Southern Wisconsin’s already overpopulated white tailed deer herd, has a new problem: chronic wasting disease. CWD is related to mad cow. Both are caused by proteins run amuck in the brains of the victim. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources plans to eliminate all deer in a nearly 400 square mile area just west of Madison.
It’s nasty business, but those deer share the same ecosystem as thousands of dairy cattle, who provide a livelihood for farmers in the region, and if CWD jumps species, it’d be even more of a economic disaster.
My friend Juliebata says that her family plans to sit out bow and rifle season this fall, because they aren’t certain of the safety of the venison they would harvest. They aren’t the only ones. The State predicts that the normal throngs of rifle season hunters from in-state and out-state will stay home instead of spending the Thanksgiving weekend in their blinds.
California’s deer herds don’t have this problem. Of course, deer that’s been grazing on Farmer John’s corn all summer taste better than one that’s been subsisting on scrub and grasses.
