ND Officials Critical of Proposed Federal CWD Program
Farm & Ranch Guide
25 Jan 2007
North Dakota animal health officials say a national program to control chronic wasting disease (CWD) in captive deer and elk is needed, but that it should not supercede tougher state programs.
“States have eagerly awaited the release of a national CWD program; however, a program which does not allow states to retain the authority to protect both their wild and farmed cervids is irresponsible,” said Dr. Beth Carlson, deputy state veterinarian. “The national program should be used as a minimal guideline, just as other successful disease control and prevention programs have been used.”
Carlson's comments on behalf of the North Dakota State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) are in response to proposed rules, published by the U.S.
Illinois Deer Hunters Harvest Nearly 200,000 in 2006-07 According to Preliminary Data [Press Release]
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
24 Jan 07
The 2006-07 Illinois deer seasons have concluded with hunters taking a preliminary total of 197,287 deer. Hunters participating in the Late-Winter Antlerless-only Deer Season last weekend took 9,075 deer in the 67 counties open for the season. The harvest during the Special CWD deer hunt in five northern Illinois counties totaled 625. Both the Late-Winter and Special CWD seasons were conducted Jan. 12-14.
Archery hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary statewide total of 65,170 deer during the 2006-07 archery deer season which began last Oct. 1 and concluded on Jan. 11. The updated preliminary harvest total for the Illinois Firearm Deer Season last fall (Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 30-Dec. 3) was 115,379, while hunters took 5,939 deer during the Illinois Muzzleloader-only Deer Season (Dec. 8-10).
Related Links
Journal of Wildlife Diseases Table of Contents – Oct 2006 IssueThe October 2006 issue of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases in available online. View the table of contents here.
Mass Bird Cull in Asia as Avian Flu Resurfaces
The Sydney Morning Herald – smh.com.au
26 Jan 07
R Pollard
The northern winter has brought with it a resurgence of avian influenza, with quarantine workers this week starting to slaughter hundreds of thousands of poultry after fresh outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain in Asia. Experts warned the outbreaks in Asia and the first confirmed case in Europe this year indicated governments had failed to control the virus, raising the possibility of further problems throughout the European winter.
Since 2003 the virus has infected 269 people and killed 163 - with nearly half the deaths occurring last year - prompting warnings that the virus could still mutate into a form easily transmitted among people. In Australia researchers are gearing up to start a mass testing program of thousands of migratory birds, which aims to measure the progress of influenza viruses and develop an early warning system for mutations.
Fish-killing Virus Confirmed in Lake Huron
The Associated Press (Posted by mlive.com)
25 Jan 2007
J Flesher
An aquatic virus that doesn't harm people but kills fish has made its way to Lake Huron, state officials said Thursday. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it confirmed the presence of viral hemorrhagic septicema, or VHS, in fish taken from Thunder Bay and from waters off Rogers City and Cheboygan.
Previously, VHS had been found only in two of the Great Lakes — Ontario and Erie — and in Lake St. Clair. But officials have predicted the virus eventually would spread across the entire lake system. Infected fish in Lake Huron include whitefish, walleye and Chinook salmon. All are popular sport and commercial species.
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