CWD safe to eat or not?

[Scott CWO]

Prions are strange anomalys--they are not living creatures, yet act like they are. Not sure they can be made safe, but would be very happy if proven that they could be made safe.
You can also get over CJacobs, I know a lady who has, though she never ate game, got it elsewhere, somehow.
I seem to remember a broadcast from the CDC years ago where one of their scientists, seated at his desk made the statement, "well, we've heated it to 1800 degrees and not killed it"....which broadcast was buried and never saw the light of day again. Too shocking for public consumption, I presume.
I believe the odds of transmission are low. I also believe that I am unlucky some days.

In response to CWO's story of beginnings, it was my understanding that CWD started the same way mad cow disease started--mad cow by feeding cows recycled animal protein waste to save money on feed, and CWD as an identical supplement set out for deer in the northeast, Vermont and other areas with low deer density, in order to feed them into population growth. This by the game department in Vermont, to boot! Neither the game dept. nor the farmers had any moral or legal right to take a chance and unleash a disease on the world, blast it!!!!!!!!!
I get so fed up with horrible problems like kudzu, jumping grass carp, CWD and other things introduced BY governmental "experts" who are supposed to be looking out for us and who should know better!!! And no one fires them much less sues them over it! Oh, but just let me dig up a pincushion cactus to take home to the missuss and they will throw the book at me for doing something to the environment.

It’s not a “story.” It is what happened. Our now-retired Regional Biologist was a grad student at the facility in the 1960s. If you dig, you’ll find the truth.

 

[pilar]

It has now been found in all parts of the animal. Here in Colorado, prions are in soil, water and even uptake into plants. It is here to stay. Quite frankly, CWD is the least of my worries. Now CWD “management”, don’t get me started!

I’m afraid you’re right prions are in the soil every where, but I feel they aren’t a danger till you either pen deer and elk or concentrate them in an unnatural way.
Now anthrax that stuff is a spore that survives for hundreds of years underground or in dirt, till a environmental catastrophe like a drought or flood comes and brings it to the surface to spread the spores and kill everything and repeat the process of returning to the earth to hibernate till exposed again!

My neighbor had a anthrax outbreak and it killed 300 head of cattle and every deer on his ranch, someone came in dug a big 20 foot deep pit , filled it with dead cows and as many deer as they could find and covered it with old tires and about 1000 gallons of diesel and set it on fire, then buried that mess under the dirt from the pit.
The “ agent “ said he couldn’t guarantee that pit was safe, so they built a fence around it,

 

[Sabre]

I just found out the elk I killed tested positive for chronic wasting disease. Unfortunately my cooler stopped working and I had to take it to town and have it processed immediately and was unable to wait for the test to come back before processing it. As far as I can tell there has never been a case of it transmitting to humans, but the CDC says not to eat it. I got $864 in the processing and I really hate to throw it away. What do you guys think? Eat or throw.

I don't think you will find a definitive answer to this at this time. However, you will likely find a lot of strong opinions. Anyone being cautious is going to tell you not to eat the meat, or to at least understand there is some level of inherent risk in eating it. And then there are others who will say that there is no risk because there is no verifiable case of it jumping to humans. Many people are in the middle.

 

[GOLK09]

Lol, in all seriousness, I don’t worry about it and no one I know does either.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I'd eat the $864

 

[jomw10]

if I remember correctly when UK had the outbreak of mad cow they also said there were not documented cases of human transmission, until there were.
I believe the risk of transmission is low, but I don’t think we have a sample size big enough to say it cannot happen. I wouldn’t eat it, not worth it

 

[Betterinthebush]

 

[Taylorz1]

Well, that shot my last post all to hell!

Prions are not destroyed by cooking and they are highly transmissible. Prions really came to light in the scientific community when it was discovered in the brains of the Fore people who were suffering from the degenerative neurological disease called Kuru. The Fore were cannibalistic and would eat their dead ritualistically and thats how the disease was transmitted. We know that human-human transmission happens the only question is about deer/elk/cattle-human transmission. There is some circumstantial evidence that it can/has occurred and I think most people who know more than just what they have read on internet forums think that it does happen. I think that CWD is the biggest threat to sport hunting there is even beyond habitat loss. I wouldnt eat an animal with CWD. There are things that can happen to you that are worse than dying and having CJD/CWD is one of those things...

 

[Field28]

A prion does not fall under the category of a truly living organism. It is a self replicating protein molecule. You cannot deactivate it with temperatures derived from cooking. My company is in the sterilization field. Steam sterilization is not affective at halting this process. Lower temp sterilization using vaporized hydrogen peroxide is able to deactivate it.

Coming soon to Bass Pro Shops nationwide... the all new Ninja Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Slow cooker- Realtree Edition!

 

[steve white]

It’s not a “story.” It is what happened. Our now-retired Regional Biologist was a grad student at the facility in the 1960s. If you dig, you’ll find the truth.

I didn't mean to imply the word "story" as an untruth. No offense intended. I think there are a few common denominators in the several stories we have read on this thread. If there is a correlation to feeding ungulates animal protein for feed, then let's accept that it is against the laws of nature and put a stop to it!

The real question is, how to put in back in Pandora's box now that is has occurred.

Concerning anthrax, I have heard somewhere that there is an island that is totally uninhabited because of it? Or is that a myth--one never knows what to believe, sometimes.

 

[pilar]

I didn't mean to imply the word "story" as an untruth. No offense intended. I think there are a few common denominators in the several stories we have read on this thread. If there is a correlation to feeding ungulates animal protein for feed, then let's accept that it is against the laws of nature and put a stop to it!

The real question is, how to put in back in Pandora's box now that is has occurred.

Concerning anthrax, I have heard somewhere that there is an island that is totally uninhabited because of it? Or is that a myth--one never knows what to believe, sometimes.

Gruinard Island in Scotland

 

[Osama Mahdi]

Prions are abnormal forms of a naturally occurring protein called prion protein (PrP), which is normally found in the brain and other tissues of animals. I wouldn’t eat it.

 

[Flbt]

I’ve heard the same, they say that even if you burn the carcass the prions stay in the soil for years. How accurate this is I don’t have a clue.

I probably wouldn’t eat it, we’ve had a few cases in extreme northwest Alabama but I live in the extreme southwest corner , none in southeast Mississippi and non in the Florida panhandle yet so I’m not overly concerned about it yet.

Can anyone clarify if it’s present in the flesh or only in brain and spinal tissue? That could influence whether I would eat it or not.

We have had one case in the panhandle of fl
It was a rd kill doe that was tested.
That’s why they opened up antlerless season like they have.
And have sent any people with depredation permit extra tags and want all the heads sent in

 

[Flbt]

We have had one case in the panhandle of fl
It was a rd kill doe that was tested.
That’s why they opened up antlerless season like they have.
And have sent any people with depredation permit extra tags and want all the heads sent in

2023 Holmes county

 

[Scott CWO]

Prions are not destroyed by cooking and they are highly transmissible. Prions really came to light in the scientific community when it was discovered in the brains of the Fore people who were suffering from the degenerative neurological disease called Kuru. The Fore were cannibalistic and would eat their dead ritualistically and thats how the disease was transmitted. We know that human-human transmission happens the only question is about deer/elk/cattle-human transmission. There is some circumstantial evidence that it can/has occurred and I think most people who know more than just what they have read on internet forums think that it does happen. I think that CWD is the biggest threat to sport hunting there is even beyond habitat loss. I wouldnt eat an animal with CWD. There are things that can happen to you that are worse than dying and having CJD/CWD is one of those things...

What? Name me one scientist that “thinks” transmission to humans does happen? This type of hyperbole is the problem with the internet and this world. There are gads of studies occurring now throughout the world on CWD. I get a monthly report on current studies from Biologists I am in contact with.

 

[rookhawk]

I just found out the elk I killed tested positive for chronic wasting disease. Unfortunately my cooler stopped working and I had to take it to town and have it processed immediately and was unable to wait for the test to come back before processing it. As far as I can tell there has never been a case of it transmitting to humans, but the CDC says not to eat it. I got $864 in the processing and I really hate to throw it away. What do you guys think? Eat or throw.

Two points:

1.) Everyone in America that has had their game processed has consumed CWD. The processors, even those that claim you're getting back YOUR meat, are not sterlizing the equipment between animals. I've bow shot deer before and found lead and copper in the ground...hmmmm. So accept the fact if you aren't processing your own meat, you're eating someone else's that probably has CWD.

2.) Bonus round. CWD is here forever, is incurable, there will never be a vaccine or treatment, it cannot be removed from the soil. It's a folded protein, a prion, and its here to stay. Further, bans on baiting and culls by State wildlife departments are ineffective. The gov't believes that Cervids in close proximity at feeding grounds are spreading CWD, they're not. I have cameras on every lick on my land, including the licks I manufactured for the deer. The DNA being passed around on licks, scrapes, and rubs is the source of cross-contamination of CWD. All the countermeasure efforts are "feel good" attempts with no end in sight and no efficacy.

So eat your CWD meat, or don't and you'll still be exposed to CWD. Either way, you didn't catch CWD.

 

[Taylorz1]

This is a very polarizing topic. Nobody really wants to believe that we might not be able to eat the deer/elk/pigs we kill. Every department of natural resources in the country hopes this never becomes a reality. the entire sport hunting industry hopes this never becomes a reality. Millions of hunters hope this never becomes a reality and the huge game farm industry (that is likely responsible for the proliferation of cwd in the wild game populations) wants this to all go away too. There are too many people and too much money all wanting to pretend like cwd isnt a big deal. People saying "just cook it good and it will be fine" or who dont even believe its a real thing are uninformed or misinformed.

 

[Vintageguy]

I believe this disease is going to have a major negative effect on hunter numbers. A friend of mine has done deer camp as long as I can remember. Last year a deer tested positive there and now none of that group is hunting this year. I’ve known two people who left this world by VCJD. Not something I would want to roll the dice with.

 

[M70375!]

I'm no expert in the matter but I do know that in eastern Alberta CWD is prevalent and increasing in occurrences. I'm sure that in the past there have been numerous mule deer hunted and consumed by humans without their knowledge of CWD and I have never heard of transmitting it to humans. The question that I have to ask is "What was the body condition of your elk? Did it seem to you that it was in healthy condition in your opinion or sickly? When it was processed was the spinal cord removed and all the bone removed? From what I understand that is where the prions are. Even in beef in Alberta, if the stock is over 30 months of age, all spinal cord and bone must be removed during slaughter to qualify for human consumption.

It looked healthy , I had it made in to various sausages and burger, so no bone and I am quite sure they never removed the spinal cord.

 

[M70375!]

I'm no expert in the matter but I do know that in eastern Alberta CWD is prevalent and increasing in occurrences. I'm sure that in the past there have been numerous mule deer hunted and consumed by humans without their knowledge of CWD and I have never heard of transmitting it to humans. The question that I have to ask is "What was the body condition of your elk? Did it seem to you that it was in healthy condition in your opinion or sickly? When it was processed was the spinal cord removed and all the bone removed? From what I understand that is where the prions are. Even in beef in Alberta, if the stock is over 30 months of age, all spinal cord and bone must be removed during slaughter to qualify for human consumption.

It was Indian quartered so the spine is still in the field