It’s difficult to argue with data from sound scientific studies.
Three Wisconsin wildlife biologists have evidence from their studies in Wood County that support a hypothesis that fed deer are more likely to transmit diseases because they have more deer-to-deer contacts when feeding close to one another. Deer may even become aggressive with each other during these situations.
If a deer disease is transmitted through the animal’s digestive tract, deer at a feeding station could become infected with some transmissible diseases without direct contact with another animal.
It shouldn’t matter if the deer are fed so they can be observed or hunted. Whether one calls it feeding or baiting, it’s basically the same as far as deer reactions.
Abbey Thompson, Michael Samuel and Timothy Van Deelen, were all at the University of Wisconsin when the study was conducted during the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 winters.
Data from this study shows that providing shelled corn to deer in troughs, piles or spread over areas, increases deer-to-deer contact rates and also provides many opportunities for indirect contacts, compared to natural browsing.
Supplemental feeding poses risks for both direct and indirect disease transmission due to higher deer concentration and more intensive use of the area, compared to control sites, Van Deelen and his colleagues report in the Journal of Wildlife Management.
In their paper, “Alternative Feeding Strategies and Potential Disease Transmission in Wisconsin White-Tailed Deer,” the researchers make their case that none of the feeding strategies they studied substantially reduced the potential risk for disease transmission. Therefore, they say, banning supplemental feeding is warranted.
Some hunters and politicians have argued that by changing how deer are fed or baited would reduce or eliminate the potential for disease transmission. They suggest that smaller piles, for example, could reduce the chances of transmission.
Not so, Abbey, Samuel and Van Deelen report.
The study was conducted at Sandhill Wildlife Area, near Babcock, Wis., in Wood County. Four upland feeding sites were chosen. Sites, where deer traditionally concentrated during winter, were used as control (no food provided) sites.
Deer populations were 34 and 18 deer per square mile of habitat during 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, respectively.
Six experimental treatments were conducted at each of the four feeding sites, including providing two gallons of shelled corn, replenished daily and unlimited shelled corn, replenished daily.
The feed was offered in three ways — in a pile, spread on the ground and in a trough.
Motion-sensing digital cameras were used to monitor deer using the feeding and control sites.
The researchers studied images, taken at 15 second intervals for 15 minutes, to calculate deer-use minutes, behavioral interactions and distances between deer.
“Deer become more food-stressed and less selective in what they eat from early to late winter and our experiment was designed to balance all these things,” Van Deelen said.
“The upshot is, relative to foraging in a normal winter situation, the different limitations on baiting, such as spreading food, putting it in a pile or in a trough or limiting it to two gallons had very minor impact on reducing deer use minutes over bait sites,” Van Deelen said.
The researchers added another sub-experiment to their study.
“Deer pellets (fecal pellets) from the area were added to the corn to determine if the deer would avoid eating the pellets,” Van Deelen said. “Relative to corn, they were eating about a quarter of the pellets mixed in.”
Van Deelen believes that if corn is on the ground and if the infectious disease is passed through the digestive system of a deer, there is a mechanism for infecting animals over a bait site because deer pellets are consumed by the deer.
Direct contact between deer also provides another mechanism of transmission.
“Abbey demonstrated that fecal-oral transmission can occur in a wild setting,” Van Deelen said. “On the other hand, when deer are eating browse, held aloft and not replaced during the winter, the transmission mechanism is not there.”
The researchers believe banning feeding and baiting statewide makes sense.
“Why would you place a mechanism of disease transmission out among healthy deer, when there is one area generating infected deer?” Van Deelen said. “If you want to protect a deer herd, a ban on baiting and feeding makes sense in the presence of chronic wasting disease and tuberculosis.”
Source: http://www.rivervalleynewspapers.com/articles/2008/03/13/outdoors/01davis.txt
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
WISCONSIN NEWS: 2007 Harvest Third Highest Ever
The 2007 deer hunt turned out to be the third most harvested deer season in Wisconsin history, producing 518,573 deer statewide.
While the state's total deer harvest produced near-record numbers DNR experts say the Headwaters area here in northern Wisconsin was just about average compared to past years.
Last night, hunters from around the Northwoods met with the local DNR to discuss the past year and the upcoming deer season.
The annual meeting is used to exchange information and review what happened last year and how the harvest is going so far this year.
DNR officials say hunter input is vital to determine the status of the state's deer herd.
Ron Eckstein, a local DNR Wildlife Biologist, says, "What hunters tell us is specifics about the exact area where they're hunting. So from their deer stand in that perspective, what they're seeing and what's going on. So you need both perspectives, the broader perspective and the hunter's perspective to put together a season that will harvest a lot of deer and meet our management goals."
Eckstein believes this year's season will be just as good as last and that hunters around the state will again harvest in high numbers.
Source: http://www.wjfw.com/stories.html?sku=20080311230135
While the state's total deer harvest produced near-record numbers DNR experts say the Headwaters area here in northern Wisconsin was just about average compared to past years.
Last night, hunters from around the Northwoods met with the local DNR to discuss the past year and the upcoming deer season.
The annual meeting is used to exchange information and review what happened last year and how the harvest is going so far this year.
DNR officials say hunter input is vital to determine the status of the state's deer herd.
Ron Eckstein, a local DNR Wildlife Biologist, says, "What hunters tell us is specifics about the exact area where they're hunting. So from their deer stand in that perspective, what they're seeing and what's going on. So you need both perspectives, the broader perspective and the hunter's perspective to put together a season that will harvest a lot of deer and meet our management goals."
Eckstein believes this year's season will be just as good as last and that hunters around the state will again harvest in high numbers.
Source: http://www.wjfw.com/stories.html?sku=20080311230135
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
SCOTLAND NEWS: Animal Rights Group Objects to Island of Rum Red Deer Cull
ANIMAL rights activists have attacked Scottish Natural Heritage over a plan to have commercial shooting parties kill deer on a national nature reserve.
The environment quango carries out an annual "maintenance cull" of about 100 of the 1,200 red deer on the island of Rum, which it owns.
However, it is now offering the chance for a qualified stalker to take clients to the island to shoot 40 red deer stags. It is also inviting suggestions as to how a cull of about 50-60 hinds could be carried out independently.
It says the scheme is similar to facilities offered by commercial estates and is part of efforts to encourage economic diversity on the island.
David Maclennan, SNH's area manager for the Western Isles and Rum, said: "A deer cull has to take place. We can do it ourselves at significant cost to the taxpayer, or it can be a viable opportunity that, hopefully, businesses can benefit from."
SNH will provide the use of ponies and other equipment to remove shot deer from the hill and the use of the organisation's own larder facilities on the island.
But anti-hunting lobbyists Advocates for Animals have described the scheme as shocking. A spokesman said: "I am sure the public would be shocked to learn that the killing of deer for sport and financial gain in a national nature reserve is being promoted in this manner.
"Encouraging people to pay to come and shoot our deer for entertainment is contradictory to ethical forms of eco-tourism such as wildlife watching and photography."
He added: "Shooting must only be undertaken as a last resort and then by fully trained and competent marksmen."
Source: http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Fury-at-shooting-parties-on.3862861.jp
The environment quango carries out an annual "maintenance cull" of about 100 of the 1,200 red deer on the island of Rum, which it owns.
However, it is now offering the chance for a qualified stalker to take clients to the island to shoot 40 red deer stags. It is also inviting suggestions as to how a cull of about 50-60 hinds could be carried out independently.
It says the scheme is similar to facilities offered by commercial estates and is part of efforts to encourage economic diversity on the island.
David Maclennan, SNH's area manager for the Western Isles and Rum, said: "A deer cull has to take place. We can do it ourselves at significant cost to the taxpayer, or it can be a viable opportunity that, hopefully, businesses can benefit from."
SNH will provide the use of ponies and other equipment to remove shot deer from the hill and the use of the organisation's own larder facilities on the island.
But anti-hunting lobbyists Advocates for Animals have described the scheme as shocking. A spokesman said: "I am sure the public would be shocked to learn that the killing of deer for sport and financial gain in a national nature reserve is being promoted in this manner.
"Encouraging people to pay to come and shoot our deer for entertainment is contradictory to ethical forms of eco-tourism such as wildlife watching and photography."
He added: "Shooting must only be undertaken as a last resort and then by fully trained and competent marksmen."
Source: http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Fury-at-shooting-parties-on.3862861.jp
AUSTRALIA NEWS: Population Explosion of Exotic Deer In Snowy Mountains
The National Parks and Wildlife Service says there has been an "explosion" of feral deer numbers in the Snowy Mountains.
Snowy Mountains region area manager, Pam O'Brien, says many of the deer have come over the border from Victoria or been released from farms.
She says the deer can devastate native flora and the parks and wildlife service has set up cameras to monitor them as it works out how to address the problem.
"There's always been deer around in very small numbers and in very small groups, but at the moment we're seeing them throughout the park in all of the different vegetation communities," she said.
"They're even moving higher up in elevation and up above the tree line."
She says remote cameras have been set up in the national park to monitor deer numbers.
"The deer will often be in the timbered areas, but then they'll come out onto private property to graze at night," she said.
"So one of the areas that we're looking for in the near future is working with the Rural Land Protection Board and neighbouring land owners that are having a problem with deer."
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2185909.htm
Snowy Mountains region area manager, Pam O'Brien, says many of the deer have come over the border from Victoria or been released from farms.
She says the deer can devastate native flora and the parks and wildlife service has set up cameras to monitor them as it works out how to address the problem.
"There's always been deer around in very small numbers and in very small groups, but at the moment we're seeing them throughout the park in all of the different vegetation communities," she said.
"They're even moving higher up in elevation and up above the tree line."
She says remote cameras have been set up in the national park to monitor deer numbers.
"The deer will often be in the timbered areas, but then they'll come out onto private property to graze at night," she said.
"So one of the areas that we're looking for in the near future is working with the Rural Land Protection Board and neighbouring land owners that are having a problem with deer."
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2185909.htm
Monday, March 10, 2008
UK NEWS: MP Outrage Over Deer Cull, Translocation Alternative Encouraged
Nearly 1,200 deer have been culled in Richmond Park in the past six years, figures show.
The revelation has prompted calls for the Royal Parks Agency not to shoot so many of their red and fallow deer as part of the management of the herd and instead relocate the animals.
The number of deer shot has risen from 168 in 2002 to at least 237 in the current cull, which ends on Thursday.
Those which are shot include young animals, elderly beasts and those with imperfections which could lead to birth defects in future generations.
Today, Richmond Park Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer said she was shocked by how many deer were being killed. She said: "In my mind I have always thought it was a fairly limited number of elderly deer.
"It would be nice if people could see if there was an alternative, where the deer could be removed or relocated.
"We would all be much more relieved if there was a way of managing this without requiring a major cull."
Sian Berry, the Green candidate for London Mayor, backed the cull but was concerned that carrying it out at night may not be the most humane way to thin out the herd. She said: "It may be done to spare the public the spectacle but it may not be the best way to ensure you target the correct animals and that it is the least cruel and clean way."
The Royal Parks Agency said the aim of the deer culling in Richmond Park was to keep the population at about 650 for "optimum deer welfare". Currently, there are 300 red and 350 fallow deer.
A spokeswoman said: "The current stocking densities have been determined by scientific study and on the advice of experts. If we did not limit the size of the herd then there would not be enough food available for the deer.
"If populations were not controlled then there would be welfare issues with the herd such as low body fat, malnutrition and high incidence of death from exposure to cold in winter."
Rejecting the idea of closing the park for a daytime cull, she added: "The cull is carried out in a humane way by highly-skilled staff with many years of experience."
The spokeswoman said the deer could not be relocated into the wild and tranquilising and moving them would be "stressful" for the animals.
The park's red and fallow population peaked in 1985 at about 1,000 head of deer. A further, 366 deer have been killed in Bushy Park, near Hampton Court, since 2002.
Deer have been kept in London's royal parks since medieval times when they were hunted.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/yuresj
The revelation has prompted calls for the Royal Parks Agency not to shoot so many of their red and fallow deer as part of the management of the herd and instead relocate the animals.
The number of deer shot has risen from 168 in 2002 to at least 237 in the current cull, which ends on Thursday.
Those which are shot include young animals, elderly beasts and those with imperfections which could lead to birth defects in future generations.
Today, Richmond Park Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer said she was shocked by how many deer were being killed. She said: "In my mind I have always thought it was a fairly limited number of elderly deer.
"It would be nice if people could see if there was an alternative, where the deer could be removed or relocated.
"We would all be much more relieved if there was a way of managing this without requiring a major cull."
Sian Berry, the Green candidate for London Mayor, backed the cull but was concerned that carrying it out at night may not be the most humane way to thin out the herd. She said: "It may be done to spare the public the spectacle but it may not be the best way to ensure you target the correct animals and that it is the least cruel and clean way."
The Royal Parks Agency said the aim of the deer culling in Richmond Park was to keep the population at about 650 for "optimum deer welfare". Currently, there are 300 red and 350 fallow deer.
A spokeswoman said: "The current stocking densities have been determined by scientific study and on the advice of experts. If we did not limit the size of the herd then there would not be enough food available for the deer.
"If populations were not controlled then there would be welfare issues with the herd such as low body fat, malnutrition and high incidence of death from exposure to cold in winter."
Rejecting the idea of closing the park for a daytime cull, she added: "The cull is carried out in a humane way by highly-skilled staff with many years of experience."
The spokeswoman said the deer could not be relocated into the wild and tranquilising and moving them would be "stressful" for the animals.
The park's red and fallow population peaked in 1985 at about 1,000 head of deer. A further, 366 deer have been killed in Bushy Park, near Hampton Court, since 2002.
Deer have been kept in London's royal parks since medieval times when they were hunted.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/yuresj
NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS: 2007 Biggest Deer Harvest in 40 Years
CONCORD — New Hampshire's estimated 2007 hunter harvest of 13,416 deer was the highest in recent years and, when verified and finalized, will likely result in the highest "official" harvest in forty years (since 1967, when 14,204 deer were taken).
The preliminary 2007 results represent a 14 percent increase over last year's (2006) final tally of 11,766 deer. The deer hunting season closed in the state on Dec. 15, the final day of archery deer season.
"It is noteworthy that the 2007 harvest was the highest deer harvest in four decades," said Kent Gustafson, deer project leader at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. "The increase for 2007 is the fourth year in a row that the kill has gone up, reflecting recent mild winters that have been easier for deer to survive and widespread late-season snow this year, which made it easier for hunters to find and see deer."
New Hampshire has an estimated population of about 90,000 deer. The 2007 fall harvest of about 15 percent of the herd is in line with objectives outlined in the state's 10-year Big Game Management Plan, according to Gustafson.
Final official numbers from the 2007 hunting seasons, including detailed analysis of the sex, age and distribution on a Wildlife Management Unit basis, will be available in the 2007 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, which will be published in late March or early April of 2008 and posted on this website.
The successful 2007 deer hunting season is a reminder that hunting activities are a significant contributor to New Hampshire's economy — according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, more than 60,000 people hunted in New Hampshire in 2006, generating more than $80 million of hunting-related expenditures in the state.
Source: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/NEWS22/745371342/-1/FOSSPORTS
The preliminary 2007 results represent a 14 percent increase over last year's (2006) final tally of 11,766 deer. The deer hunting season closed in the state on Dec. 15, the final day of archery deer season.
"It is noteworthy that the 2007 harvest was the highest deer harvest in four decades," said Kent Gustafson, deer project leader at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. "The increase for 2007 is the fourth year in a row that the kill has gone up, reflecting recent mild winters that have been easier for deer to survive and widespread late-season snow this year, which made it easier for hunters to find and see deer."
New Hampshire has an estimated population of about 90,000 deer. The 2007 fall harvest of about 15 percent of the herd is in line with objectives outlined in the state's 10-year Big Game Management Plan, according to Gustafson.
Final official numbers from the 2007 hunting seasons, including detailed analysis of the sex, age and distribution on a Wildlife Management Unit basis, will be available in the 2007 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, which will be published in late March or early April of 2008 and posted on this website.
The successful 2007 deer hunting season is a reminder that hunting activities are a significant contributor to New Hampshire's economy — according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, more than 60,000 people hunted in New Hampshire in 2006, generating more than $80 million of hunting-related expenditures in the state.
Source: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/NEWS22/745371342/-1/FOSSPORTS
Friday, March 07, 2008
ALBERTA NEWS: Opposition to CWD Cull
A rising body count has fuelled protests by Provost-area residents against a government deer cull designed to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD).
The latest pictures, snapped Feb. 28 16 km north of Provost (292 km southeast of Edmonton) by Duane Morrell, a member of the Provost and District Fish and Game Association, show the grim reality of the systematic killing.
Bloody deer carcasses litter the snow-covered fields. A helicopter carries the bodies, dangling by cables, to an eight-metre deep pit.
Their heads removed for testing, but their meat and hides unharvested, scores of deer are stacked up along the bottom of the trench.
"After following the helicopter around and witnessing the amount of deer harvested on the 28th, there is no possible way that the deer could be processed in the four-hour time period allowed by the government, leading to the disposal of mass quantities of meat that any hunter would face charges for," Morrell said.
Dave Schmidt explained that association members consider the cull to be overkill - taking a high number of animals for the number of deer testing positive for the disease - and resent the province's methods and the cost of the cull.
But he adds that a protest campaign targeting the current minister of Sustainable Resource Development, Ted Morton, is helping publicize their concerns.
"We're just trying to offer ways and means of doing what they're doing," he said. "But legally and hunteresque-ly and, of course, with all of the meat getting used."
While Morton was unavailable to comment yesterday, in a letter in the Provost News last month he described the cull as a tough but necessary measure to stop the spread of CWD from Saskatchewan.
"Once the program and the testing of the animals are completed, we plan to hold public open houses to share the results of this effort," he said.
Department spokesman Darcy Whiteside said the cull has turned up three positive cases of CWD this year, with seven pending.
And while he couldn't give a total of deer killed, he said some two-thirds of the meat and hides are harvested.
Source: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/03/07/4937126-sun.html
The latest pictures, snapped Feb. 28 16 km north of Provost (292 km southeast of Edmonton) by Duane Morrell, a member of the Provost and District Fish and Game Association, show the grim reality of the systematic killing.
Bloody deer carcasses litter the snow-covered fields. A helicopter carries the bodies, dangling by cables, to an eight-metre deep pit.
Their heads removed for testing, but their meat and hides unharvested, scores of deer are stacked up along the bottom of the trench.
"After following the helicopter around and witnessing the amount of deer harvested on the 28th, there is no possible way that the deer could be processed in the four-hour time period allowed by the government, leading to the disposal of mass quantities of meat that any hunter would face charges for," Morrell said.
Dave Schmidt explained that association members consider the cull to be overkill - taking a high number of animals for the number of deer testing positive for the disease - and resent the province's methods and the cost of the cull.
But he adds that a protest campaign targeting the current minister of Sustainable Resource Development, Ted Morton, is helping publicize their concerns.
"We're just trying to offer ways and means of doing what they're doing," he said. "But legally and hunteresque-ly and, of course, with all of the meat getting used."
While Morton was unavailable to comment yesterday, in a letter in the Provost News last month he described the cull as a tough but necessary measure to stop the spread of CWD from Saskatchewan.
"Once the program and the testing of the animals are completed, we plan to hold public open houses to share the results of this effort," he said.
Department spokesman Darcy Whiteside said the cull has turned up three positive cases of CWD this year, with seven pending.
And while he couldn't give a total of deer killed, he said some two-thirds of the meat and hides are harvested.
Source: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/03/07/4937126-sun.html
MICHIGAN NEWS: Bovine TB Found In Deer Beyond Containment Zone
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed that a deer harvested late in the hunting season last year in Shiawassee County, just north of Livingston County, tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.
Whether that indicates the disease has spread to this part of the state is unclear, although DNR veterinarian Dan O'Brien said such cases rarely occur in isolation.
To determine that, the DNR will test all cattle herds within a 10-mile radius of where the Shiawassee County deer was found, as well as other deer in the area. The cattle tests should be complete within six months. Animals that the tests indicate may have TB will have to be killed for further testing. The majority of deer tests will be performed during the fall hunting season.
Originally a cattle disease, bovine tuberculosis is one of three types of TB, according to the DNR's Web site. The bovine strain can infect most mammals, though transmission to humans is rare.
The DNR has known about bovine TB infections in the Michigan deer population for more than a decade, O'Brien said. Since the disease was found in wild deer in 1994, the DNR has conducted a program to control or eradicate the disease. The core area where bovine TB cases have been found is in the northeastern Lower Peninsula counties of Montmorency, Alpena, Oscoda and Alcona. Animals have tested positive for bovine TB in Antrim, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Mecosta, Osceola, Otsego, Presque Isle and Roscommon counties.
The TB-positive deer killed near Owosso in December more than 100 miles south of the area known as Michigan's "TB Zone."
It is too early to know whether the infection has spread.
"We'll certainly know more once we complete our surveillance testing," O'Brien said. He said it is possible the deer may have been brought to the county from the northeastern part of the state by a person.
Tuberculosis in deer is a concern for farmers as well as hunters. Once infected, deer can spread the disease to previously uninfected cattle. A bovine TB infection in a cattle herd can affect a farmer's ability to sell the cattle.
The DNR does not recommend eating animals that show signs of tuberculosis. Hunters should look for abscesses inside the rib cage or on lung tissue as a sign of TB when they field-dress their deer.
Because animals in the early stages of a TB infection do not display symptoms visible to the naked eye, thoroughly cooking meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the best way to kill the bacteria.
"Anybody who's adequately cooked their meat shouldn't have any problems," O'Brien said.
Hunters who believe they may have found a deer infected with TB should call the Department of Agriculture at (517) 336-5030. Those who wish to have their deer tested for TB during hunting season can drop their deer's heads off at an DNR check station.
To reduce the risk of TB infection while harvesting deer, O'Brien recommends hunters wear rubber gloves when gutting deer. One of the biggest risks of bovine TB infection for hunters is cutting themselves while processing their deer.
If you believe you may have been exposed to bovine TB or cut yourself while harvesting your deer, O'Brien recommends consulting a physician.
Source: http://www.dailypressandargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/NEWS01/803060317/1002/NEWS01
Whether that indicates the disease has spread to this part of the state is unclear, although DNR veterinarian Dan O'Brien said such cases rarely occur in isolation.
To determine that, the DNR will test all cattle herds within a 10-mile radius of where the Shiawassee County deer was found, as well as other deer in the area. The cattle tests should be complete within six months. Animals that the tests indicate may have TB will have to be killed for further testing. The majority of deer tests will be performed during the fall hunting season.
Originally a cattle disease, bovine tuberculosis is one of three types of TB, according to the DNR's Web site. The bovine strain can infect most mammals, though transmission to humans is rare.
The DNR has known about bovine TB infections in the Michigan deer population for more than a decade, O'Brien said. Since the disease was found in wild deer in 1994, the DNR has conducted a program to control or eradicate the disease. The core area where bovine TB cases have been found is in the northeastern Lower Peninsula counties of Montmorency, Alpena, Oscoda and Alcona. Animals have tested positive for bovine TB in Antrim, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Mecosta, Osceola, Otsego, Presque Isle and Roscommon counties.
The TB-positive deer killed near Owosso in December more than 100 miles south of the area known as Michigan's "TB Zone."
It is too early to know whether the infection has spread.
"We'll certainly know more once we complete our surveillance testing," O'Brien said. He said it is possible the deer may have been brought to the county from the northeastern part of the state by a person.
Tuberculosis in deer is a concern for farmers as well as hunters. Once infected, deer can spread the disease to previously uninfected cattle. A bovine TB infection in a cattle herd can affect a farmer's ability to sell the cattle.
The DNR does not recommend eating animals that show signs of tuberculosis. Hunters should look for abscesses inside the rib cage or on lung tissue as a sign of TB when they field-dress their deer.
Because animals in the early stages of a TB infection do not display symptoms visible to the naked eye, thoroughly cooking meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the best way to kill the bacteria.
"Anybody who's adequately cooked their meat shouldn't have any problems," O'Brien said.
Hunters who believe they may have found a deer infected with TB should call the Department of Agriculture at (517) 336-5030. Those who wish to have their deer tested for TB during hunting season can drop their deer's heads off at an DNR check station.
To reduce the risk of TB infection while harvesting deer, O'Brien recommends hunters wear rubber gloves when gutting deer. One of the biggest risks of bovine TB infection for hunters is cutting themselves while processing their deer.
If you believe you may have been exposed to bovine TB or cut yourself while harvesting your deer, O'Brien recommends consulting a physician.
Source: http://www.dailypressandargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/NEWS01/803060317/1002/NEWS01
INDIANA NEWS: A Near-Record Deer Havest in 2007
A viral disease reportedly affecting white-tailed deer appeared to have a minimal impact on the 2007 hunting seasons in Indiana, the Department of Natural Resources said.
According to a statement released today, hunters harvested 124,427 deer, compared to 125,381, a decrease of less than 1 percent.
“The big thing for me was that number,” said Chad Stewart, deer research biologist for the DNR. “We were guessing the harvest was going to be down a lot more than it was this year.”
A widespread outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), a viral disease transmitted by biting flies, led researchers to expect a significant drop year over year. Instead, the statement said, hunters recorded the third-best season on record in 2007 and were within 1,000 deer of the all-time mark of 125,526 set in 2005.
“That’s not to say (EHD) didn’t affect harvests in some parts of the state,” Stewart said. “The southwestern part of the state had a noticeable drop in harvest level, but that seems to have been made up elsewhere in the state.”
The central and west-central parts of Indiana both recorded good numbers. “Where EHD affected counties like Clay, Fountain, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vermillion in 2006, (numbers) all bounced back in a big way in 2007,” Stewart said. “In most cases, antlered harvests were up to 2005 levels.”
That’s potentially good news for counties like Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, Pike, Spencer, and Crawford, where harvest levels dropped at least 20 percent from 2006, Stewart said, since deer which survive EHD exhibit an immune response that can be passed on to their young, providing protection if the disease occurs in the next year.
Other highlights of the 2007 season include hunters’ success in harvesting female deer in the latter part of the firearms season and the muzzleloader season, which Stewart said plays an important role in controlling deer populations.
“Antlerless deer are shot at a two-to-one margin over the last nine days of the firearms season, and 80 percent of the harvest during the muzzleloader season is antlerless, with the majority of those being does,” Stewart said. “Without those efforts, the deer herds in some areas could rise dramatically.”
A total of 1,275 deer were harvested in Porter County last year: 530 antlered and 745 antlerless.
Source: http://www.chestertontribune.com/Environment/373%20hoosier_hunters_take_124427_deer.htm
According to a statement released today, hunters harvested 124,427 deer, compared to 125,381, a decrease of less than 1 percent.
“The big thing for me was that number,” said Chad Stewart, deer research biologist for the DNR. “We were guessing the harvest was going to be down a lot more than it was this year.”
A widespread outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), a viral disease transmitted by biting flies, led researchers to expect a significant drop year over year. Instead, the statement said, hunters recorded the third-best season on record in 2007 and were within 1,000 deer of the all-time mark of 125,526 set in 2005.
“That’s not to say (EHD) didn’t affect harvests in some parts of the state,” Stewart said. “The southwestern part of the state had a noticeable drop in harvest level, but that seems to have been made up elsewhere in the state.”
The central and west-central parts of Indiana both recorded good numbers. “Where EHD affected counties like Clay, Fountain, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vermillion in 2006, (numbers) all bounced back in a big way in 2007,” Stewart said. “In most cases, antlered harvests were up to 2005 levels.”
That’s potentially good news for counties like Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, Pike, Spencer, and Crawford, where harvest levels dropped at least 20 percent from 2006, Stewart said, since deer which survive EHD exhibit an immune response that can be passed on to their young, providing protection if the disease occurs in the next year.
Other highlights of the 2007 season include hunters’ success in harvesting female deer in the latter part of the firearms season and the muzzleloader season, which Stewart said plays an important role in controlling deer populations.
“Antlerless deer are shot at a two-to-one margin over the last nine days of the firearms season, and 80 percent of the harvest during the muzzleloader season is antlerless, with the majority of those being does,” Stewart said. “Without those efforts, the deer herds in some areas could rise dramatically.”
A total of 1,275 deer were harvested in Porter County last year: 530 antlered and 745 antlerless.
Source: http://www.chestertontribune.com/Environment/373%20hoosier_hunters_take_124427_deer.htm
Friday, February 29, 2008
NEW JERSEY NEWS: South Mountain Cull Over, 67 Deer Per Square Mile Killed
Essex County's South Mountain Reservation has 213 fewer deer after a monthlong hunt that ended today.
With no safety or security problems reported during the length of the hunt, county officials said they were pleased with the first year's results.
Since Jan. 29, a dozen volunteer sharpshooters have worked from tree stands at stations throughout the reservation to curb the deer population. The hunt took place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though it was shortened from 10 days to 8½ because of inclement weather and the Presidents Day holiday.
"This program was a huge success," said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo. "We are 12 years too late. (If we had started 12 years ago), we would not have the problem we have today."
Sharpshooters exceeded the county's goal of culling 150 deer from the 2,047-acre park two weeks ago. County leaders and environmental groups say the deer have overpopulated the park, ruined its underbrush and are a nuisance for drivers and residents living nearby.
Dan Bernier, a consultant hired from Union County to oversee the hunt, said each of the animals killed was checked for age and gender to learn more about the population of the South Mountain herd. Yesterday, 22 deer were killed. One male and three females were killed in the morning session, and five males and 13 females were killed in the afternoon session.
Of the 213 animals killed over the course of the hunt, 88 were male and 125 were female. Nearly all of the does were pregnant, some with twins. Bernier estimated the culling prevented an additional 125 deer from being born in the reservation.
Though the county executive acknowledged he'd gotten phone calls and letters from residents and deer activists objecting to the hunt, he said the hunt wasn't something he wanted to do, it was something that had to be done.
The county executive estimated the cost of the hunt at just under $60,000, factoring in Bernier's contract, overtime for sheriff's deputies and park employees and the cost of butchering the animals. The venison -- estimated at more than 15,000 pounds -- was donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
DiVincenzo said he planned to bring the marksmen back to South Mountain, which stretches through South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange, and to other parks in the future.
"There's a major problem in the entire county," DiVincenzo said. "I plan to expand it next year."
Source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/essex_hunt_culls_213_deer_from.html
With no safety or security problems reported during the length of the hunt, county officials said they were pleased with the first year's results.
Since Jan. 29, a dozen volunteer sharpshooters have worked from tree stands at stations throughout the reservation to curb the deer population. The hunt took place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though it was shortened from 10 days to 8½ because of inclement weather and the Presidents Day holiday.
"This program was a huge success," said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo. "We are 12 years too late. (If we had started 12 years ago), we would not have the problem we have today."
Sharpshooters exceeded the county's goal of culling 150 deer from the 2,047-acre park two weeks ago. County leaders and environmental groups say the deer have overpopulated the park, ruined its underbrush and are a nuisance for drivers and residents living nearby.
Dan Bernier, a consultant hired from Union County to oversee the hunt, said each of the animals killed was checked for age and gender to learn more about the population of the South Mountain herd. Yesterday, 22 deer were killed. One male and three females were killed in the morning session, and five males and 13 females were killed in the afternoon session.
Of the 213 animals killed over the course of the hunt, 88 were male and 125 were female. Nearly all of the does were pregnant, some with twins. Bernier estimated the culling prevented an additional 125 deer from being born in the reservation.
Though the county executive acknowledged he'd gotten phone calls and letters from residents and deer activists objecting to the hunt, he said the hunt wasn't something he wanted to do, it was something that had to be done.
The county executive estimated the cost of the hunt at just under $60,000, factoring in Bernier's contract, overtime for sheriff's deputies and park employees and the cost of butchering the animals. The venison -- estimated at more than 15,000 pounds -- was donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
DiVincenzo said he planned to bring the marksmen back to South Mountain, which stretches through South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange, and to other parks in the future.
"There's a major problem in the entire county," DiVincenzo said. "I plan to expand it next year."
Source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/essex_hunt_culls_213_deer_from.html
TEXAS NEWS: Over 300 Deer Per Square Mile at Kerrville Schreiner Park--Officials Consider "Doing Something About It"
The white-tailed deer population in Kerrville Schreiner Park has grown too big, prompting the city to consider taking actions.
Options include managed hunts for bowhunters, relocating spikes and does elsewhere in the state, and/or trapping deer and having them processed for meat.
The park’s deer capacity is 65. “Sixty-five is a stretch for us, and we’re at 300 right now,” said Kristine Ondrias, the city’s director of general services.
The 38 “exotics” and buck deer in the park would be left alone, she told the Kerrville City Council on Tuesday.
According to Mike Krueger, district leader for the Edwards Plateau Wildlife District of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the deer have overgrazed the park’s 517 acres, leaving insufficient vegetation or habitat.
Ondrias said deformities are showing up in the deer herd, such as mutated hind quarters and curved hooves, and species are “getting smaller and smaller.”
She said vehicular accidents involving deer along highways near the park are a problem, as are aggressive deer during the breeding season.
Property owners in the Oak Hollow and Riverhills areas have complained.
The goal of the wildlife management program is to restore the balance of the park system and manage a healthy population of deer.
“The public won’t notice much at all,” Ondrias said of a reduced deer herd, “just that we have healthier, bigger deer.”
The managed hunts for bowhunters — the least cost intensive scenario for the city — would be offered three days in December. Qualifying individuals would have to attend a bowhunters education course.
Councilman Chuck Coleman asked about managed hunts in the park at other times of the year. Ondrias said they would be a possibility through special TPWD permits.
Another option for controlling the deer population is for the city is to replace 17,000 feet of fence in Kerrville Schreiner Park, which Krueger advocates, to “knock down the population of deer.” But the taller fence would cost about $350,000.
Ondrias said hiring a professional to trap and transport the deer would cost $40,000 or $150 per deer. She said the city should go after grants available for trapping and releasing deer.
The drawback of relocating deer is that the process is stressful on the animals and up to 60 percent of them don’t survive the relocation process, Ondrias said.
She said meat from deer trapped in the park and then “processed” or killed, would be distributed to charities in Kerr County.
The council is to consider a resolution endorsing city staff’s recommendations at its March 11 meeting.
Source: http://stories.dailytimes.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d1963816767f3eb9
Options include managed hunts for bowhunters, relocating spikes and does elsewhere in the state, and/or trapping deer and having them processed for meat.
The park’s deer capacity is 65. “Sixty-five is a stretch for us, and we’re at 300 right now,” said Kristine Ondrias, the city’s director of general services.
The 38 “exotics” and buck deer in the park would be left alone, she told the Kerrville City Council on Tuesday.
According to Mike Krueger, district leader for the Edwards Plateau Wildlife District of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the deer have overgrazed the park’s 517 acres, leaving insufficient vegetation or habitat.
Ondrias said deformities are showing up in the deer herd, such as mutated hind quarters and curved hooves, and species are “getting smaller and smaller.”
She said vehicular accidents involving deer along highways near the park are a problem, as are aggressive deer during the breeding season.
Property owners in the Oak Hollow and Riverhills areas have complained.
The goal of the wildlife management program is to restore the balance of the park system and manage a healthy population of deer.
“The public won’t notice much at all,” Ondrias said of a reduced deer herd, “just that we have healthier, bigger deer.”
The managed hunts for bowhunters — the least cost intensive scenario for the city — would be offered three days in December. Qualifying individuals would have to attend a bowhunters education course.
Councilman Chuck Coleman asked about managed hunts in the park at other times of the year. Ondrias said they would be a possibility through special TPWD permits.
Another option for controlling the deer population is for the city is to replace 17,000 feet of fence in Kerrville Schreiner Park, which Krueger advocates, to “knock down the population of deer.” But the taller fence would cost about $350,000.
Ondrias said hiring a professional to trap and transport the deer would cost $40,000 or $150 per deer. She said the city should go after grants available for trapping and releasing deer.
The drawback of relocating deer is that the process is stressful on the animals and up to 60 percent of them don’t survive the relocation process, Ondrias said.
She said meat from deer trapped in the park and then “processed” or killed, would be distributed to charities in Kerr County.
The council is to consider a resolution endorsing city staff’s recommendations at its March 11 meeting.
Source: http://stories.dailytimes.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d1963816767f3eb9
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
MINNESOTA NEWS: Deer Harvest 4th Largest Ever
Slightly more than 260,000 deer were harvested by Minnesota hunters during 2007, the fourth-highest deer harvest ever recorded, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator, said "Once again, Minnesota deer hunters enjoyed another great deer season. The last five years have yielded the top five harvests ever recorded."
Before 2003, Minnesota hunters never had killed 250,000 deer in any one season. During the last five years, he said, total deer harvest exceeded that each year.
Nearly 500,000 deer hunters enjoyed long seasons and liberal bag limits.
Firearms hunters harvested 224,250 deer while archery and muzzleloader hunters harvested 24,200 and 12,000 deer respectively.
During the early antlerless season, which was expanded to 23 areas in 2007, hunters tagged 7,166 deer.
Overall, the statewide firearms harvest was down 2 percent, archery was 4 percent lower and muzzleloader harvest decreased 11 percent from 2006.
Cornicelli said the declines likely were caused by management changes that reduced the number of deer that could be taken in some areas.
A final report, which includes more detailed harvest information, will be available online at mndnr.gov/hunting/deer.
For the 2008 season, the deadline for the either-sex permit application is Thursday, Sept. 4. Archery deer hunting will begin Sept. 13.
The early antlerless deer season will be the weekend of Oct. 11-12. The statewide firearms deer hunting season will open on Nov. 8. The muzzleloader season will open Nov. 29.
Source: http://www.newrichmond-news.com/articles/index.cfm?id=9591§ion=Outdoor%20News&property_id=27
Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator, said "Once again, Minnesota deer hunters enjoyed another great deer season. The last five years have yielded the top five harvests ever recorded."
Before 2003, Minnesota hunters never had killed 250,000 deer in any one season. During the last five years, he said, total deer harvest exceeded that each year.
Nearly 500,000 deer hunters enjoyed long seasons and liberal bag limits.
Firearms hunters harvested 224,250 deer while archery and muzzleloader hunters harvested 24,200 and 12,000 deer respectively.
During the early antlerless season, which was expanded to 23 areas in 2007, hunters tagged 7,166 deer.
Overall, the statewide firearms harvest was down 2 percent, archery was 4 percent lower and muzzleloader harvest decreased 11 percent from 2006.
Cornicelli said the declines likely were caused by management changes that reduced the number of deer that could be taken in some areas.
A final report, which includes more detailed harvest information, will be available online at mndnr.gov/hunting/deer.
For the 2008 season, the deadline for the either-sex permit application is Thursday, Sept. 4. Archery deer hunting will begin Sept. 13.
The early antlerless deer season will be the weekend of Oct. 11-12. The statewide firearms deer hunting season will open on Nov. 8. The muzzleloader season will open Nov. 29.
Source: http://www.newrichmond-news.com/articles/index.cfm?id=9591§ion=Outdoor%20News&property_id=27
WISCONSIN NEWS: Winter Sports Deer Impacts
Thanks OB for sending this me this story on deer impacts, literally.
A Lomira man was critically injured early Sunday when his snowmobile struck a deer in the Town of Lomira, bringing to at least seven the number of people injured in snowmobile accidents across the state over the weekend.
Ted S. Curtis, 36, was taken by his wife to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac, according to the Dodge County Sheriff's Department. He was in critical condition Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said. The accident happened about 3:40 a.m. on County Highway H.
In the Town of Hubbard, in Dodge County, four people, including two children, were injured when two snowmobiles collided head-on about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
A 37-year-old Iron Ridge man was operating his snowmobile with his 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter aboard when he crested a hill and crashed into a snowmobile, according to Dodge County authorities. The second vehicle was operated by a 38-year-old Iron Ridge man, the only one of the four wearing a helmet.
The 37-year-old man and his daughter were airlifted to a hospital.
In Marathon County, a deputy suffered minor injuries early Saturday morning when he was run over by an intoxicated snowmobiler.
The Sheriff's Department had received a call about 3 a.m. of three men who were acting suspiciously at a bar and refusing to leave. When deputies responded, one person fled on a snowmobile.
On Friday, a Sawyer County sheriff's deputy struck a snowmobile that swerved in front of her patrol car as she was responding to a domestic disturbance report about 6:30 p.m. A 50-year-old Minnesota man on the snowmobile suffered a broken leg. The deputy suffered a minor wrist injury.
Source: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=721531
A Lomira man was critically injured early Sunday when his snowmobile struck a deer in the Town of Lomira, bringing to at least seven the number of people injured in snowmobile accidents across the state over the weekend.
Ted S. Curtis, 36, was taken by his wife to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac, according to the Dodge County Sheriff's Department. He was in critical condition Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said. The accident happened about 3:40 a.m. on County Highway H.
In the Town of Hubbard, in Dodge County, four people, including two children, were injured when two snowmobiles collided head-on about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
A 37-year-old Iron Ridge man was operating his snowmobile with his 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter aboard when he crested a hill and crashed into a snowmobile, according to Dodge County authorities. The second vehicle was operated by a 38-year-old Iron Ridge man, the only one of the four wearing a helmet.
The 37-year-old man and his daughter were airlifted to a hospital.
In Marathon County, a deputy suffered minor injuries early Saturday morning when he was run over by an intoxicated snowmobiler.
The Sheriff's Department had received a call about 3 a.m. of three men who were acting suspiciously at a bar and refusing to leave. When deputies responded, one person fled on a snowmobile.
On Friday, a Sawyer County sheriff's deputy struck a snowmobile that swerved in front of her patrol car as she was responding to a domestic disturbance report about 6:30 p.m. A 50-year-old Minnesota man on the snowmobile suffered a broken leg. The deputy suffered a minor wrist injury.
Source: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=721531
NEW YORK NEWS: Deer Pose Problems at Binghamton University
Most people on campus have seen them at least once. They can be seen by M-Lot, in the Nature Preserve — anywhere except the interior of the Brain, the main road around the campus. They collect at all hours of the night, wandering aimlessly around campus, stumbling onto roads without care for cars. No, this group is not made up of drunk girls coming back from State Street, or pledges from a fraternity.
This group is taking over campus and wreaking havoc on its environment.
They are deer.
The deer that populate Binghamton University’s campus have made themselves at home, and the campus has proven to be a very good home indeed, given their numbers.
“The main reason is a lack of predators, natural or human,” said Dylan Horvath, the steward of the Nature Preserve. “Deer are very adaptable and have been dealing with the lack of natural food.”
This lack of predators has created a haven for deer.
“The deer have figured out that they are not hunted the closer they are to human habitation,” Horvath said. “So we see more of them coming into our natural areas and onto campus.”
Natural predators, he said, can no longer control the deer population — the best means of natural control, wolves and coyotes, were hunted out a century ago.
“Hunting by people is the only substitute that we have for keeping deer populations down,” he said.
Every ecosystem has a carrying capacity, or a maximum number at which a population can be sustained, for its inhabitants. According to Horvath, the carrying capacity of the natural areas has been exceeded.
The exact number of deer is hard to determine, but estimates have been made.
“We’ve counted up to 25 to 30 deer in College-in-the-Woods, which should only have about three naturally,” Horvath said. “There is probably a similar number in the actual Nature Preserve, but they are harder to count.”
Horvath noted that it is hard to tell if the CIW deer move back and forth between the residential community and the Preseve.
“Conservatively, there are probably 45 deer overall,” Horvath said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if the number was well over 50. During hunting season we get an influx of neighboring deer.”
While the idea of an army of deer living in the Nature Preserve may seem funny, it actually has an adverse effect on the environment.
“The deer have eaten probably 99 percent of our wildflowers and have almost stopped forest regeneration,” Horvath said.
This issue of regeneration is significant because of its impact on other species.
There is also the safety issue of students in their cars. Lt. Madeline Bay, of Binghamton’s New York State University Police, explained that even with the large number of deer on campus, there are only three or four accidents a year — a number which has remained steady over time.
“It’s one of those things where people have to be alert,” Bay said. “As long as people go slow and obey the speed limits there is usually no problem.”
Julian Shepherd, Ph. D, associate professor of biological sciences and chair of the Committee on the University Environment, said he also hasn’t received many complaints relating to the deer.
“There is no plan,” Shepherd said. “We talk about options sometimes but think that it would be controversial.”
Any answer to the deer issue would be complicated.
“There are two solutions,” Horvath said. “Change the deer behavior or reduce their population.”
Hunting would reduce the deer populations, but carries a lot of concerns and issues, Horvath explained, including safety, public support and permits.
“Hunting is a very remote possibility for now,” Horvath added. “The chances of hunting being allowed anytime soon are low.”
Horvath said some students had tried to set up a deer exclusion fence in CIW and the Nature Preserve to see if there was regrowth, but complications like people littering the area with beer cans have also affected regrowth.
Problems with solutions have made people reluctant to implement measures.
“Frankly, a lot of us would like to see the deer populations decrease,” Shepherd, in regard to the issues, said. “But we don’t want to do it.”
Horvath believes it is a tough situation, because the conditions that have made a deer problem are mostly caused by humans, and the animals have no choice but to adapt.
“On the one hand the deer are wonderful ‘ambassadors’ of nature and people love seeing them,” he said in an e-mail. “On the other hand, ecologically, and to some extent safety-wise, they are a problem.”
All this, Horvath says, makes for an interesting and touchy problem, especially with the deer’s impact on the forest itself.
“Unfortunately, our forests don’t have the luxury of waiting for nature to take its course, but we may have to,” he said.
Source: http://bupipedream.com/new/index.php/articles/view/7209
This group is taking over campus and wreaking havoc on its environment.
They are deer.
The deer that populate Binghamton University’s campus have made themselves at home, and the campus has proven to be a very good home indeed, given their numbers.
“The main reason is a lack of predators, natural or human,” said Dylan Horvath, the steward of the Nature Preserve. “Deer are very adaptable and have been dealing with the lack of natural food.”
This lack of predators has created a haven for deer.
“The deer have figured out that they are not hunted the closer they are to human habitation,” Horvath said. “So we see more of them coming into our natural areas and onto campus.”
Natural predators, he said, can no longer control the deer population — the best means of natural control, wolves and coyotes, were hunted out a century ago.
“Hunting by people is the only substitute that we have for keeping deer populations down,” he said.
Every ecosystem has a carrying capacity, or a maximum number at which a population can be sustained, for its inhabitants. According to Horvath, the carrying capacity of the natural areas has been exceeded.
The exact number of deer is hard to determine, but estimates have been made.
“We’ve counted up to 25 to 30 deer in College-in-the-Woods, which should only have about three naturally,” Horvath said. “There is probably a similar number in the actual Nature Preserve, but they are harder to count.”
Horvath noted that it is hard to tell if the CIW deer move back and forth between the residential community and the Preseve.
“Conservatively, there are probably 45 deer overall,” Horvath said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if the number was well over 50. During hunting season we get an influx of neighboring deer.”
While the idea of an army of deer living in the Nature Preserve may seem funny, it actually has an adverse effect on the environment.
“The deer have eaten probably 99 percent of our wildflowers and have almost stopped forest regeneration,” Horvath said.
This issue of regeneration is significant because of its impact on other species.
There is also the safety issue of students in their cars. Lt. Madeline Bay, of Binghamton’s New York State University Police, explained that even with the large number of deer on campus, there are only three or four accidents a year — a number which has remained steady over time.
“It’s one of those things where people have to be alert,” Bay said. “As long as people go slow and obey the speed limits there is usually no problem.”
Julian Shepherd, Ph. D, associate professor of biological sciences and chair of the Committee on the University Environment, said he also hasn’t received many complaints relating to the deer.
“There is no plan,” Shepherd said. “We talk about options sometimes but think that it would be controversial.”
Any answer to the deer issue would be complicated.
“There are two solutions,” Horvath said. “Change the deer behavior or reduce their population.”
Hunting would reduce the deer populations, but carries a lot of concerns and issues, Horvath explained, including safety, public support and permits.
“Hunting is a very remote possibility for now,” Horvath added. “The chances of hunting being allowed anytime soon are low.”
Horvath said some students had tried to set up a deer exclusion fence in CIW and the Nature Preserve to see if there was regrowth, but complications like people littering the area with beer cans have also affected regrowth.
Problems with solutions have made people reluctant to implement measures.
“Frankly, a lot of us would like to see the deer populations decrease,” Shepherd, in regard to the issues, said. “But we don’t want to do it.”
Horvath believes it is a tough situation, because the conditions that have made a deer problem are mostly caused by humans, and the animals have no choice but to adapt.
“On the one hand the deer are wonderful ‘ambassadors’ of nature and people love seeing them,” he said in an e-mail. “On the other hand, ecologically, and to some extent safety-wise, they are a problem.”
All this, Horvath says, makes for an interesting and touchy problem, especially with the deer’s impact on the forest itself.
“Unfortunately, our forests don’t have the luxury of waiting for nature to take its course, but we may have to,” he said.
Source: http://bupipedream.com/new/index.php/articles/view/7209
Monday, February 25, 2008
NEW YORK NEWS: 2007 Deer Harvest Up 16% Over 2006
The state's hunters harvested about 220,000 deer during the 2007 season, a 16 percent increase over the previous season, said Pete Grannis, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation this week.
Speaking before a group of outdoor writers at a luncheon meeting Wednesday in Albany, Grannis said numbers rose in every deer hunting category the DEC tracks: bucks, antlerless deer (females and young males), takes by muzzleloaders and takes by bowhunters.
At the same time, he noted, the number of hunter-related shooting accidents hit a record low, 14, although there were five fatalities. Also, researchers detected no cases of Chronic Wasting Disease during the season, despite testing nearly 7,500 deer.
Source:
http://www.syracuse.com/articles/sports/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/120376052334840.xml&coll=1
Speaking before a group of outdoor writers at a luncheon meeting Wednesday in Albany, Grannis said numbers rose in every deer hunting category the DEC tracks: bucks, antlerless deer (females and young males), takes by muzzleloaders and takes by bowhunters.
At the same time, he noted, the number of hunter-related shooting accidents hit a record low, 14, although there were five fatalities. Also, researchers detected no cases of Chronic Wasting Disease during the season, despite testing nearly 7,500 deer.
Source:
http://www.syracuse.com/articles/sports/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/120376052334840.xml&coll=1
NORTH CAROLINA NEWS: Will Contraceptives Stabilize Island Deer Population?
Ed. note: Birth control usually does not work for urban deer populations because they are not closed populations. Contraceptives could work on Bald Head if the island is isolated enough prevent immigration and emigration--it will be interesting to watch this situation develop.
BALD HEAD ISLAND (AP) — Officials on Bald Head Island are now working with university researchers to see if they can use contraceptives to limit the deer population there.
Village officials had been using a controlled hunt to cull the herd. That program reduced the number of deer from 500 to about 120 in five years.
The village has now decided to work with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to test the contraceptive method, now that the herd is a manageable size.
Researchers tell the Wilmington Star-News they have started fitting deer with radio collars to see if the deer are staying on the island or migrating across the shoals to southern New Hanover County.
The research will cost the village more than $60,000 over two years.
Source:
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NRSTAFF/494129785
BALD HEAD ISLAND (AP) — Officials on Bald Head Island are now working with university researchers to see if they can use contraceptives to limit the deer population there.
Village officials had been using a controlled hunt to cull the herd. That program reduced the number of deer from 500 to about 120 in five years.
The village has now decided to work with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to test the contraceptive method, now that the herd is a manageable size.
Researchers tell the Wilmington Star-News they have started fitting deer with radio collars to see if the deer are staying on the island or migrating across the shoals to southern New Hanover County.
The research will cost the village more than $60,000 over two years.
Source:
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NRSTAFF/494129785
Thursday, February 21, 2008
WISCONSIN OPINION: Overabundant Deer Vs. National Parks
The latest Pat Durkin column:
SHILOH, Tenn. — While approaching a row of cannons on a famous site called the Hornet's Nest at the Shiloh National Military Park last weekend, my thoughts shifted from the Civil War's awful carnage to the annoyance of avoiding deer pellets wherever I stepped.
Minutes later, I studied the shoreline of the Bloody Pond, another tragic site from 146 years ago. I tried to envision the horror of soldiers and horses, Union and Confederate, taking their final drinks. I tried to grasp the futility of trying to sate thirst caused by fear, fatigue and massive hemorrhage.
Then I noticed cloven hoof marks of whitetails pocking the mud everywhere I looked. The spell broken, I moved on.
After a short walk, I saw large wire cages protecting young trees in Sarah Bell's peach orchard as I approached the eastern end of the Hornet's Nest. When I spotted W. George Manse's cabin in the orchard's corner, a harsh browse line in the adjoining woods validated the need for the peach trees' cages. Overpopulated deer are hell on buds and twigs.
Then, I recalled Jeff Shaara mentioned Shiloh's deer and this orchard in his book, "Civil War Battlefields." Shaara wrote: "The peach trees there today are maintained in the original location of the orchard, though keeping the trees healthy is a constant headache since the park's enormous deer population delights in devouring the trees' delicious leaves and blossoms."
My U.S. Park Service leaflet said Miss Bell's orchard was in full bloom on April 6, 1862, as Confederate troops hammered the Union's left flank. Shaara is more specific: "There are no more poetic descriptions of battle than those written by soldiers who fought here, several of whom described how the fully blossoming trees were so cut by the storm of musket fire that the white petals swirled around the men like a snowstorm."
Problems caused by deer aren't unique to this national park. Whether it's deer browsing down the woods of Shiloh in Tennessee, Gettysburg in Pennsylvania or Great Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee and North Carolina, or elk strip-mining the herbage of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota or Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, we see the pitiful results of overprotection. This is what happens when we set aside treasured areas, then allow almost all forms of human recreation except hunting.
Our nation forever will owe Theodore Roosevelt and other visionaries for setting aside millions of acres for national parks. What Roosevelt couldn't have foreseen was a society 100 years later so disconnected from nature and the food chain that it lacks the common sense and political courage to prevent one species from wreaking havoc on lands that once held diverse species.
Meanwhile, that society somehow produces people who righteously try to remove species they deem alien or exotic if it threatens a native ecosystem. Whether it's lake trout in Yellowstone Lake, or elk and mule deer in Channel Islands National Park off California, the Park Service wants them dead or gone.
Fascinating. If someone took a species from somewhere else in North America and released it where it wasn't living when Europeans arrived 400 years ago, the Park Service crusades with a zealot's conviction, dismissing protests as naïve and uneducated.
But when a species is native to a national park and destroying its home from within, the Park Service merely mopes and hopes the problem goes away. When hunters outside park boundaries don't shoot enough animals to make a difference, the Park Service crafts expensive sharp-shooting plans rather than work with qualified hunters who would solve the problem and be grateful for the opportunity.
The feds should consider Wisconsin's approach. When ecologists show just cause to open a state park to deer hunting, we hold hearings, let everyone bark and open the park to controlled hunts.
A few weeks later, everyone is back to normal, their outrage looking for a new perch. The system works.
Source:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/GPG07/802210566/1233/GPGsports
SHILOH, Tenn. — While approaching a row of cannons on a famous site called the Hornet's Nest at the Shiloh National Military Park last weekend, my thoughts shifted from the Civil War's awful carnage to the annoyance of avoiding deer pellets wherever I stepped.
Minutes later, I studied the shoreline of the Bloody Pond, another tragic site from 146 years ago. I tried to envision the horror of soldiers and horses, Union and Confederate, taking their final drinks. I tried to grasp the futility of trying to sate thirst caused by fear, fatigue and massive hemorrhage.
Then I noticed cloven hoof marks of whitetails pocking the mud everywhere I looked. The spell broken, I moved on.
After a short walk, I saw large wire cages protecting young trees in Sarah Bell's peach orchard as I approached the eastern end of the Hornet's Nest. When I spotted W. George Manse's cabin in the orchard's corner, a harsh browse line in the adjoining woods validated the need for the peach trees' cages. Overpopulated deer are hell on buds and twigs.
Then, I recalled Jeff Shaara mentioned Shiloh's deer and this orchard in his book, "Civil War Battlefields." Shaara wrote: "The peach trees there today are maintained in the original location of the orchard, though keeping the trees healthy is a constant headache since the park's enormous deer population delights in devouring the trees' delicious leaves and blossoms."
My U.S. Park Service leaflet said Miss Bell's orchard was in full bloom on April 6, 1862, as Confederate troops hammered the Union's left flank. Shaara is more specific: "There are no more poetic descriptions of battle than those written by soldiers who fought here, several of whom described how the fully blossoming trees were so cut by the storm of musket fire that the white petals swirled around the men like a snowstorm."
Problems caused by deer aren't unique to this national park. Whether it's deer browsing down the woods of Shiloh in Tennessee, Gettysburg in Pennsylvania or Great Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee and North Carolina, or elk strip-mining the herbage of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota or Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, we see the pitiful results of overprotection. This is what happens when we set aside treasured areas, then allow almost all forms of human recreation except hunting.
Our nation forever will owe Theodore Roosevelt and other visionaries for setting aside millions of acres for national parks. What Roosevelt couldn't have foreseen was a society 100 years later so disconnected from nature and the food chain that it lacks the common sense and political courage to prevent one species from wreaking havoc on lands that once held diverse species.
Meanwhile, that society somehow produces people who righteously try to remove species they deem alien or exotic if it threatens a native ecosystem. Whether it's lake trout in Yellowstone Lake, or elk and mule deer in Channel Islands National Park off California, the Park Service wants them dead or gone.
Fascinating. If someone took a species from somewhere else in North America and released it where it wasn't living when Europeans arrived 400 years ago, the Park Service crusades with a zealot's conviction, dismissing protests as naïve and uneducated.
But when a species is native to a national park and destroying its home from within, the Park Service merely mopes and hopes the problem goes away. When hunters outside park boundaries don't shoot enough animals to make a difference, the Park Service crafts expensive sharp-shooting plans rather than work with qualified hunters who would solve the problem and be grateful for the opportunity.
The feds should consider Wisconsin's approach. When ecologists show just cause to open a state park to deer hunting, we hold hearings, let everyone bark and open the park to controlled hunts.
A few weeks later, everyone is back to normal, their outrage looking for a new perch. The system works.
Source:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/GPG07/802210566/1233/GPGsports
Monday, February 18, 2008
MARYLAND NEWS: 62 Deer Culled at Goucher College
Hunters are finished the business of thinning the deer population at Goucher College in Towson. Concerns over a growing herd forced administrators to call for control measures. As Tim Williams reports, hunters are finished until more studies are done.
As they walk their daily route through the Goucher college campus, the company of deer has become common for the Oettinger family.
April teaches at the school.
"Sometimes we'd see the herd of male deer with the large antlers would be right over here and we would see them hopping back and forth and it would drive our dogs to abstraction," she said.
But now there are 62 less deer in the herd than there were at the end of last year.
"While the college was closed for the winter break, over five days, state licensed deer cooperators came to campus and did a managed bow hunt," said Goucher College spokesperson Kristen Keener.
At about 200 white-tailed deer, the population for the campus was considered out of control. The State Department of Natural Resources estimates there should only be 40.
Hunters first tried to single out animals that were sick or injured because relocation and shooting them with birth control were too expensive and time consuming.
"Of the 62 animals that were removed, seven of them previously had been injured, perhaps as the result of a car collision or poachers who found their way onto campus," Keener said.
The hunt was not unopposed. Some students and alumni were against it from the beginning; others favored the idea.
Students received emails just before the holiday alerting them.
A Goucher spokesperson says with campus expansion, thinning will protect the landscape.
"For me, [I stopped] walking through the woods because of lyme disease and the deer ticks, particularly with the dogs. Now that we have our little boy, we just don't take the trails," Oettinger said.
"The college's administrators are here to protect the well-being of the students, faculty and staff, so any measure that perhaps endangers their well-being is of great concern," Keener said.
No other controlled hunts are scheduled at this time.
Source: http://wjz.com/local/deer.goucher.hunting.2.656312.html
As they walk their daily route through the Goucher college campus, the company of deer has become common for the Oettinger family.
April teaches at the school.
"Sometimes we'd see the herd of male deer with the large antlers would be right over here and we would see them hopping back and forth and it would drive our dogs to abstraction," she said.
But now there are 62 less deer in the herd than there were at the end of last year.
"While the college was closed for the winter break, over five days, state licensed deer cooperators came to campus and did a managed bow hunt," said Goucher College spokesperson Kristen Keener.
At about 200 white-tailed deer, the population for the campus was considered out of control. The State Department of Natural Resources estimates there should only be 40.
Hunters first tried to single out animals that were sick or injured because relocation and shooting them with birth control were too expensive and time consuming.
"Of the 62 animals that were removed, seven of them previously had been injured, perhaps as the result of a car collision or poachers who found their way onto campus," Keener said.
The hunt was not unopposed. Some students and alumni were against it from the beginning; others favored the idea.
Students received emails just before the holiday alerting them.
A Goucher spokesperson says with campus expansion, thinning will protect the landscape.
"For me, [I stopped] walking through the woods because of lyme disease and the deer ticks, particularly with the dogs. Now that we have our little boy, we just don't take the trails," Oettinger said.
"The college's administrators are here to protect the well-being of the students, faculty and staff, so any measure that perhaps endangers their well-being is of great concern," Keener said.
No other controlled hunts are scheduled at this time.
Source: http://wjz.com/local/deer.goucher.hunting.2.656312.html
Friday, February 15, 2008
NEW YORK OPINION: Costs of Feeding Deer Outweigh Benefits
As I sit down to write this article, the wind chill outside is a frigid -20F. It’s predicted to be nearly that cold tonight without the wind and the winter storm watch posted for tomorrow night has just been upgraded to a warning, with the potential for up to a foot of new snow, and maybe more.
I don’t know about you, but this winter has already kicked my behind.
We’ve seen record snowfall, bone-chilling temperatures, relentless wind, blizzard conditions on a number of occasions (the most recent being two nights ago), very little sunshine, and plenty of ice, sleet and freezing rain. Oh, and did I mention the power outages, lingering cold and flu symptoms, and seasonal affective disorder?
The harsh winter weather has been hard on wildlife, too, and even though it probably hasn’t been as difficult as some people believe, if unforgiving conditions prevail into March, some animals won’t survive. Late winter snowstorms, especially when coupled with extreme cold, can be especially hard on deer, particularly does that have burned off most of their fat reserves and are carrying fawns.
That is creating considerable concern. Several individuals that I’ve spoken with recently desperately want to do something to help the deer survive the winter. They feel that feeding them is one way to help. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Besides, feeding deer is prohibited in New York. It has been illegal to do so since 2003.
That doesn’t discourage some people. They speak as if the deer are their own or feel that they are protecting them. A small number seem at times to have lost sight of the fact that deer are wild animals.
Others become angry.
“I don’t care.”
“They can put me in jail. I won’t admit to it, and no one’s going to tell me I can’t feed deer.”
These are the types of arguments I have heard.
The fact is, the feeding ban is in place as a precautionary action; one of several proactive measures taken to help curtail the spread of and, hopefully, eradicate Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the state’s deer herd. CWD is caused by infectious protein particles called prions and spread from animal to animal through saliva. The potential for the spread of the disease is markedly increased when deer continuously feed from the same trough or feeding station, where grain with saliva on it can easily fall from the mouth of one animal only to be eaten by another. The disease is progressive, degenerative and always fatal.
Even if that weren’t the case, there are several other considerations that need to be taken into account. In the wild, deer will select the most nutritious foods in their environment, and their diet varies with the seasons. They are ruminants, or cud chewers. Like cows, deer swallow food without chewing and store it in the rumen, the first and largest chamber of their four-chamber stomachs. Essentially, they eat until the rumen is full. Then, the partially digested food, or cud, is regurgitated, chewed and swallowed.
They are dependant upon a variety of bacteria and microorganisms in the rumen, not digestive juices, to break food down. The types and concentrations of these microorganisms are food specific. If deer have been feeding on native browse, they have built up the micro-organisms that digest only that type [of] vegetation. If a deer suddenly fills its stomach with corn or hay, it may not have enough of the proper micro-organisms in its stomach to digest the food.
Suddenly introducing grain to their diet may also cause deer to suffer scours (diarrhea) and acidosis, a condition where excess acid builds up in the rumen killing natural, digestive-tract bacteria.
Symptoms of acidosis include indigestion, dehydration, staggering and apparent blindness, and death.
Even when deer are able to consume supplemented foods without becoming sick, they receive very little nutrition until their systems adjust to the change of diet. As a result, they can actually starve to death with full bellies.
Keep in mind, too, that many of the deer visiting feed stations are carrying fawns. If they become sick or undernourished, their fawns are put at risk, as well.
There are several other very good reasons not to feed deer. Those that visit feeding stations often become abnormally aggressive. They may injure one another fighting for food. The younger and less assertive deer are often kept away by larger and stronger ones.
Deer that become dependent upon artificial feeding often ignore their natural instincts. They lose their fear of humans and become pests, often returning in the summer to feast on garden plants and landscape and fruit trees. And, since feeding sites encourage deer to crowd together in unnaturally high densities, the risk of death by predators, like coyotes and domestic dogs, is greatly increased.
There are ways for neighboring landowners and hunting clubs to help sustain wild deer populations during winter months without breaking the law and without creating a disease or health risk. If animals go into the winter in good condition, most are able to survive prolonged periods of cold temperatures, persistent deep snow and icy conditions.
By developing and putting into practice a management plan that provides the best possible natural feed and optimal habitat, you can help to better ensure herd survival and health. This will involve timber management practices that use habitat as a guiding objective, along with the development, improvement and fertilization of food plots in areas that already provide quality wintering habitat.
For general tips on management of native vegetation and timber, creating and improving habitat, and establishing food plots on your land, please contact your local DEC regional office or Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Source: http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/Columns/articles.asp?articleID=10438
I don’t know about you, but this winter has already kicked my behind.
We’ve seen record snowfall, bone-chilling temperatures, relentless wind, blizzard conditions on a number of occasions (the most recent being two nights ago), very little sunshine, and plenty of ice, sleet and freezing rain. Oh, and did I mention the power outages, lingering cold and flu symptoms, and seasonal affective disorder?
The harsh winter weather has been hard on wildlife, too, and even though it probably hasn’t been as difficult as some people believe, if unforgiving conditions prevail into March, some animals won’t survive. Late winter snowstorms, especially when coupled with extreme cold, can be especially hard on deer, particularly does that have burned off most of their fat reserves and are carrying fawns.
That is creating considerable concern. Several individuals that I’ve spoken with recently desperately want to do something to help the deer survive the winter. They feel that feeding them is one way to help. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Besides, feeding deer is prohibited in New York. It has been illegal to do so since 2003.
That doesn’t discourage some people. They speak as if the deer are their own or feel that they are protecting them. A small number seem at times to have lost sight of the fact that deer are wild animals.
Others become angry.
“I don’t care.”
“They can put me in jail. I won’t admit to it, and no one’s going to tell me I can’t feed deer.”
These are the types of arguments I have heard.
The fact is, the feeding ban is in place as a precautionary action; one of several proactive measures taken to help curtail the spread of and, hopefully, eradicate Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the state’s deer herd. CWD is caused by infectious protein particles called prions and spread from animal to animal through saliva. The potential for the spread of the disease is markedly increased when deer continuously feed from the same trough or feeding station, where grain with saliva on it can easily fall from the mouth of one animal only to be eaten by another. The disease is progressive, degenerative and always fatal.
Even if that weren’t the case, there are several other considerations that need to be taken into account. In the wild, deer will select the most nutritious foods in their environment, and their diet varies with the seasons. They are ruminants, or cud chewers. Like cows, deer swallow food without chewing and store it in the rumen, the first and largest chamber of their four-chamber stomachs. Essentially, they eat until the rumen is full. Then, the partially digested food, or cud, is regurgitated, chewed and swallowed.
They are dependant upon a variety of bacteria and microorganisms in the rumen, not digestive juices, to break food down. The types and concentrations of these microorganisms are food specific. If deer have been feeding on native browse, they have built up the micro-organisms that digest only that type [of] vegetation. If a deer suddenly fills its stomach with corn or hay, it may not have enough of the proper micro-organisms in its stomach to digest the food.
Suddenly introducing grain to their diet may also cause deer to suffer scours (diarrhea) and acidosis, a condition where excess acid builds up in the rumen killing natural, digestive-tract bacteria.
Symptoms of acidosis include indigestion, dehydration, staggering and apparent blindness, and death.
Even when deer are able to consume supplemented foods without becoming sick, they receive very little nutrition until their systems adjust to the change of diet. As a result, they can actually starve to death with full bellies.
Keep in mind, too, that many of the deer visiting feed stations are carrying fawns. If they become sick or undernourished, their fawns are put at risk, as well.
There are several other very good reasons not to feed deer. Those that visit feeding stations often become abnormally aggressive. They may injure one another fighting for food. The younger and less assertive deer are often kept away by larger and stronger ones.
Deer that become dependent upon artificial feeding often ignore their natural instincts. They lose their fear of humans and become pests, often returning in the summer to feast on garden plants and landscape and fruit trees. And, since feeding sites encourage deer to crowd together in unnaturally high densities, the risk of death by predators, like coyotes and domestic dogs, is greatly increased.
There are ways for neighboring landowners and hunting clubs to help sustain wild deer populations during winter months without breaking the law and without creating a disease or health risk. If animals go into the winter in good condition, most are able to survive prolonged periods of cold temperatures, persistent deep snow and icy conditions.
By developing and putting into practice a management plan that provides the best possible natural feed and optimal habitat, you can help to better ensure herd survival and health. This will involve timber management practices that use habitat as a guiding objective, along with the development, improvement and fertilization of food plots in areas that already provide quality wintering habitat.
For general tips on management of native vegetation and timber, creating and improving habitat, and establishing food plots on your land, please contact your local DEC regional office or Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Source: http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/Columns/articles.asp?articleID=10438
Monday, February 11, 2008
WISCONSIN NEWS: CWD Stakeholder Advisory Group Report Released
The WI Department of Natural Resources appointed 18 citizens with diverse interests in the state’s wild deer herd to offer recommendations regarding future Chronic Wasting Disease management for consideration by the Department and the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board. The group became the CWD Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG).
The full report is at:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/cwd/doc/SAGreport.pdf
It is worth the read, particularly the minority reports. I hope that in the event of pandemic influenza, a different framework to combat the disease is used.
The full report is at:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/cwd/doc/SAGreport.pdf
It is worth the read, particularly the minority reports. I hope that in the event of pandemic influenza, a different framework to combat the disease is used.
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