Email
Print
FeedDeer again are dying from EHD in Pennsylvania
.jpg)
Greensburg, Pa. — An otherwise common disease once rare here is back and killing white-tailed deer.
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, more often known as EHD, has apparently been killing deer in deer in Beaver and Cambria counties, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission veterinarian Walt Cottrell.
Testing of samples from three dead deer – a buck and doe from Greene Township and Ohioville Borough in Beaver and a doe from Summerhill Township in Cambria – was still being conducted as of presstime. No results had been returned, or at least announced, from the University of Georgia’s Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Research Study.
But EHD is strongly suspected in the death of those animals, and more than 30 others, Cottrell said.
“While we must wait for test results to confirm just what caused these deer to die, at this time, we are suspecting that the deer died of EHD, based on field signs that we are seeing,” he said.
Whitetails in states all around the country are likewise suffering this year. Oklahoma, Nebraska, Michigan, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, North Carolina and Delaware have all lost deer to EHD outbreaks over the summer.
The disease is the most common one afflicting whitetails. They contract EHD through the bite of insects called “biting midges.” The disease usually kills a deer within five to 10 days. It’s not infectious to humans, though the Game Commission advises against hunters eating any that display symptoms.
The disease was once largely confined to the southeastern United States.
“For years and years, we essentially had no occurrences of the disease in the Northeast. It was a nonfactor for us,” said Kip Adams, a wildlife biologist and education and outreach coordinator for the Quality Deer Management Association, who lives in Lycoming County.
It never showed up in Pennsylvania before 1996, when it’s suspected to have killed deer in Adams County. Tests were unable to confirm that, though.
The disease returned for sure in 2002 and 2007, though, with that latter outbreak claiming thousands of deer all across the southwestern corner of the state. That year was the worst on record nationally for EHD, Adams said, with the highest concentration of the disease recorded in Albany, New York, of all places.
Locally, that prompted a lot of concern among sportsmen, enough that the Game Commission held a public meeting at the Greene County fairgrounds in Waynesburg to discuss things. That drew an overflow crowd.
EHD hit in Northampton and Erie counties last year.
The reason for the disease’s spread northward, and for its prevalence this year, is not clear. Scientists at the Southeastern Wildlife Cooperative Research Study were not available for comment.
Adams, though, said theories abound, most of them centered around the warmer, drier summers experienced throughout the Northeast. The thinking is that weather allows the midges to spread northward and survive longer, to the detriment of deer.
Whatever the cause, the disease has been on the warpath this year, he said. In Michigan, for example, the death toll among deer went from zero to more than 1,000 within a week of that state’s wildlife agency confirming its presence, he said.
“This year is setting the stage to be very bad,” he said.
The commission has been assuring hunters that outbreaks typically do not impact deer herds long-term. Cottrell said populations can bounce back quickly.
That doesn’t meant hunters won’t notice any impacts, though. Adams said it’s true that the disease does not impact herds on a management-level scale, as wildlife agencies tend to say. But herds can be hurt on a local level for a period of time, he added.
“To the average hunter, who hunts on a property level, it can be a huge problem. If a bunch of the deer in your area are dying, you can certainly notice it for period of time,” Adams said.
The disease will go away with the first hard frost, which kills the insects that transmit it, Cottrell said. Deer that survive the disease can develop antibodies that protect them against future outbreaks, too, Adams said.
Until then, though, there’s not a lot than can be done, other than for sportsmen to report sick deer where they find them. The commission is asking residents to report sightings of sickly-looking deer, particularly those found near water, by calling 724-238-9523.
Ehd if it is severe, does NOT permit deer numbers to bounce right back and everyone in my area is all too aware of that. It took years for the herd to get back to what it was prior to ehd hitting in 2007. It most certainly did effect the unit overall, not every inch of it, but the deaths were widespread enough to significantly effect the overall unit deer herd. Having looked into in some other states this is also acknowledged. This is just Kips nonsensical damage control for those that might wish for pgc to cut tags as they should, even before ehd hit. About all he does these days where pa is concerned. Needs to keep his nose out of Pa deer management and worry about heating his little hunting hut, overlooking his soybean patch so he can have a successful "hunt" this year. lmao.
I have heard alot of whisperings that this is one helluva conincidence that the disease was first confirmed when our deerless program got rolling, and interestingly it has been hitting exactly EVERY FIVE YEARS?? 2002, 2007, 2012...
Gonna have to watch the streams in 2017 for dep entomologists. One in particular had done quite a bit of creeping around our streams "gathering data" during an earlier bout of ehd several years ago.
Conspiracy theories? Maybe... But one has to admit some ugly coincidences as is usually the case with pgc and deer.. And it would be a PERFECT biological weapon against the trillium & sapling eating pestilence, especially in units where perhaps reductions havent occurred as much as they would like due to several factors.
Oh well. At any rate, Im sure pgc is tickled pink.
Lol...and for some reason it only happens in PA right? WRONG. Last year EHD affected over 90% of the deer herd in Montana's Milk River area and this year the Montana DNR actually purchased tags back from hunters so the herd can re-establish. This year Michigan and Missouri are being adversely affected by EHD. Using your logic one would think that EHD only has sever impacts on states whose names start with the letter "M". Must be a well planned conspiracy!
Get real but more importantly, get informed! Here's some links that will help you out. I suggest you look them over.
http://www.qdma.com/articles/know-the-signs-of-hd-hemorrhagic-disease
http://www.growingdeer.tv/#/death-of-a-hit-list-buck
http://www.growingdeer.tv/#/whitetail-management-ehd-hits-home
http://www.growingdeer.tv/view/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Epizootic-Hemorrhagic-Disease-Fact-Sheet.pdf
http://www.growingdeer.tv/view/2012/09/21/hunting-whitetails-how-will-ehd-affect-hunting/
"Lol...and for some reason it only happens in PA right? WRONG."
Who said it did?? lmao. DUH! Cant win a debate, so just make up the opposing argument at you go I guess? BAH! ha ha ha!
Your a riot Kathy.
Nothing in those links I wasnt aware of. But hopefully you learnt yourself something in the process of hunting for them.
Fact is, it wasnt found here until very recently. And has hit every five years. Conspiracy? No. Thats a fact Jack. Anyone that wants to can read or not read whatever they like into.
EHD hit PA last year too, but I suppose last year didn't fit conveniently into your theory. http://www.ammoland.com/2011/09/16/pennsylvania-game-commission-confirms-ehd-in-wild-deer/#axzz28SlPzdD8
https://www.google.com/search?q=EHD+Pennsylvania+2011&oq=EHD+Pennsylvania+2011&sugexp=chrome,mod=3&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Notice the post date on both articles: Sept. 16 2011. I suppose you knew all about it though because nothing gets by sandman.
NO. I didnt know that. Nor did you until you searched google to try and prove me wrong. I did not know about it because apparently it was extremely isolated case and I guess nobody was talking about it. While there may have been, I dont even recall much if any talk on news boards or pgc press releases.
It doesnt fit into my "theory" because I have no theory.
But it is nice to see you actually not completely wrong about something for once Kathy.
Guess you won't have to take this debate off on a bizarre angle like you attempted in the first post now? lmao.
...I do seem to recall, after thinking about it, hearing of some deer farm that got hit, and thought it was isolated to that.
Anyway, another thought, maybe the pgc will cut allocation since ehd hit two years in a row, and we have too many tags even without ehd?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.HA HA HA! Yeah, right! Not the extremist deer hating commission.
You should take your comedy act on the road Miss Davis.
I hear Kathy Griffin needs an opening act, and is looking for a fellow liberal to fill the role.
"Nor did you until you searched google to try and prove me wrong."
Yeah I did. I have a lot of connections with the PGC and I remembered getting a press release in my email last year about EHD. That's year's outbreak of EHD was not severe, nor was it this year. Only a couple hundred animals in PA maybe...maybe less than 50 reported cases. That's chump change compared to how many are hit by cars each year (100,000+). Other states were hit hard both last year and this year, and in those states the agencies actually bought tags back, reduced allocations significantly, and encouraged hunters not to shoot does so that the herds could be rebuilt. PGC isn't going to fret over a couple hundred deer because that's hardly a blip on the radar.
Many states with ehd hitting hard, cut their allocations of doe tags. Ive seen it first-hand in the past with West Virginia restricting their antlerless harvest, and have heard it was done in many other states also.
And in 2007, the dead toll was estimated in the thousands...not hundreds.
I have no idea how many actually reported "cases" there were this year, but as for individual animal deaths, it was in the hundreds (individual animals dead), and that isnt including the many more that were not reported and/or not found.
But thanks for sharing your expertise with us yet again. lol
"That's chump change compared to how many are hit by cars each year (100,000+)."
Sorry, Kath, but thats a given there will be deer hit with cars as long as there are deer and cars. "Other" mortality can and should be accounted for. (with reasonable communication to public, along with adjustments to allocations when needed). Of course neither are usually the case.