Can you eat CWD deer

I have heard yes from old timers, wait 30 days for test results from others.

My understanding is there is no scientific data stating it will make you sick. I personally have not par taken. Just what I heard off a meat eater or rogan podcast. If it's on a podcast it's gotta be true. Personally I'll pass.

Nobody has contracted CWD from eating CWD positive animals, yet. I sure don't want to be the first because it may happen but the odds are you will enjoy your meal and nothing will happen except a full belly!

I have never heard of CWD jumping to humans, but I think everyone will have to make their own choice on eating the meat. If I don't have my animal tested, and it looked healthy, it goes in the freezer. If the chili doesn't kill me the venison probably won't.

Deer and other animals can have asystematic cases of CWD and you would never know it. I suspect that with the prevalence of CWD, people here and abroad have eaten plenty of animals that have CWD. There doesn't seem to be any known cases of humans getting CWD. However, some things take a loooong time to become apparent and I'd rather not hunt in any CWD areas.

Cancers that originate from environmental elements can take decades to evidence themselves in humans. Who knows what eating CWD animals could bring in the long run.

Maybe It could become the next cv-19 " pandemic"

I wouldn't intentionally do it-- in CO there are areas you are required to get your animal tested-- if it pops hot they offer you another tag if you turn your animal in. They recommend not eating it just to be safe.

We used to drink from a hose, not wear our seat belts or bike helmets, and play outside in the dirt--- and we seem to still be alive----- "you do you"

They don't know. It has been shown to jump to small monkeys so there is a possibility that it could jump to humans. Also, its a prion. They have an incubation period of 5 to 40 years, so if you eat it now you may be dead before it would affect you or you could be old and it could possibly be diagnosed as something else like dementia if they aren't looking for it.

What it is not is some government conspiracy to prevent you from eating deer meat. There is a genuine concern. Eat it at your own risk. Like others said, its almost a guarantee that people have been eating it and there have been no known effects.

My buddy shot a whitetail during the archery season that was covered in tumors. We brought it to the state's wildlife biologist for an opinion. When asked if the deer was safe to consume, he stated, quite calmly, yeah but just don't eat the tumors.

I'm not sure that was the best advice. LOL

Deer warts are disgusting but the meat is fine. A friend of mine killed a nice buck covered in them.

Tumor Chilli!

Old rooster said:

Tumor Chilli!

Click to expand...

Millions of pounds of elk and deer are consumed annually... and have been for eons. How much of it has been tested?
Heck, I have known many guys ("hunters") who have no idea what CWD is or that it exists!
Many think CWD and EHD/Blue Tongue are one and the same.
The point is that many of us and others have been eating CWD infected animals for decades, and we haven't heard of any humans contracting it.

manitou said:

Millions of pounds of elk and deer are consumed annually... and have been for eons. How much of it has been tested?
Heck, I have known many guys ("hunters") who have no idea what CWD is or that it exists!
Many think CWD and EHD/Blue Tongue are one and the same.
The point is that many of us and others have been eating CWD infected animals for decades, and we haven't heard of any humans contracting it.

Click to expand...

CDW and EHD are very different diseases. CDW is what's known as mad cow disease in deer and other covids. EHD is hemoragic disease. Blue tongue! Caused by midges getting into their noses. Seen it wipe out deer herd in couple of weeks. CDW is neurological disease. Always fatal. Make sure you don't eat anything that has come into contact with brain matter or spinal fluids. If the deer looks poor and confused best shoot it and let coyotes do their thing.

What if the hunter looks poor and confused ?