Anti-Hunter Hysterics, Deer Disease Updates, 53-Year Mystery Solved, and Other Deer Hunting News

Let's start with some anti-hunter fearmongering.

Two groups you have never heard of, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have petitioned the Secretary of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service to ban the import of all wild animals into the United States, and additionally to ban interstate transport within the U.S. of all wildlife parts.

This is a ridiculous petition bordering on hysteria by radical animal-rights organizations … whose only goal is to advance an extreme agenda by stoking fears around COVID-19, said Bruce Tague of the Sportsmen's Alliance. The antis claim that stopping the import and movement of wildlife and parts would reduce the threat of a virus like SARs-CoV-2 jumping from animal to animal and causing another pandemic.

The petition is seemingly aimed at wildlife trade, such as pet stores and other importers of birds and mammals, but it would directly impact hunters. For example, you couldn't carry home the meat and antlers of a buck shot in Canada, nor could you cross state lines in the U.S. with meat, hides, or antlers of an animal taken in another state.

I seriously doubt this petition will go anywhere, but it shows the antis will never let a crisis go to waste in their attempt to destroy our lifestyle. The Sportsmen's Alliance has our back and will fight this ridiculous petition every step of the way.

Missing in Action

Long-time UFC analyst Joe Rogan wasn't cage side at the UFC 266 pay-per-view event recently in Las Vegas. Rogan had a scheduling conflict with something much more important — his annual hunting trip! It's unclear where or what Rogan was hunting for, but our bet is elk or maybe mule deer somewhere out West.

Update: We saw on Instagram that Rogan shot a nice 6-point bull elk in Utah.

More News on Chronic Wasting Disease

The Missouri Department of Conservation will hold mandatory CWD sampling during opening weekend of the firearms season November 13 for hunters who harvest a deer in one of Missouri's CWD Management Zone counties. For a list of those counties, click here.

In addition, a 3 1/2-year-old doe in Henry County, Tennessee, tested positive for CWD in early September. CWD has been found in multiple western Tennessee counties already but to date, most of the positive cases have been concentrated in a few southwestern counties near Memphis. The Henry County case was less than 8 miles from the Kentucky state line, prompting the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to enact their own emergency CWD response plan, which includes a baiting ban in all counties within a 30-mile radius.

This is all a good reminder to have your deer tested if you hunt in or near a CWD zone in any state.

Late-Breaking EHD

In an update to our last report on 2021 Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) outbreaks, officials in Nebraska say they are now getting calls nearly every day with reports of dead or sick deer. South Dakota has also confirmed EHD in four counties, mostly in the northwestern part of the state. Wildlife officials are concerned that recent drought conditions could take the death toll higher, until the region's first frost kills the gnats that bite and infect the deer. In 2012, similar drought conditions and a widespread outbreak of EHD killed some 50% of the whitetail deer in Nebraska.

53-Year-Old Mystery Solved

This is not about deer, but you'll find it interesting. The AP reports that an Idaho bowhunter found the remains of another hunter who had been missing for 53 years.

Raymond Jones was 39 years old when he was last seen on Sept. 7, 1968 while bowhunting for mountain goats in the central Idaho high-country. Jones' remains went unfound until an anonymous bowhunter stumbled across them one day a few weeks ago.

Sheriff's deputies recovered the remains and found part of Jones' wallet with his identification still inside. They contacted Jones' family members who were still alive and bought closure to the mystery. For more on this case, check out Stephanie Mallory's coverage on The RealBlog.