CDC UPDATE:  Deer Meat Didn't Cause Hunters' Deaths Story by Mike Snider, USA TODAY Concerns about chronic wasting disease have heightened after a case report surfaced of two hunters who developed neurological disorders and died after eating venison from a population of deer that may have been infected with "zombie deer disease." The report of the two hunters who died in 2022, presented in early April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, did not prove the transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) from deer to humans, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio researchers wrote. However, the researchers wrote, the case "emphasizes the need for further investigation into the potential risks of consuming CWD-infected deer and its implications for public health." There have been no cases of CWD in people reported to date, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But past studies raised concerns that CWD could "pose a risk to people," the CDC has said, suggesting "it is important to prevent human exposures to CWD." Here's what to know about the hunters' deaths and the CDC's response to the report. CDC: Deer meat did not lead to hunters' illnesses, death About the 2022 report, the agency agreed with the researchers "that there is a need for careful investigation of chronic wasting disease (CWD) as a potential risk to people's’ health," CDC epidemiologist Ryan Maddox said in a statement to USA TODAY. But the CDC reviewed the 2022 cases and considered the two men's deaths as "part of the normal number of cases of CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) we see in the U.S.," he said. The men died after developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which like CWD is a prion disease, a class of fatal neurological disorders, which can affect humans and animals, and usually progress rapidly and are always fatal. In prion diseases, certain proteins in the brain begin to fold abnormally, causing brain damage and other symptoms, the CDC says. "A history of hunting and/or eating venison does not mean that someone got CJD that way," Maddox said. "Many Americans hunt and even more eat venison. Some will develop sporadic CJD by chance and others will not."

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Greetings Deer Farmers, experienced and new!

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who was able to attend our ILDFA annual meeting and fundraiser online, in person, or both. It was a big year for us! With growth brings new opportunities and possibilities. We outgrew our previous location and hit a home run when we were able to book the Effingham Event Center, officially taking our one-day event and making it two.

Starting Friday evening with a pizza social provided by Chase Baker of Baker Whitetails and a free CWD Sampling Training Opportunity thanks to the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare's, Dr. Willney and her excellent colleagues. Day two started with a second opportunity to attend Dr. Willney's class for anyone who was unable to make it Friday night. A tasty breakfast assortment of Dunkin Donuts was graciously provided by Billie Jo Rix and Mark Mann of Red Wire Ranch Whitetails for our morning social. Then straight into our main event including an antler competition, photo competition, silent auction, lunch, and our in-house live auction. If that wasn't exciting enough, we also gave away a gun as a door prize and had four other guns to raffle off.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 SPONSORS WHO HELPED MAKE ALL THIS POSSIBLE!

SPRINGFIELD WHITETAILS - SATURDAY DINNER SPONSOR

KALMBACH FEEDS, INC. - ANTLER COMPETITION SPONSOR

RED FOX DESIGN CO. - AD PRESENTED BY

RED WIRE RANCH WHITETAILS - PHOTO COMPETITION SPONSOR

BAKER WHITETAILS - FRIDAY DINNER SPONSOR

I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and abundantly successful fawning season. May we all be blessed beyond belief.

Our next event will be our ILDFA Annual Fall Picnic. Details to come soon.

Grant Carrolan & Lisa Shepard

NADR is excited to roll out the all-new GMS Web App. This new GMS product offers the deer breeder/farmer the latest in technology and data capturing from the NADR database. GMS clients will be able to access their data via any platform, using any device. The following features are just a few of the many tools included in GMS! 

Herd Inventory - Track all aspects of the herd, including tags, names, state id, birth weight, sires, dams, etc. Display unlimited pictures of each animal. Record medications for each animal.

DNA Submittal & Retrieval - A few clicks, and the paperwork is ready to go via online submittal. When the specimen has been processed, retrieve the lineage and DNA information back into GMS.

GEBV/Codons - Receive and store GEBV score and Codon values from NADR for each animal. 

Lineage/Pedigree -The fully interactive lineage screen displays lineage and pictures for each animal. Optionally, you can display the GEBV score. 

Doe Line - Customizable field for each animal to record anchor doe detail to display on reports or grouping. 

Pen and Group Management - Create and assign as many pens or groups as desired. Pen and group detail included in inventory reports allows for sorting and reviewing animals by pen or group.

Designed for All Species - NADR has spent countless hours with people in the industry to develop a program that will work for all Cervid species as well as Exotics.

More to Come! – We will be rolling out more features in the coming year such as Dream Deer, Animal Transfers, Customizable Reporting, Email Notification of updates.

It will be easy to sign up and transfer your data. 

An email and link will be sent to view a demo of the GMS Web App and discuss your data.

For existing customers, we will provide instructions for locating and uploading the GMS database backup file.

NADR staff will then do all the work to get you up and running.

I hope this message finds you well. Its now breeding season, crazy how time flys!  AI has come and gone here, now the long wait for may.

Illinois Department of Agriculture was awarded 2 of the 5 portions USDA CWD Grant. The virtual meeting at the end of September was about CWD Sampling Certification. In this portion of the grant, you can get certified to take your own cwd samples, free tools/shipping supplies, and all submissions paid. I am working with Dr.Willney to have a class during our spring event. With that, wenare currently working on the details for our Spring Event. Please if you have any suggestions reach out to a board member.

Thank you,

Chase Baker

Vice President ILDFA

As the deer industry evolves, the North American Deer Registry (NADR) is evolving right along with it. What began in 2007 as a cooperative effort between the Texas Deer Association (TDA) and the North American Deer Farmers Association (NADeFA) for the purpose of validating the industry by providing pedigree verification, NADR continues to utilize technology to move the industry forward.

Combining GMS along with NADR’s recent technology upgrades, including NADR Online and NADR Interactive, will allow breeders to utilize technology to create a more efficient process from sample submission to receipt of results. NADR will assemble a team of power users and technology veterans to work over the next 6 months to create a web based mobile friendly application that all breeders can benefit from.

GMS subscribers should continue to use the current GMS platform until the transition is made in the Spring of 2024. We are excited about this new feature and will have updates as we get closer to the rollout. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to call the NADR Office.

Sincerely,

Gary Cook

Executive Director, 

North American Deer Registry