New Cases of CWD found in Arkansas counties .
I know this is a fishing site but lots of us hunt . Just read where the testing sites for first weekend of Deer season set up in CWD Management Zone counties results coming in . This is something us Deer hunters feared would happen sooner or later . So much about the disease still unknown .
The AGFC conducted voluntary sampling sites in 25 locations within the 10-county CWD Management Zone, and the following counties had deer test positive for CWD:
• Carroll – eight deer
• Marion – two deer
• Newton – 14 deer
• Pope – two deer
• Searcy – one deer
• Yell – one deer
New Cases of CWD found in Arkansas counties .
I guess those border deer didn't read the no transport laws.
It was just a matter of time and will be for all states. The deer, Elk, Moose, etc. can intermingle around the states borders and spread the disease. No way to stop that.
New Cases of CWD found in Arkansas counties .
Lots of people, me included, check their deer online. The check stations are far and few between nowadays. To better test the deer and elk, the online checking should be suspended until we get better data.
CWD is here for sure. No getting rid of it now unless a cure is found. Gonna be hard or impossible to eradicate it.
New Cases of CWD found in Arkansas counties .
Quote:
Originally Posted by
D10
I believe they tried that but the processors wouldn't go along with the idea. Apparently they lose business when a few AGFC trucks are sitting out front.
Thats a shame. I understand their business is very seasonal tho. Any lost revenue could cause them financial problems. Mandatory manual check stations might help instead of the online senario for a few seasons.
If CWD is here, and it apparently is, checking is just a way to find out the severity of it. I doubt there is a feasible solution for it.
New Cases of CWD found in Arkansas counties .
I don't think the stopping of artificial feeding will slow down the CWD. The deer this year have a massive acorn crop, but in the lean years, they congregate near the best trees that are producing. Feeding stations just attract the deer that are feeding that area naturally. When the acorn crop is heavy, the feed stations don't get hit nearly as hard. The ones using them are resident deer, mostly does and fawns and they just hit them while browsing. The Bucks don't really use them during the rut much unless a hot doe is visiting them. Feeding stations aren't much different that soybean fields or corn fields. The food is mostly made available by hunters AFTER the crops are harvested.
In pine country in south AR, the supplemental feeding is a bit different than it is in agri areas tho. May have a different effect, but I doubt it. The deer live together and come in constant contact with each other year round. Feeding is usually only done in the fall.
Even if you stop the feeding stations, the deer will concentrate near other preferred food sources with the same results as the feed.
New Cases of CWD found in Arkansas counties .
Here's my take on culling bucks.
You can tell after a few years that a buck doesn't have the genetics to be a real trophy deer. It's good to take some of those deer out. The problem I see with that improving your buck quality in your deer herd is in the doe population. There is absolutely no way to tell the genetics of the does on your property. Like raising horses, cows, etc., the female has a lot to do with the quality of her offspring. In horses, you can take a world champion stud and breed him with 100 mares. You still only get a few good quality horses by doing that and you SEE the foals on a daily basis, you KNOW which mare foaled it, and you eventually realize the ability of the mare to produce good foals. With deer, unless you raise them in a pen, you can't tell which does produce the best quality offspring. By the time a buck has his first set of horns, he's left his mom. No way to know which doe had him. There is zero chance you shoot the weak does on your place. If you kill numbers of does, you may actually take out the GOOD ones. Without literally tagging fawns and does to keep records, your fighting a losing battle. Genetics take decades to correct themselves with buck only management IF that can even be done.
There is much more to having a quality herd on your property also. The ability of the land to provide the right nutrients and food is another factor. Shooting cull bucks is only a small aspect of the equation.
