We recently came across a story of a grassroots effort to fight Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) by paying hunters to shoot infected deer. The idea is gaining traction with some groups and even has support from a few retired Department of Natural Resources employees. Former DNR biologist from Wisconsin, Mike Foy, and retired DNR Wildlife Bureau Director, Tom Hauge, are trying to get things going with a CWD control effort called CWD Payment4Positives. It’s a big topic that delivers a huge question – should bounty hunting CWD deer be legal?
Should bounty hunting CWD deer be legal?
According to the Wisconsin Public Radio, Foy says the state has largely abandoned efforts to control the disease, choosing instead to monitor it’s spread through voluntary testing. Foy said the plan he and Hauge are advocating for would offer hunters in counties with high prevalence of CWD $1,000 for each positive deer they kill. Landowners would get $1,000 for each positive killed on their property and businesses sampling deer would get $300 for each positive.
“We take the people that they already have hunting there, we incentivize them to hunt harder with a reward to the hunter,” said Foy. “We incentivize the landowner to allow that to continue and we incentivize all the small businesses that would be necessary to take enough samples.”
Foy said the goal is to reduce the number of deer carrying the disease in hopes of slowing its spread. Since deer can be infected with CWD without showing any symptoms, Foy said it’s likely some healthy deer would be killed as well but he thinks the payments could keep private landowners in places like Iowa County and Portage County willing to let hunters focus on their property.
According to the DNR there were 597 positive cases of CWD during the 2017-2018 hunting seasons. Foy said there could be a CWD Payments4Positives pilot program held during the week-long holiday hunt.
“So, if we could get a third, or a quarter, or half of that in one week, then I think we’re on to something and we have a new tool in our toolbox in order to fight this, because right now we’re not fighting it, we’re just documenting it and it’s getting worse and worse and worse,” said Foy.
Obviously with a move so bold as a bounty hunt for fighting CWD, the critics and skeptics are sure to speak out. The questions looming are, can the deer population sustain such a drastic harvest of animals if a bounty were put into play?
Also, what about the potential for illegal deer being killed in order for individuals to cash in on the bounty? This could easily be the perfect opportunity for poachers to take their dirty game to the next level.
The glaring problem is that a lot of deer would have to be killed, with hunters simply hoping that the deer will test positive. That makes bounty hunting CWD deer seem like quite the gamble.
What are your thoughts? Should bounty hunting for CWD deer be legal? What good/bad do you see coming from such a move? Comment below and let us know what you think.
