DEERSPIRACY

 As the less than promising rut ends and the traditional "dead time" of the next two weeks begins, so to my blog posts may be spotty. There's just not that much to report. Other than Savage's five and Wader's seven nobody else has blood on their hands. Bird is still seeing good movement and PhotogGeorge had to cut his season short and visit his sick mom in Tennessee. As for me, I had one great morning: a dozen does, two bucks fighting, two eagles and a pass on a pretty nice seven point. It all happened within forty-five minutes one morning a few days ago. Most days it's been only spikes and a few does. The teenagers seem determined to get some action now that the does have been released from the rapey lockdown of the mature bucks. As bad as I've had it recently, it's nothing compared to my hunting buddy UB on his family farm near Rock Tavern. The cause of the lack of deer? EHD.   

"EHD is a viral disease that’s endemic in North American white-tailed deer populations. It is transmitted by biting midges, also called “no-see-ums” or “punkies.” External signs of EHD in deer include fever, small hemorrhages or bruises in the mouth and nose, and swelling of the head, neck, tongue, and lips. The hooves of infected deer often crack or slough, which makes infected animals appear lame. Deer with highly virulent strains of the virus may die within 1 to 3 days of becoming infected. Dead or dying deer are commonly found near water in late summer or early fall. The DEC examines dead deer by necropsy with tissue samples tested to confirm the disease. DEC officials also opportunistically collect carcasses and tissue samples from deer on the fringes of known EHD outbreak areas for testing.

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has monitored this year’s outbreak since it began in the lower Hudson Valley in late July. More than 30 counties have reported some level of outbreak. Counties clustered along the Adirondack Mountains appear to have escaped the outbreak so far, as have about half of the counties in the western portion of the state. DEC officials can’t point to a specific known reason why the outbreak happened where it did this year, but note that the disease does not affect deer populations uniformly. Hunters may see variable impacts on hunting success depending on the specific locations they chose to hunt."- Field and Stream

   EHD appeared late last summer 2020 in the area and has been with us since then. Anecdotally there were reports of piles of deer carcasses blocking the dam in Wallkill and big bucks discovered floating in local ponds. In a world where everyone carries a camera on their phones where are the photos? Sadly, hard scientific information is lacking which leads to speculation and conspiracy theories. One such theory is that the DEC (urged on by Insurance Companies) is experimenting with bugs and invasive species on the 6,700 acres of Stewart State Forest in the Towns of New Windsor, Newburgh and Montgomery in Orange County, New York. UB still farms parts of this state land and according to his report nobody took a deer opening day on the large state parcel. Again, statistics are hard to find. Is the DEC some sort of Wuhan virus lab funded by Big Insurance in order to decimate the deer herd and stop hunting? That's a stretch. 

    Chronic Wasting Disease and EHD have been around for decades. I don't think a NYS governmental agency is nefarious or smart enough to pull this off. But, what is undeniable is the deer are gone from UB's farm. Yet, less than twenty miles away on Bird's property the deer are plentiful. My lack of deer movement cannot be blamed on disease. I've found no carcasses in the ponds, woods, or the river. My theory is that these late summer hurricane systems are blowing the southern midges north and randomly depositing the nasty little critters hither thither across the state. It's just bad luck to be in one of the infected areas. These so-called "weedy species" thrive in the new world of climate change. We must adapt. If the DEC was that smart they'd figure out a way to stop the Debell Egg Breaking facility in Town of Fallsburg from polluting the air and Neversink watershed with their residue. I can smell the idling egg trucks from my tree stand and see the pipe belching egg waste into the Neversink year round. I've repeatedly contacted the facility and the DEC engineers. No action has been taken. Nobody seems concerned but me. Or maybe it's all part of the big plan to rid the world of hunter/gatherers. Some hunters can just forget venison this year. Every sick and dying deer represents one less car insurance claim. And what about those Covid deer? Bat asshole anyone?