[Mike]

I sure hope they have their thinking hats on.
There have been reports from here in AZ re: this situation as well.
<<<but we can’t rule anything out at this point,”>>>>
At least they are willing to say they really don’t know, that is a
step in the right direction.
Bridget

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny&#8211;
deerdisease0625jun25,0,686673.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
Local farm may be origin of deer disease

June 25, 2005, 10:19 AM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. — The first outbreak of chronic wasting disease east of
Illinois may have started with a taxidermist in Central New York,
officials from the State Department of Environmental Conservation
said Friday.

Officials from the state agency theorize disease-infected animal
heads were shipped from the west to the farm of John Palmer of
Westmoreland, who is also a wildlife rehabilitator, said Michael
Fraser, a spokesman for the DEC.

Fawns in Palmer’s captive herd may have come into contact with the
material and contracted the infection before being released into the
wild, Fraser told the Observer-Dispatch in Utica.

On March 5, routine testing of Palmer’s captive deer herd uncovered
the first local cases of chronic wasting disease. Two wild deer that
later tested positive for the disease may have come from the same
captive herd.

It marked the first time the disease was found outside the Midwest
or Rocky Mountains. CWD affects the brain and central nervous system
of certain deer and elk and is nearly always fatal.

There is no evidence that CWD is linked to disease in humans or
domestic livestock other than deer or elk. While the disease is
highly contagious, scientists don’t know how it is transmitted among
animals.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has said CWD could cost New York state up
to $107 million if it impacts deer hunting like it did in Wisconsin.

Palmer could not be reached Friday.

“We’re not ready to say it definitely came from one of the farms,
but we can’t rule anything out at this point,” Fraser said. “We know
Palmer is a taxidermist who brought in material from a CWD state and
that he’s also a wildlife rehabilitator, and we know for a fact that
deer were released from that farm. It’s a probable scenario, but
it’s premature to say so with 100 percent certainty.”