West Virginia won't ban deer urine products

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

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Reservoir Blogs - George Thwaites blogs about fishing, hunting, conservation and outdoors

Published Monday, October 19 2009 - (0) Comments

According to the Charleston Daily Mail, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has no plans to ban the use of commercial deer lures that contain deer urine.

A number of states have moved to outlaw these concoctions in the wake of findings that prions -- the rogue proteins that cause chronic wasting disease -- can be transferred through deer urine and feces. A case of chronic wasting disease was confirmed in West Virginia's Hampshire County in 2005.

The urine used in commercial deer lures is generally collected from domesticated or otherwise captive deer populations. In the past, some outbreaks of CWD were believed to have originated in commercial deer and elk farms.

Researchers had previously determined that CWD causing prions could be transferred via the animals' saliva. That finding alone implied that intentional efforts to encourage multiple animals to feed in a more concentrated area than otherwise would be found in the wild might result in higher rates of transmission between animals.

Many hunters plant food plots on hunting areas during the off season with an eye toward not only attracting deer to their properties, but also providing diverse nutrients in hopes of improving the overall health of the herd. The practice of using stationary deer feeders, which make timed distributions of grain or food pellets within the relatively small radius of an electric hopper, would tend to concentrate deer feeding patterns even more.

Some natural deer food sources -- particularly acorns and other hard mast -- would also have a tendency to concentrate animal feeding in smaller areas.

Obviously, there is a great deal of additional research on CWD that needs to be pursued.

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