Deer regs discussion draws 130 in Fayetteville meeting

FAYETTEVILLE -- A public forum on rules to curtail chronic wasting disease, which infects deer and elk, drew a standing room-only crowd of 130 to a classroom in the the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center at the University of Arkansas.

The proposed regulation drawing the most protest by far would remove the three-point rule, allowing the hunting of male deer that have any antlers showing. Current rules forbid hunting any buck so young it doesn't have at least three points on at least one of its antlers.

The goal of the 14 proposed regulations is to thin the state's deer herd to slow the spread of the disease, which is believed to spread more rapidly the more deer congregate together. Other rules include raising the limit on deer in Northwest and north-central Arkansas from four deer to five. The disease has been found in deer and elk in the Buffalo River basin.

Removing the three-point rule would mean many young bucks would never reach maturity with a sizable rack of antlers. Mumbling went up from the crowd when Wes Wright, the elk program manager for Game and Fish, reached that proposal in his program and read it aloud.

Attendees said it seemed counterproductive to the goal of making a younger deer herd to allow the hunting of such young deer, since the disease mainly affects older bucks. Similar objections were made on proposals to loosen restrictions on the hunting of "button bucks" whose antlers had barely emerged.

The commission is considering drastic changes in deer management without getting a full, clear picture of the extent of the problem -- a picture that will fully emerge very soon after the first regular deer seasons starts, said Josh Harbour of Benton County near Clifty. The testing of deer after the next hunt begins will provide a very comprehensive picture of the full extent of the disease, Harbour argued. That would eliminate much guesswork, he said.

"You're making regulations for Benton County, and we don't even know that this disease is up there," Harbour said. "I deer hunt 365 days a year by managing my property for deer, and I want to see some sign of it before we do this."

"Let's have a deer season," Harbour said. "What's one more deer season going to hurt?"

Delaying new regulations until the season after next would allow the disease to continue to spread unchecked for a longer period, replied Ken Reeves of Harrison, a member of the Game and Fish Commission who attended the Fayetteville meeting. If waiting allows the disease to spread to other parts of the state not affected yet, those areas of the state will blame the commission for allowing the spread, he said. "They'll ask, 'Where was Game and Fish?'" he said.

Other states have up to 49 years of experience with dealing with this disease, and the commission is relying on their experience, Reeves said: "We've had to deal with this for four months."

"The proposed regulation would allow you to hunt a young deer, but nobody's making you pull the trigger while on your property," Reeves said. "You don't have to do it."

The lack of a reliable test for live deer is a major obstacle to controlling the disease's spread, Wright and others at the meeting said. Tests on deer and elk require a slice from the spinal cord. The disease is fatal and has the potential to devastate the deer population if not controlled.

Other proposed regulations include: using lures of scents and lures that use deer or elk urine, which can carry the disease; prohibit moving portions of the carcass of deer and elk such as the spinal cord to a different area of the state, only allowing the movement of clean trophy portions and properly dressed meat; and sharply limiting the opening of fenced-in commercial hunting enclosures before imposing a full ban on new ones next year.

There are no confirmed cases of humans catching the disease from eating venison, but the commission recommends having any deer tested for the disease before consuming any of the meat.

NW News on 05/25/2016

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