Bad year for Michigan Deer Hunters? Warning, Graphic Pic.

I wanted to bring this to ATS attention because I know there are a few hunters here and to ask the other Michiganders what they think about the DNR’s reporting of the numbers on this. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease is not new, from what I’ve been reading, but it has been making a big comeback this year in Michigan. Unfortunately, this is a very drawn out, painful way for the deer to die.
I first heard about this disease a month ago, and to be honest, I didn’t think too much about it. Then I started hearing about it from actual people I know, that own land or that have relatives in other counties that do. I started watching the DNR reports on this web site. What I was hearing, was not matching up with the numbers on the web site.
www.michigan.gov...

Although I don’t currently hunt, I come from a family of hunters and usually end up with a deer in the freezer every year. What concerns me this year, is the difference between what the DNR are reporting for deaths, compared to what my neighbors are reporting.
I am sure that one of two things are the cause of this discrepancy.
A) Farmers are just burying the deer, and not reporting it.
B) The DNR don’t want to scare off the hunters this year, as it is big business for MI.

It was really driven home last night, when my husband received this picture from our neighbor.


It was taken less than ¼ mile from my house, by the pond where we fish in the summer.
This is the second deer in a week the landowner has found there, and the deer was a beautiful 11 point.
So, I was wondering, to hunters in general, and especially in MI, have you been following this? Do you think this is going to have an impact on this years hunting season?

We have an outbreak of EHD here in Illinois as well.. but not as bad as in past yrs... though the losses are heavy enough that its thinned out the "herd" a lot. I dont know if CWD or chronic wasting disease is worse this yr.. or they are just making it to roadways quicker. Id written on here somewhere abotu 2 yrs ago concerning the deer just sitting there barely alive on the side of the highway. Motorists would stop and walk directly to them. They were docile and dying.. CWD obviously. With EHD they are skittish.

ANyway, it seems Il is hit harder than Mich just due ot our geography and the vectors of EHD being more plentiful here. I doubt it will be a "bad" yr for hunting though as with this thing it seems to be hit and miss with areas. You may have a big loss in one spot and almost no loss of deer in another. Gotta thin herd? Go hunt another spot. My opinion anyway!

reply to post by chiefsmom


Do you know if this is affecting other varieties than white tail? I have friends that travel to Michigan for a hunt every year, and they hunt black tail and mule deer too. I will let them know so they can investigate it themselves. They may not want to go this year.

www.sfgate.com...
Here is an article about the disease limiting hunting in South Dakota

It seems like a lot of animals have been dying lately

Sounds like you have a lot of cases in Michigan.

We had only one confirmed case in PA last year, but have had small outbreaks in previous years.

This link to the PA Game Commission has several maps, one covering the continental US, showing coverage of Bluetongue and EHD viruses. PA Game Commission

reply to post by littled16


I haven't heard about the other types of deer, seems the news and the DNR are mostly reporting on whitetail, but they may want to contact whomever they know here and ask. I would be interested in what they hear.

I don't want to alarm anyone but shouldn't we be concerned about a hemorrhagic disease in the local wildlife population?

West Nile jumped species in the past few years and Ebola just popped up in the Congo again. West Nile isn't a hemorrhagic disorder but Ebola is.

Are they testing deer for this disorder after they're shot?

Originally posted by chiefsmom
reply to post by littled16

 

I haven't heard about the other types of deer, seems the news and the DNR are mostly reporting on whitetail, but they may want to contact whomever they know here and ask. I would be interested in what they hear.

The link that I just added on my first post says that Mule deer and Big Horn Sheep can also be affected by HD.

reply to post by chiefsmom


I just heard about this on the news yesterday. I live i new jersey. they said it has been infecting the new jersey deer population also. We have a lot of deer that live in our back yard and so far i havent seen any die like this.

reply to post by rtyfx


o There is no evidence that shows humans can be infected.

That is what they are saying right now.
But they haven't asked people to have their deer tested yet, and if it can be 7 days before symptoms show up in the deer, you would think they would want them tested.

Reply to post by chiefsmom

Im only a state away and you know what I noticed? (or haven't noticed) I haven't seen a deer all summer, sure they hide out in the corn fields but usually you see them from time to time. Either their population is down or the disease is wide spread.

Like you I don't hunt but when the family gets one I make sure to get my hands on some venison. Hoping to make some jerky this year if any of them have any luck.


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reply to post by butcherguy


The DNR link I give also says it can infect livestock as well.

reply to post by chiefsmom

If you'll recall, in the early years of West Nile in this country they said the same thing. It was only recently that it crossed the species barrier to humans.

reply to post by strafgod


That is one of the reasons I made this post.
By now, I should have had a close call almost every morning, about the middle of our road. It is a creek and they are always hanging out in the road, to the point were I have to honk to get them out of the way.
Neither my husband or myself have seen any yet, since May.
That has not happened since I have lived out here.

Happening here in N.C. too, smell of rotting corpses is bad in some areas.

Poor things. this is the nw of N.C. btw.

Reply to post by chiefsmom

Same here, and ill hear alot people out of the blue say "haven't seen any deer lately" or something along those lines.

Ive seen lots of rabbits this year but thats about it.


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From what I've heard, infected deer die within a week of becoming infected and within a day or two after showing symptoms. I also heard that a hard frost will kill this disease. So, hopefully if you were to wait two weeks after first frost, you should be safe. This is all second hand from a guy I work with, who's daughter works for the state of Michigan in one of the wildlife depts, do take it for what it's worth but I trust the info.

As a michigander and a hunter this is terrible news. I have not heard of this before, probably cause i haven't made it in to the woods in a few years. I remember there was big concerns of TB a few years back, and we would have to take are game to dnr to be inspected. I will be investing some time into researching this tonight. thank you.

reply to post by DIRTYDONKEY


Just make sure your research includes some farmers or neighbors with lots of land, if possible. That is what got me on this, I was hearing of anywhere from 25 to 100 dead deer from land owners, compared to the numbers on the DNR website.

Not sure if you know where the Maple river is, but according to my son and his buddy, there are a lot of dead deer along it, to the point where they wont catfish there anymore.

Toxins in Genetically Modified Crops the deer happen to snack on for food at times?

Bad year for life in general....The WORLD needs to pay attention to what is happening in America and not only BAN genetically modified crops but declare them illegal and a threat to the survival of Earth.