Ohio names operations under CWD quarantine

A close eye of more than a dozen licensed deer-breeding/big-game hunting operations by the Ohio Department of Agriculture is intended to help ensure that chronic wasting disease does not extend beyond the one confirmed case.

That deer – a buck – came from the World Class Whitetails of Ohio, and was confirmed as the first-ever CWD-infected white-tailed deer in an Ohio privately owned deer-breeding/big-game hunting operation.

Ohio thus became the 14^th state where CWD has been identified in a captive-run operation.

No such positive findings have ever occurred in an Ohio wild white-tailed deer, state agriculture and natural resources officials emphasize.

To keep that lid on a potentially serious pot from boiling over, 19 deer-breeding/deer-hunting operations have been placed under quarantine.

“The terms of the quarantine require submitting samples from every deer that had died on the property since being placed under quarantine,” said Agriculture Department communications director Erica M. Hawkins. “Please note too that other than World Class Whitetails of Ohio none of the other facilities has had a positive for CWD.”

Hawkins did not explain why the Agriculture Department originally said 21 operations were under quarantine but provided the names of just 19 operations.

These 19 operations – with the information supplied by the Ohio Department of Agriculture - are:

Dan Yoder/Dan Weaver Farm, 7918 Township Road 553,Holmesville; David Miller, 12003 Hilltop Road, Baltic; World Class Whitetails Hunting Preserve, 7888 Township Road 308, Millersburg; David Yoder, 5755 Private Road 5500, Millersburg; Norman Troyer (Monroe and  Roman) Troy Ridge Farm, 3998 County Road 168, Millersburg; Dwain Schlabach, 1532 County Road 200, Dundee; Mark Mast, 6741 Township Road 668, Dundee; Bob Ramer, 3275 Deerfield Ave, North Lawrence; Marvin Yoder/Scioto Valley Whitetails, 15460 County Road 209, Kenton; Dan Czartoszewski, 8177 South Cleveland-Massilon Road, Clinton; Ed Giovannone, 421 State Route 534 Northwest, Newton Falls; Kevin Glick – Preserve, 45300 Upper Clearfork, Jewett; Albert Hershberger, 4603 Township Road 302, Millersburg; Mose D. Yoder, 5415 State Route 557, Millersburg; Wayne Weaver, 7308 Township Road 568, Holmesville; Whitetail Haven (Roy Yoder), 5790 County Road 68,Millersburg; Dakota Outfitters/Preserve, 63511 Starr Road, Quaker City; Dan Yoder (Honey Run), 7391 County Road 203, Millersburg; Raymond Troyer/Wildcat Whitetails, 54614 Township Road 85,Fresno.

These deer-breeders/big-game hunting preserves will continue to see their operations under quarantine until such time that the Agriculture Department believes their animals are free of CWD, an always fatal disease that is believed to spread via direct contact with an infected animal’s fluids such as saliva or urine.

Ohio’s CWD monitoring group says because these operations declined to kill the imported deer they bought, they will remain under quarantine for five years. That time frame is being used because CWD has a long incubation period before initial exposure results into the disease manifesting itself.

In all, the state held a watch on 125 deer, all of the animals imported from Pennsylvania, likely from five deer-breeding venues in that state.

Once Ohio learned that Pennsylvania had CWD-infected animals it closed the door on white-tail imports from that state.

Ohio also began back-tracking the animals that had entered the state, examining the records required of all importers. Once that work was  underway Ohio was able to discharge 21 operations – including five big-game hunting preserves when no CWD was found in 53 of the suspected imported deer, the Department of Agriculture said in a joint release with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The state also will intensify its efforts at detecting CWD by doing a more thorough monitoring of legally taken deer, road killed animals within a six-mile radius of Millersburg.

It will do this by scientifically examining the lymph nodes of dead deer, about the only way the disease can be detected.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.