Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story included inaccurate phrasing regarding the USGS’s position on hunting. Buckrail regrets the error.
WYOMING — On Monday, Jan. 27, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department shared its new study, which reports that hunting male deer in greater numbers over many years could potentially slow the spread of chronic wasting disease.
According to the USGS, chronic wasting disease is caused by a misfolded protein called a prion, and infection leads to neurological problems, starvation and eventually death. The disease affects animals in the deer family, including deer, elk and moose.
In the study, the USGS wrote that chronic wasting disease outbreaks are a serious concern for wildlife managers because members of the deer family are economically, culturally and ecologically important.
“The disease has been implicated in the declines of deer and elk in several states, including in Wyoming mule deer herds, where the percent of animals infected can exceed 50%,” the USGS wrote in its study. “The disease spreads easily through the environment from infected deer droppings, urine and saliva, and there are no vaccines or treatments, making it difficult to control.”
The study suggests hunting could be a tool to slow down the spread of the disease in Wyoming’s mule deer herds. However, the study does state that hunting-based strategies are not always effective and can be controversial.
The study’s authors examined chronic wasting disease trends in 10 different mule deer herds across central and eastern Wyoming, which varied in hunting pressure. They analyzed 20 years of data gathered by WGFD to understand whether increasing hunting pressure was effective at controlling the disease.
“We found that harvesting a high proportion of the adult males in the herd — around 40% every year for 20 years — is expected to keep chronic wasting disease at pretty low numbers,” Wynne Moss, lead author and USGS scientist, said in the study. “If this high level of hunting pressure is applied consistently (over 20 years), less than 5% of the males on average are expected to be infected. On the other hand, a lower level of hunting pressure, 20% of adult males harvested per year, would result in a much higher prevalence of around 30%.”
According to the study, even harvesting a high number of males over a shorter period – three years in a row — still slowed the rate of disease spread within a population, but was not as effective as harvesting high numbers over a multiple decades.
“Our results suggest that the use of hunting is a promising, scientifically supported way to manage chronic wasting disease; however, it is important to note that this approach is more likely to slow the disease down than eradicate it,” Paul Cross, co-author on the study and USGS scientist said in a statement. “This study provides important evidence about the effects of hunting on wildlife disease management for deer.”
The paper was published Jan. 21 in Ecological Applications.
