BILL COCHRAN FIELD REPORTS:
Using Doe urine to attract a buck could spread disease.
The next time you sprinkle deer urine onto the forest floor to mask your scent or attract a heavy racked buck, be aware you could be introducing a disease to the animals you love to hunt.
That is the concern of officials of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, who are warning hunters of the potential danger of using commercial deer urine attractants that are readily available at stores and in catalogs that cater to hunters.
The spread of the deadly chronic wasting disease is the major concern. Since 2002, the DGIF has spent over a million dollars on CWD monitoring and management efforts. In Virginia, the deadly neurological disease has been confined to Frederick County where seven hunter-killed deer have tested positive. A more intensive outbreak is located just over the border in West Virginia.
Alaska prohibits the use of urine products, as do two Canadian provinces. Pennsylvania bans the use in areas where the state is attempting to suppress the spread of CWD.
There are synthetic products that can be used that do not pose a risk, officials say.
The DGIF has dedicated a half-page of its Hunting and Trapping Law Digest to the subject. Other information is posted on its Web site www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/deer/faq.asp#urine-based-scents
The urine is collected from captured deer and elk through a grate or screen system that also can collect feces, saliva and the infectious protein known to transmit CWD. When deer in Virginia taste or sniff the urine they could be exposing themselves to diseases harbored by deer living hundreds of miles away, officials say.
Bill Cochran authorized Star City Whitetails to share his report.