It was a question that we've heard many times around the campfire in the last few months. But this week was the first time we've seen it in the paper. It came from Gene Banks of Palestine, Ark., at a Game and Fish Commission meeting this week.
As readers and especially hunters will know, some awful sickness called Chronic Wasting Disease has been found in Arkansas. Specifically in a few counties in northern Arkansas, up in the mountains. The disease affects deer and elk. And it's always fatal. The Game and Fish folks are doing what they can, which may be limited, to keep the disease from spreading. One proposal is to limit the baiting of deer statewide, to keep deer from concentrating around one particular feeder.
Now for Gene Banks' question: "They've got the problem [north of the Arkansas River], and you're trying to solve a problem in another part of the state where it doesn't exist." Namely in South Arkansas. "Why don't you impose these regulations up there and see how you do before you implement it in the rest of the state?"
Surely the disease will jump the river. One day. But there's no proof it has yet. Besides, if deer have to go long distances in search of food, aren't they more likely to catch the sickness and spread it?
Oh, we don't envy the Game and Fish people. Surely they're learning how to best handle this CWD by talking to folks from other states who've been dealing with it for much longer. But hunters, elk-watchers and businessmen might have their own ideas worth considering. And good questions. Let's talk this out.
Editorial on 05/28/2016