I’m not sure how many of us are out here eating deer but just in case, you all should here about this anyway. So apparently…there is a disease causing deer to act like zombies and there might be a possibility of it somehow spreading to humans.
CWD is chronic wasting disease. It causes animals like deer, elk, moose and caribou to become aggressive and their brains to deteroiate. It’s also fatal with no cure. The Alberta Prion Research Institute conducted an experiment with monkeys eating infected deer meat because they are genetically similar to humans. After eating the meat, the monkeys did become exposed to CWD.
There are now some hunting regulations in place to stop this from spreading. It’s now illegal to even take infected meat across state lines in Pennsylvania. The CDC says that up to 79% of deer populations are already infected. No one knows how it spreads yet, but they are thinking contaminated foods and bodily fluids are factors.
Hunters please be careful out there. The CDC has even come up with rules they would like hunters to follow:
- Avoid shooting deer, elk, and moose that appear sick.
- Check to see if there are reported cases in your area before you hunt.
- Always test your meat for CWD.
- Wear gloves when handling or field-dressing animals and meat.
Here is more CWD information from the CDC. You can also check where infected meat has been spotted here.
