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From: Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD (host25-207.tahc.state.tx.us)
Subject: Re: CWD SAMPLING TEXAS (but NOT in the obvious place, the NM, TEXAS border)
Date: December 15, 2003 at 3:43 pm PST
In Reply to: CWD SAMPLING TEXAS (but NOT in the obvious place, the NM, TEXAS border) posted by TSS on December 12, 2003 at 2:15 pm:
Dear sirs:
With regard to your comment about Texas NOT looking for CWD along the New Mexico border, it is painfully obvious that you do not know or understand the natural distribution of mule deer out there or the rights of the land owners in this state. As of 15 December 2003, a total of 42 deer had been sampled from what we call "Trans-Pecos", beyond the Pecos River. Mule deer are very widely dispersed through this area, sometimes at densities of one animal per 6 square miles. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does not have the legal authority to trepass on private property to collect deer. Some landowners are cooperative. Some are not. Franklin State Park is at the very tip of Texas, and deer from the park have been tested (all negative). One of the single largest land owners along the border is the National Park Service. Deer and elk from the Guadalupe Peak National Park cannot be collected with federal permission. The sampling throughout the state is based on the deer populations by eco-region and is dictated by the availability of funds. I am concerned about your insinuation that CWD is a human health risk. We are at a stand-off - you have no proof that it is and I have no definitive proof that it isn't. However I would say that the inferred evidence from Colorado, Wyoming and Wisconsin suggests that CWD is not a human health concern (i.e. no evidence of an increased incidence of human brain disorders within the CWD "endemic" areas of these states). From my professional interactions with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, I can definitely say that they want to do a thorough and sound survey throughout the state, not willy-nilly "look here, look there". There are limitations of manpower, finances and, in some places, deer populations. I would congratulate TPWD for doing the best job with the limitations at hand rather than trying to browbeat them when you obviously do not understand the ecology of West Texas.
Thank you for your consideration.
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