Eat diseased deer, because fear mongering "individuals with political and social agendas are using this situation to their benefit"?

The Trump age of living dangerously is here! It would be oddly comical if it weren't so absurdly reckless.

The right-wing "in-your-face" fusion of defiance and fantasy world nonsense is replacing actual science and common sense with the more intangible "gut feeling."

Take a look at what we're now being told are "fake" CWD warnings that run counter to what most people think:

A Poll shows that of the people who have heard of CWD, 64% feel it represents a threat to the future of deer hunting in Wisconsin.

The poll reflects the declining deer kill and hunter participation we've seen in Wisconsin.

Scott Walker's Anecdotal policy using Hunter anger to abandon CWD control! Chronic wasting disease kills deer...or does it? If a deer dies in the woods, will anybody know? Apparently not. Maloney's Baloney meat locker wasn't going to let scary science deter the Trumpian urge to eat diseased animals:

The owners of a Durand meat locker are taking a stand against what they view as misleading hype about chronic wasting disease ... Maloney’s Baloney posted on its Facebook site recently that the shop “will NOT process your whole deer if you choose to or are FORCED by the DNR to test your deer for CWD.”

"Those benefiting from such programs," like those "wealthy" DNR scientists combating the spread of CWD? This is the same tactic right-wingers have been using against green energy supporters, claiming a global conspiracy to bankrupt big oils billionaire CEO's. Welcome the new era of stupid:

Dawn Endle, who has co-owned the processor for 21 years with her husband, Jeff, said they don’t believe the neurological disease is harming Wisconsin’s deer herd or that it has the potential to harm humans who consume venison from an infected animal.

“There’s no reason to do this hysteria thing and scare people away from eating the healthiest meat in the world,” Dawn Endle said.

That opinion runs counter to the advice espoused by health officials, even though there has never been a documented case of a human contracting CWD ... she believes all of the taxpayer money being spent on CWD testing and research is a waste because it doesn’t matter how widespread the disease is if it doesn’t threaten humans or appear to be killing wild deer.

CWD doesn't appear to be killing wild deer??? Science based warnings and the idea of eating diseased meat is unfairly "ruining a great Wisconsin tradition?"

“We are not scared of CWD whatsoever,” she said. “We are sick of bureaucrats scaring people and ruining a great Wisconsin tradition.”

The disease is now out of control thanks to Scott Walker. The video below even shows that. Here's a clip from WPT's Here and Now:

Republicans blame Gov. Evers for CWD spread? Sure, why not.

Suddenly Republicans have a sudden urge to tackle the CWD crisis infecting our deer herd in Wisconsin, after doing nothing and making it worse for 8 years? No, not really...

Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker took a largely hands-off approach after he took office in 2011. The disease has since spread across the state. According to the DNR, 26 counties had at least one infected deer in the wild ... 56 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties qualify as affected.

Republican Sen. Devin LeMahieu pressed Cole on why the governor's spending plan includes no new strategies for combatting CWD ... asked (if) Evers thinks fighting the disease is important.

Walker/Republicans Punted on CWD for 8 Years, Even Stopped Picking up Road Kill Deer: So I nearly spit out my coffee a few weeks back when I heard the outraged voices of Republicans grilling DNR Secretary Preston Cole about Gov. Tony Evers lack of effort to do anything about CWD.

Enter State Sen. Tom Tiffany, the guy most responsible for ripping up Wisconsin's natural resources and environmental laws. He has single-handedly put industries like mining and corporate farming ahead of sports hunting and clean water. Seriously...and I'm not joking, he's the chairman of the sporting heritage committee. Just 3 months after Evers took over as governor, Tiffany had the balls to say..."I could...say this is a failure of the Evers administration...!" I also missed the part where the state spent millions trying to fight CWD:

Republican Tom Tiffany, chairman of the state Senate’s sporting heritage committee, said he’s not surprised Evers “punted” on the disease. The state has spent millions trying to fight it to no avail, he said. 

“I could take a real partisan line here and say this is a failure of the Evers administration, but these are difficult decisions. We’re just not sure yet what is going to be effective. But they’ve got to come forward with a plan. We need leadership from the Department of Natural Resources and … the governor as well.”

Hold on there. I'm guessing Sen. Tiffany's low information voters wouldn't have noticed, but here's how Republicans made things even worse...recently.

Trolling to get moderate voters to support his reelection, Walker issued a few emergency rules supported by Democrats, including double fencing deer farms, restrictions on the movement of live deer from one farm to another, and putting a stop to transporting deer carcasses across county lines. But a joint committee of GOP Senators and Representatives basically killed all the new rules. We're now starting from scratch thanks to our anti-government/deregulation Republican majority. 

As for Evers plans for CWD...

Cole says the governor wants to see what research reveals about the disease and doesn't want to spend money on it when other states are doing the work ... the DNR needs to do more to persuade hunters to turn in deer heads for testing ... the DNR is in the middle of a four-year study on deer mortality and Evers and the agency should wait until that’s complete before making any decisions.

Hunters, thank Walker for Spread of CWD! He's your guy...

The spread of CWD in Wisconsin is pretty much out of control, thanks to Scott Walker. He thought hunters didn't care too much about eating contaminated meat, but since reports came out that it is possible CWD could spread to humans, well, hunting has since declined a lot. Go figure.

While other states have taken action, Wisconsin has not, until now...but wait, maybe not?

JS: An emergency rule recently signed by Gov. Scott Walker to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin may consider suspending all or part of the emergency CWD rule ... on the day it is scheduled to take effect. The emergency rule would have been the first substantive effort to curtail the disease in more than a decade. The rule was opposed by deer farming interests. 

The fatal deer disease has been spreading across Wisconsin relatively unchecked for the last 16 years. The Legislature has failed to enact measures to reduce the prevalence or distribution of CWD in the state.

Instead of using science and common sense to control CWD, Sen. Steve Nass wants a few unelected whiny hunters to run the DNR:

Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) said he ... can block or alter a rule with a simple vote. "This emergency rule contains substantial and burdensome changes to the way Wisconsin hunters will deal with deer carcasses with little advance notice or education," Nass wrote.

More and more hunters have been contacting their legislators and speaking against provisions in the rule, said Mike Mikalsen, chief of staff for Nass.

Many of the solutions in the approved emergency rules have been debated and researched for nearly a decade, so Nass is lying about "little advance notice or education." These are long overdue actions:

1. The measure has two prongs, one to enhance fencing at deer farms to reduce the risk of contact between captive and wild deer ... Deer farmers would have one year, or a time agreed to with the DNR, to perform any required fencing changes.

2. The other to reduce the distribution of infected carcasses by hunters, the rule would require deer killed in a CWD-affected county to be quartered or boned out before being removed from the county. There are two important exceptions: A whole carcass could be moved out of a CWD-affected county if it is taken to a taxidermist or a licensed meat processor anywhere in the state.

When will Republicans ever be blamed for destroying recreational hunting and outdoor sports in the state? 

George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, said "We know there are going to be challenges for sportsmen and women. But this is about protecting Wisconsin's deer herd."

As of early September, Wisconsin had 55 CWD-affected counties.

Two maps tell the whole Walker CWD disaster, today and from January 2017:

Jan. 2017

Sept. 2018

Walker's CWD Hotline?

After 8 years, Scott Walker decides he wants to Fight CWD to get reelected.

Better late than sorry?

Frustration with weakened state environmental protections is causing some Republican voters in Wisconsin to ponder something that was unthinkable 10 years ago — voting for Democrats.

Hunting and fishing enthusiasts, lakefront property owners and neighbors of large farming operations are among those who have grown unhappy with the long list of changes enacted by Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP majority in the Legislature.

Dwindling numbers of deer hunters and deer killed are hard to hide:

Alan Hovarth, a retired paper mill manager who lives in Superior, said he has watched in dismay as a politicized DNR muzzled its scientists while avoiding tough decisions about the spread of chronic wasting diseasethrough the deer herd and hazardous pollution from the expansion of animal feedlots.

“I supported Gov. Walker initially — I was a strong supporter — but I’ve come to view some of these things that are being done as being detrimental, and that is of great concern to me,” Horvath said. “Their agenda is more important to them than allowing a healthy discussion.” Horvath said he will look more carefully at Democratic candidates than ever before

Here a look at 8 years worth of Walker's environmental teardown: Pretty much under the direction of the Assemblies environmental wrecking ball, Tom Tiffany. Keep in mind, this list is from October 2015:

(1.) Make it easier to destroy wetlands. (2.) Block homeowners’ ability to challenge large farms and frac sand mines when they believe a cluster of their high-capacity wells is drying up lakes, streams or drinking water. (3) Seek federal approval to extend by up to 20 years the deadlines for full compliance with limits on phosphorus discharges that promote weed and algae growth in lakes and streams. (4) Slow purchases of conservation lands while mandating land sales and banning local zoning rules that are more limiting than state standards for shoreline development. (5) Insisted it can’t legally limit the expansion of mega farms despite an order to do so from a judge who said ”massive regulatory failure” had tainted Kewaunee County drinking water. (6) Reduced the number of pollution violations it sends to state lawyers for court action and the number of wildlife citations it issues. (7) Delayed for years studying how small dust particles from the frac sand industry affect the health of neighboring residents. (8) Written emergency rules to decrease analysis of potential environmental harm and public hearings on sources of pollution when reviews of similar projects have been done. (9) Received warnings from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that air and water quality protections are inadequate or out of date.

But here's the clincher and focus of this post:

Allowed deer herd growth favored by hunters in areas with chronic wasting disease despite the advice of some scientists who say less deer density will slow the disease’s spread.

Scott Walker Checks off another Failure on his Reelection Repair Checklist: More study, and more watching and waiting. Walker still doesn't plan to do anything, but this do-nothing CWD plan sure comes across like he's trying:

Increased surveillance, increased sampling, carcass movement restrictions and local community involvement are just some the goals outlined in the recently updated Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources CWD Response Plan. Implementation of the plan as part of Gov. Scott Walker's Chronic Wasting Disease Initiative has already begun. The updated plan will be the guide for CWD response and management over the next five years. 

CWD Spreading...where's the Deer Czar Now? Since the DNR no longer relies on science, Walker is depending more on local volunteers to simply help out...:

...promote voluntary landowner surveillance testing permits, encourage the reporting of "sick deer" at the local level...

Hunters Start to Panic!!!: Gee, ya think? At least their "small government" pal Scott Walker is saving them a few bucks on their tax bills: 

The Tomahawk meeting (came) just a month after CWD was found in a wild deer in Lincoln County. It was killed in between Rhinelander and Tomahawk and it is the only wild one in North Central Wisconsin testing positive for CWD. "Obviously I'm concerned," said Jim Blankenhein, who lives just a few miles from where the deer was killed. "It makes me a little nervous." Blankenhein was one of about 50 people who showed up to the meeting. When it's been established in a population for any length of time, population's really drop off," said Chuck McCullough, a DNR Wildlife Supervisor. "If you have CWD in a population of wild deer it seems like it's a one-way trip downhill."

And then there's this additional Walker precaution:

They're hoping to have the help from private land owners along with collecting road kills and being notified about sick deer. The DNR is doing the collection in March to test them as soon as possible.

Previously I wrote this...This was Scott Walker's plan by design way back in April 2015:

Governor Scott Walker doesn't want the state to pay to remove deer carcasses along state highways, which means counties could have to foot the bill. Last year the DNR removed nearly 24,000 deer carcasses from state highways across Wisconsin.

The Governor's proposed budget eliminates $700,000 a year for the DNR to remove the carcasses statewide. Under the proposal, responsibility for clearing the deer would fall to whatever government agency is in charge of the roadway. Or they may be left uncollected. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau cautions, "dead and decaying deer on the roadside are unsightly ad can dampen Wisconsin's reputation as a tourist destination."

Walker posted the following budget veto, because thanks to tax cuts, we don't have enough money to fund removal of these disease-spreading carcasses...nevermind putting off road repairs:

CWD Deer Hunting Season off to a Great Start...eat up.

Hunter beware, buyer beware...hell, beware of life in general because public safety is no longer the intrusive governments responsibility. Man-up!

Deer hunting season is here, as hunters march out into our endangered wilderness with CWD infected deer. Don't worry, we don't think human ingestion of CWD infected venison will kill you.

Hunter Beware: What you don't know will Kill You: In the "bad is good" Bizarro World of Republican politics, who cares about the spread of brain killing prions:

The country's prion disease surveillance center that looks for new brain disorders potentially caused by eating meat from infected animals, would lose all of its federal funding and cease operations under President Donald Trump's proposed fiscal 2018 budget.

The disease is in the same family as chronic wasting disease (CWD), which is endemic in Wisconsin's deer herd. The loss in funding would come at a time of heightened concern over whether chronic wasting disease can infect people. Recent research showed that it could infect monkeys that were fed venison from infected deer. At the same time, the number of Creutzfeldt-Jakob cases has jumped substantially nationally and especially in Wisconsin, where chronic wasting disease has now been identified in wild deer in 18 counties. 

Seriously, Republicans are counting on their surreal efforts to popularize hunting by distracting hunters away from the dangers of feeding CWD infected venison to their entire family. Anyone aware of the warnings...nope. If they really wanted to bring deer hunting back, get rid of CWD? Doh! Now even kids can hunt sick deer:

The disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a family that includes scrapie as well as mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (both of which are fatal to humans) … health experts, including at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, have long issued strong advice against eating venison from CWD-positive animals. "Venison from deer harvested inside the CWD Management Zone should not be consumed or distributed to others until CWD test results on the sources deer are known to be negative."

Scott Walker again, Missing in Action: Like the prisons and veterans home debacle, Walker won't participate in, or allow a photo op, tying him to the real festering problems eating away at our state that only government can improve. 

Chronic wasting disease has arrived in Wisconsin's deer factory. State officials announced two CWD-positive white-tailed deer were found at a Waupaca County shooting preserve. The two CWD-positive bucks represented the first findings of the fatal deer disease in the central Wisconsin deer hunting hotbed.

Worse yet, the state agency with authority over captive cervid facilities - the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection - isn't doing anything to snuff it out ... it appears the DNR has lost its will to combat CWD. And the state's agriculture and consumer protection agency has clearly sided with the business interests in the deer farming industry.

"I've been dreading this day," said Todd Schill, 55, of Waupaca who has deer hunted in the county for 40 years. "I didn't buy hunting land here to be next to CWD."

Welcome to "small government" deregulation. Again, maybe stopping CWD will bring hunting back: 

Jan. 4th, 2017: Notably, hunter participation also was down. The agency sold 598,867 gun licenses, a 40-year low and the first time the number has dipped below 600,000 since 1976. Hunters registered 196,785 deer during the 2016 Wisconsin gun deer season, the lowest total in 34 years. A longer term solution may involve looking beyond user fees ... (fees have the) potential to harm state efforts aimed at reversing a decline in hunting ... The DNR outlined other alternatives that include cuts to wildlife and fish-stocking programs and new efforts to attract more people to hunting and fishing.

Voluntary testing is available...voluntary, what could go wrong there?

Guys with Guns, what could go Wrong? While Republicans remove any kind of firearm training, responsible gun owners are rising to the challenge, it's just going to take going through a few growing pains first.

Good responsible gun owners don't need no training, they're the real Americans, carrying on the hunting tradition...let's see now, day 1...

Three hunters shot and wounded themselves Saturday. A 49-year-old man shot himself in the right ankle. A 51-year-old man in Shawano County shot himself in the leg when he bent over and his holstered handgun fired. And in Forest County, a 49-year-old Crandon man was sitting in the cab of his truck when he saw a deer around 9 a.m. When he attempted to move his rifle, it went off, sending a bullet through his legs and the truck’s seat and door.

Scott Walker serving up the Deer Hunter treat: Diseased Venison

Long before Scott Walker destroyed and basically dismantled the DNR, he went out and hired a game farm advocate to break Wisconsin away from our traditional deer management practices to hunter driven policy based on demand and pet peeves. 

This can be a serious problem when you're trying to control the spread of chronic wasting disease. Anyone want to eat venison contaminated with it?

I've been blogging about this for some time (search CWD in the upper left corner). We're now faced with a nearly out-of-control problem.WPR:

More Wisconsin deer are testing positive for chronic wasting disease ... more than 9

percent, according to state figures. But the number of deer being tested is down from years past ... 3,138 deer, down from 5,465 in 2014. The situation has some lawmakers arguing that the governor and DNR should be more active in fighting the problem.

DNR Wildlife Management Bureau director Tom Hauge (said) hunters didn’t have to visit a deer registration station last hunting season ... (do to) electronic registration system ... funding for testing has also decreased since the disease was first discovered in 2002.

Would you Eat CWD infected Deer? Sure, why not...

A team of researchers from universities in the United States and France say they’ve found new evidence that it’s possible for humans to contract the agents that cause CWD. They injected mice, whose DNA had been modified to resemble humans, with mutated proteins called prions. Testing showed two out of 20 mice tested positive for prion infection.

But former Wisconsin Natural Resources Board Member Dave Clausen advised the results are not cause for alarm. "This study does not mean that human infection is a foregone conclusion," Clausen said. "All it does is demonstrate that it is possible."

That's all it does. Feel better?

Democratic criticism Politics, or actual Criticism? And while Democrats want to deal with this and other problems, they're not being taken seriously, because well they're...the "left." Scott Walker said as much, when he lied about the states commitment, and redefined the Democrats honest fact based criticism as gotcha politics:

Walker said science will drive future deer management decisions – not politics. Walker said the state is committed to a healthy deer herd: "We’re ready and willing to hear their recommendations. They made a call to be more aggressive, but they didn’t give us specifics. If they’ve got specific ideas, we’d be more than happy to work with them or anybody else."

No specifics? Oh god where do we start unpacking that load of BS? First let's see what Walker has done "specifically," besides propose leaving road kill to rot on the side our state highways:

1. The DNR has half the CWD testing budget it had last year.

2. Last year the DNR stopped using the term “CWD management zone” … “In the absence of having any management strategies or tools to deal with it, it is basically an endemic area … endemic means: It’s here to stay.”

3. George Meyer, a former DNR secretary said, “It is going to spread further and further out and eventually ... biologists in the department ... are not allowed to talk about it and not allowed to bring forth proactive measures to deal with it.”

4. The agency will solicit samples at only two locations in southern Wisconsin ... down from between 15 and 20 locations in recent years.

5. Janesville Gazette Xtra: Wisconsin deer farmers can opt out of the state's chronic wasting disease monitoring program without upgrading their fences under an emergency rule the state DNR adopted Wednesday despite concerns the move could spread the disease ... spare deer farmers extra expenses. The DNR recorded 29 escapes this year (2015) alone ... "The DNR fencing requirement is the last safeguard to prevent further CWD contamination of the wild deer herd," Meyer said.

6. Walker says Gov. Jim Doyle and the DNR have engaged in "political games" and "put bureaucrats in Madison ahead of hunters of the state."

7. Trustee Dr. James Kroll said people who call for more public hunting opportunities are “pining for socialism.” He further states, “(Public) Game management is the last bastion of communism.”

8. AP: A state board voted to limit a new law ... The Sporting Heritage Bill ... expanding hunting rights in state parks ... after Wisconsin residents said they wouldn't feel safe ... DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp said the board should remember that lawmakers passed the law with the intent that hunting be expanded. “Ours is not to debate what the elected officials decided,” she said.

As for the Democrats offering specific ways to deal with CWD? Well, other state's are doing just the opposite of Scott Walker:

1. DNR Is Unlikely To Act As Deer Herd Faces Possible Starvation: Minnesota Starts Emergency Deer Feeding Fund, But Wisconsin's DNR Can't Follow Suit Without Legislative Approval.

2. In Illinois, where officials continued to reduce the herd in diseased areas, there has been no increase, University of Illinois researchers found in a 2014 study. The prevalence of the disease is much lower in northern Illinois, where targeted sharpshooting has been used by Illinois wildlife officials since 2002. The prevalence rate is under 1% in Illinois' 12-county CWD area. In 2007, the DNR defended the use of sharpshooters as an "efficient and effective tool in reducing deer numbers and removing diseased deer," because the shooters were killing more antlerless deer than hunters were.

Wisconsin anti-science DNR and Republicans let Chronic Wasting Disease Spread through Midwest.

Deer hunters left the sport in droves after chronic wasting disease spread through Wisconsin like a California wild fire. Wisconsin State Journal:

Fear of eating CWD-tainted venison initially scared many hunters and made owners of hunting land in southern Wisconsin concerned that their property would lose value if the hunt died off, said Jeff Schinkten, national president of Whitetails Unlimited.

But instead of fighting the disease like neighboring states, Scott Walker hired a Deer Czar who couldn’t wait to play down the threat with massive defunding and anti-science opinions.

Hoping people would forget about CWD and deer hunt again, Walker hopes hunting enthusiasts will soon be placing diseased meat on the tables of unsuspecting Wisconsinites. And it could be working. Republicans are now doing “at least some testing,” you know, going through the motions. And without in-person registration and testing, they’re thinking the problem will just go away:

Wisconsin is taking steps this year to continue at least some testing to keep tabs on a deadly disease that is spreading through the state’s deer herd, even though hunters no longer need to bring carcasses in for registration. But the number of tests is dwindling while prevalence of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin grows and neighboring states fight to control it, the DNR has half the CWD testing budget it had last year and enough resources to analyze tissue from 4,000 carcasses, down from 7,500 last year, said Tami Ryan, the agency’s wildlife health section chief.

Scott Walker's anti-science movement within the DNR resulted from feedback by "unhappy" hunters who never got deer. Of course the disease might have killed a few of them...

The state is following wishes expressed by the public in dozens of forums since the disease was discovered near Mount Horeb in 2002 ... "then monitoring and now not monitoring but doing surveillance to give the information to hunters who want it,” Ryan said.

 And like everything else reeling out of control in Republican states, the best solution is no solution:

The warning signs are there... 

Last year the DNR stopped using the term “CWD management zone” for the southern Wisconsin region encompassing the worst infestations. “In the absence of having any management strategies or tools to deal with it, it is basically an endemic area,” Ryan said. “We know it’s there and it’s not likely to go away. That’s what endemic means: It’s here to stay.”

How does that sound hunters? Real hands on American know how at work. 

“It is going to spread further and further out and eventually have an impact on the number of deer in the state,” said George Meyer, a former DNR secretary “What is really troubling to me is that the biologists in the department know this is the case but they are not allowed to talk about it and not allowed to bring forth proactive measures to deal with it.”

Read the following and weep sports men and women, this is how Republicans manage a state's tourism and sporting economy:

Czar James Kroll

CWD prevalence in the Wisconsin has doubled since the state became less aggressive in 2007, while in Illinois, where officials continued to reduce the herd in diseased areas, there has been no increase.

The agency will solicit samples at only two locations in southern Wisconsin ... down from between 15 and 20 locations in recent years ... Plans also call for staff members to collect samples from about 10 venison processors ... Current budgeting is in line with the simpler and more passive stance recommended by James Kroll, a Texas wildlife biologist chosen by Gov. Scott Walker in 2011 to find ways the state could mollify hunters who blamed the DNR when they didn’t bag a deer. 

The number of samples testing positive for CWD ballooned from 219 in 2010 to 331 last year even though fewer samples are being analyzed. Near the boundary between Dane and Iowa counties the prevalence of CWD in male deer has increased to over 25 percent from about 9 percent in 2002, the DNR estimates.