There's an insidious problem effecting deer and deer hunting across North America right now
Chronic Wasting Disease, the deer cousin of Mad Cow Disease has a bit of the feeling of the "Nothing" in the old 80's flick The Never Ending Story. As much as fish and game departments try to stop it's advancement to new states, especially in the West, we as a collective cant seem to find a way to stop it.
Well, enter a small T shirt company committed to funding conservation measures and a concerned outdoorsman. This pairing is providing a small way forward in this fight to stop the advancement of this disease.
Last Year,
Hunt To Eat funded a program in Wisconsin to help Doug Duren install dumpsters across his region in the state in the effort to collect infected deer carcasses. Infected deer, if left on the ground post harvest cause a spread of CWD as their body decomposes.
In 2018's season, Wisconsin hunters disposed of over 1400 remains of deer carcasses in the dumpsters, taking off an estimated 240+ animals that tested positive for the prions that cause CWD.
Neighboring state Minnesota noticed the program and their legislature wrote a
$50,000 check for a similar program.
Change starts small. In this case, a concerned local hunter saw a problem and took it upon himself to start something that pushed forward toward a solution.
Through a partnership with a upstart clothing and conservation company like Hunt To Eat, it allowed the hunter to pilot a program that proved way bigger than Mr. Duren originally thought.
Pretty amazing. By shopping at a company that is conservation focused, you can be the change you want to see out there.
What's your change you want to see in the outdoor and conservation world?
