The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LDWFC) is set to consider a motion to declare an emergency and ban all deer feeding, food plots and other possible measures, as part of their effort to control Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Louisiana’s deer population.
The announcement was made late last week with a meeting of the commission set for Thursday, April 3, at 9 a.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge.
CWD was first found in Louisiana deer in 2022 in Tensas Parish but this past hunting season, a wild deer harvested by a hunter in Catahoula Parish also tested positive for the disease.
According to a report issued by the LDWF on March 17, CWD is a neurodegenerative disease of white-tailed deer and other members of the family Cervidae. They say it causes weight loss and emaciation, salivation and other symptoms and always results it the death of the animal.
Despite the fact that the March 17 LDWF report says CWD is not contagious to humans, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend against the human consumption of deer known to be infected with CWD. There has yet to be a proven case where consumption of a CWD infected deer caused any harm to humans by consumption.
Despite the lack of evidence, the LDWFC will meet Thursday to “receive an update on CWD and consider a declaration of emergency and notice of intent to amend the CWD control areas,” which most believe will result in the banning of feeding deer through food plots and other methods.
Economists estimate deer hunting in Louisiana contributed $385 million to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and deer hunters spent over $56 million on land purchasing and leases, with more than $6 million spent on plantings and food plots.
A vote to ban the practices could have major economic impacts across the state and in LaSalle Parish. Many area businesses thrive on hunters purchasing corn and other feed for their local hunting areas. One local business owner says over one-third of his revenue is derived during hunting season.
Other economic impacts include groceries, fuel and hunting supplies, all of which contribute greatly to the LaSalle Parish economy. Banning the practice in certain parishes or the entire state would be detrimental to small businesses and have catastrophic effects statewide.
LaSalle Parish resident Clay Mayo, who has been managing wildlife for over 30 years on private land, has researched the issue to great lengths and is calling upon all residents to unite to help stop the state’s effort to ban feeding and other efforts related to CWD.
Much of the data he uses to support his statements are from Dr. James Kroll, a scientist who has worked primarily with deer since the 1970s and is considered an expert on CWD. Dr. Kroll believes the CWD is a farce, and his evidence can be found throughout the internet by searching his name.
The following letter is from Clay Mayo about this controversial issue set to be voted upon Thursday:
“This Thursday, April 3rd, LDWF will host a meeting in Baton Rouge regarding revoking our rights to feed deer/wildlife in Louisiana. The meeting time and agenda was announced mere days ahead of the proposed meeting. The issue at hand is the government’s concern over CWD.
CWD has been found in many wild and pen raised deer populations. It has been in our herds for decades, as long as we’ve been able to test for it. It is caused by a prion, basically a folded snippet of protein in the deer’s body. CWD has never killed a single deer. CWD has never caused a single illness in humans. LSU established a lab whose main focus is testing deer for CWD; positive or negative testing only, nothing to do with the effects of the disease or how it’s spread.
The majority of the deer identified as positive have been sent for testing from northern states. At the time I spoke with the scientists, not a single deer that tested positive had been from Louisiana. The deer that tested positive did have a common factor, that they were killed by a weapon, automobile and almost everything else. But not CWD.
Stopping the supplemental feeding and mass eradication of hundreds of thousands of deer by government sniper crews have been tactics employed by the government nationwide to “end” CWD. Evidence shows that neither of these tactics has stopped the positive test results in deer tested. Yet, that’s what the government keeps doing state to state. If you think it can’t/won’t happen here, take a look at Texas and the battle governor Abbott and Ted Nugent are having against those that are attempting to ban supplemental feeding in Texas. Feeding has already been banned in many states, including a portion of Louisiana.
Whether you’re a saddle bow hunter, a box stand rifle hunter, a purist stalker with no bait and a bolo or spear, or just someone that loves looking at Louisiana wildlife and getting a free pack of deer meat from a hunting buddy every now and then, this affects YOU!
In my opinion, the only negative impact will be our wild deer herd here in Louisiana. Scientific evidence has proven that the hardest months on a deer are December to May. Browse has dried up by then. Most of their feed is gone, and what is there contains very little sustenance. Many of us feed heavier during this time while also putting out much needed micronutrients such as sulphur blocks, trace minerals, salt blocks, dicalcium phosphate, and many more supplements that aid in herd health. These have all been proven to increase the size, weight, and overall health of the deer herd. Yet, all these are being banned across the US and what they are meeting discuss the banning of here in Louisiana.
If CWD was harmful to deer and any of these measures stopped the spread, I would be on board helping to stop the spread and doing everything I could to find a cure, as I love my deer and hunting them!
To reiterate:
There has been no scientific research showing CWD is harmful to humans.
There has been no scientific research showing CWD kills deer.
There has been no scientific research showing the government has a proven way to stop the spread of CWD.
In closing… There have been hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into stopping hunting over feed, and several hundred thousand deer killed “In The Name of Science” by our government with no research or findings actually being achieved.
This begs the questions:
Who’s really behind this?
What group has unlimited funding to stop hunting rights one by one?
What is their Endgame?
Make EVERY effort to show up to this meeting. Call all of your politicians and the LDWF today!”
