most helpful, we need to be informed on the issues, so I am writing to clarify some of the article’s points on chronic wasting disease (CWD) and share some tips on what all hunters and wildlife enthusiasts can do to help in the battle against CWD. The two best ways to stop the spread of CWD are to stop movement of all live deer and stop movement of high-risk parts of harvested deer. These parts include the eyes, brain, spleen and backbone. Normal deer movement patterns allow the disease to spread very slowly, while trucks and trailers move it much farther and more quickly. This is why the Game Commission restricts the movement of high-risk parts of harvested deer out of disease zones.
As Wade’s article suggests, similar movement restrictions on live, captive deer would help immensely. However, it is the actual movement of animals among deer farms rather than their feed that is spreading the disease. Since 1997, the United States Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of all ruminant meat and bone meal, specifically from any commercial feeds manufactured for ruminant use.
The Game Commission is responsible for managing deer, and they have a huge, vested interest in doing so wisely. Fortunately, the deer management program in Pennsylvania fares extremely well to our neighbors and states in other regions. Data from the National Deer Association’s (NDA) 2021 Deer Report shows:
• Pennsylvania is one of only three states in the U.S. to harvest more than 300,000 whitetails annually.
• Pennsylvania hunters harvested 3.6 antlered bucks per square mile (PSM) – only Michigan shot more bucks PSM than Pennsylvania.
• For the 11th year in a row, over half of Pennsylvania’s antlered buck harvest was 2.5 years or older. In fact, it was the highest percentage (66%) ever recorded.
• Pennsylvania hunters harvested 5.1 antlerless deer PSM – only Delaware shot more antlerless deer PSM than Pennsylvania; and
• Pennsylvania hunters shot 8.7 deer per square mile – this ranked No. 1 in the entire U.S. as no state shot more deer per square mile than Pennsylvania!
When CWD is identified in an area the Game Commission enacts its CWD response plan. Part of that plan is to reduce deer density in the disease zone. However, there is a big difference between reducing deer density and “shooting every deer in sight ruining hunting for some time” as the article suggests. I agree this is a point of contention with hunters and landowners in disease zones, but even with targeted removal programs, local deer densities are not reduced in significant numbers, and in most cases, the remaining deer densities are still higher than deer numbers in most of our neighboring states. To be clear, targeted removal programs are helpful for reducing the threat of CWD in a specific area, but not for drastically reducing overall deer numbers in that wildlife management unit. This is great for hunters and our fight against this dreaded disease.
The NDA’s mission is to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting, and one of the organization’s focal areas is battling CWD. That is why our website includes a CWD Resource Center and a #FightCWD campaign. This is a social media campaign that informs hunters of steps they can take to prevent the spread of CWD and protect the future of deer hunting. It includes information on choosing reliable sources of CWD information, what you should know when traveling to hunt in a CWD zone, what most deer with CWD look like (hint, they do not look sick), what parts of a harvested deer are most likely to spread the disease and much more.
Chronic wasting disease is in Pennsylvania to stay for the foreseeable future, but it does not have to continue spreading or decimate our beloved deer herd. As hunters, we have the power to contain it while the science finds a way to defeat it. Let’s do our part, become as informed as possible about CWD, and work with Game Commission to continue the Keystone State’s legacy as one of the top whitetail states in the U.S.
(Kip Adams is from Knoxville, PA. He is a certified wildlife biologist and the NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer. Kip can be reached at Kip@DeerAssociation.com.)
