Our herd is Certified CWD Free
…with both the NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets as well as the Responsible Hunting Scent Association Deer Protection Program, of which we are a member. This means that our herd is evaluated through the NYS Dept of Ag and Markets by an accredited veterinarian annually during which all of our deer are inspected and accounted for. Being certified CWD free is the highest level of monitoring that can be done and we have been testing for CWD for more than 10 years. By testing, this means that any deer which dies on our farm or is butchered has to have the lymph nodes in the neck and at the base of the spine tested for CWD. In NYS if any herd has a single positive test for CWD the entire herd must be shot and deer can never be raised on that property in the future. NY standards for CWD are the highest in the country. Our herd is also a closed herd, meaning we do not bring any new deer into our herd which eliminates the possibility of our animals being exposed to any new diseases. The Responsible Hunting Scent Assoc works with state wildlife agencies to help better educate them and the public about the facts concerning CWD and has also established a certification program so that hunters can know that any deer urine or deer farm with the RHSA seal is known to be CWD free.
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE AND DEER URINE:
Although there has been a push by a few states to ban the use of deer urine for hunting, there are no scientific facts to back up these decisions and this is an example of government regulations going beyond rational disease prevention. These regulations are often based on propaganda and not scientific data collected over the past 30 years. Most reputable scientists who are knowledgeable on CWD transmission agree that the amount of actual prions contained within urine of an infected animal is so infinitesimal that it poses no threat of CWD transmission. Some of these scientists have actually spoken out against the ban on deer urine. A number of states that were considering banning the use of deer urine this year have actually tabled the discussion until they can have solid facts to base their decisions on instead of adopting a panic based policy.
The bottom line is that if a deer farm doesn’t have CWD in the first place then it can’t transmit a disease which it doesn’t have! Our whitetail deer urine is CWD free and every ounce we sell comes directly from our own farm and we follow vigorous disease testing and prevention programs with state and federal guidelines and oversight. At Wyoming County Whitetail deer farm we have an annual inspection by an accredited veterinarian of 100% of our herd as part of our CWD monitoring which we have been doing for over 10 years and are certified CWD free with the NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets as well as being certified CWD free with The Responsible Hunting Scent Association’s deer protection program. We can ensure that our deer urine is disease free because our deer urine is tested – Learn More about RT-QuIC testing.
HISTORY OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE:
CWD (chronic wasting disease) in deer has been around in the wild deer herds of Colorado and Wyoming since the 1960s. There is still hunting in these states so obviously this is not a disease which will wipe out entire deer herds or it would have done so in the 50 plus years that is has been found in these states. This was a disease that was man made in a university in Colorado in the 1960’s. This university was studying scrapie in sheep which about 75% of the sheep in the U.S. carry. Sheep can carry scrapie and it has no effect on them at all. This Colorado university also had a whitetail deer herd which they were studying. The sheep (carrying scrapie) and the deer were housed in close proximity to each other. The deer started to get sick and assuming the they would do better in a more natural diet this university released some of the deer back into the wild. They also sold deer to zoos and research centers in other states, not knowing that these deer had CWD. That being said, there is absolutely no proof that this disease was spread by urine either from the sheep to the deer or from one deer to another. So, again, there is still no scientific evidence to prove that CWD can be transmitted by the use of deer urine by hunters.
