“chronic wasting disease”

The surge in popularity of bowhunting brought the use of deer based scents to the forefront. We now have a multi-million dollar industry based on deer pee. Over 60 companies produce and sell deer urine and gland based attractants in one form or another. Unfortunately, everything is not rosy in the world of cervid secretions.

For decades, deer hunters have used deer urine and other scent-based products to lure bucks into range for a shot. Generations of hunters have reached into their coat pockets, pulled out small bottles of often foul-smelling fluid and dribbled it on the ground and vegetation. Sometimes without spilling it on themselves, sometimes not.

Biologists confirm a rare case of rabies in a deceased whitetail deer in North Carolina.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks has confirmed a positive result for a deer tested for chronic wasting disease. Reported to the MDWFP in January, the deer from Issaquena County is the first to test positive for the disease in the state.

Data from the 2017-18 hunting seasons show an increase in chronic wasting disease by more than 200 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

On Aug. 9, the Michigan DNR approved new regulations for hunting in CWD areas for the 2018 deer season.

On November 27, governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 147 into law, allowing hunting on three Sundays each calendar year; one during the deer rifle season, one during the deer archery season and another to be determined by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt sat down with us for a one-on-one interview to discuss everything from working to expand hunter access to containing the spread of chronic wasting disease.