Scent Industry Unites: Promote Image and Halt CWD

After four states have banned the use of naturally produced deer-urine based scents for deer hunting, while citing the potential for those products to spread the always-fatal chronic wasting disease (CWD) to deer, elk and moose, those scent company members of the Archery Trade Association (ATA) have come together to uniformly set standards and cast a positive image of their products as well as prevent the spread of disease.

The newly launched Deer Protection Program spearheaded by the ATA is an ambitious effort to ensure ATA-member scent manufacturers and product suppliers do everything possible to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to wild cervids in the U.S.

CWD is prion disease that attacks the brain of an infected deer and elk, eventually causing emaciation, listlessness, excessive salivation and death. It is generally thought that CWD is transmitted from animal to animal through exchange of body fluids, but other modes of transmission may exist. CWD prions, the infectious proteins that transmit the disease, can remain viable for months or even years in the soil.

In an effort to prevent the spread of the disease, in recent years game agencies in numerous CWD-free states have banned in importation of hunter-killed deer or elk from those states where the disease has been confirmed. And, while the scientific findings regarding the root cause of CWD are incomplete, game commissions in four states —Arizona, Alaska, Vermont and Virginia — have banned the use of commercially produced natural deer-urine.

To that end, during the past 18 months, Mitch King, ATA Director of Government Relations, coordinated input from scent manufacturers, state wildlife agencies and key CWD and wildlife disease experts to create an industry initiative to help minimize any potential spread of CWD through the use of commercially produced and marketed cervid urine-based scent products.

King said participants in the ATA Program include all major scent manufacturers, as well as the off-site facilities providing the urine they utilize in their products. In particular, the ATA Program requires participating urine-producing facilities that supply the ATA participating scent manufacturers to:

• Provide increased herd monitoring to ensure that animal testing is more thorough.
• Close their herds to importation of animals and severely restrict the export of live animals in an effort to subject all animals to the required testing.
• Double fence in CWD outbreak areas to limit (and, ideally, prevent) interactions between captive and wild herds.
• Conduct annual inspections of both the herd and the facilities and maintain accurate and up-to-date records.
• Work with the state wildlife agencies to advance the science related to CWD and to foster a better understanding of the spread of this disease.

“In our view, the ATA Program goes well beyond the current USDA and State regulations related to CWD testing,” said King.

The “ATA Seal of Participation” will appear on the products of companies taking part in the program, appearing on store shelves beginning this fall. Program participants will be authorized by ATA to incorporate the ATA Seal on urine-based products, to signify participation in the program and adherence to the program standards.

King said the ATA would work with Member distributors, buying groups and retailers to educate them about the program and seek their assistance — with the goal of educating the end user (the hunter) regarding CWD and the importance of selecting products that contribute positively to the control of the growing disease threat to wild deer herds.

“We think bowhunters would like to be informed about which products have been produced by companies who have been willing to go ‘above and beyond’ current Federal, state and cervid farm industry standards,” said ATA president and CEO Jay McAninch. “I’m proud of the self-imposed protocols and increased costs our member manufacturers have adopted and I think bowhunters will respond positively to this program.”

At the present time, ATA Deer Protection Program participants include American Outdoors Inc./Mrs. Doe Pee, Buck Baits LLC, Buck Bomb/Hunter's Specialties, Buck Stop Lures, Black Widow Deer Lures LLC, Code Blue Scents, Conquest Scents, Doc's Deer Scents, Indianhead Elk, Indianhead Whitetails Inc., Killbuck Scents, Martine's Deer Scents, Nationwide Scents, Portland Outdoors/Top Secret Scents, Robinson Outdoor Products, Tink's, Wildlife Research Center Inc. and Wyoming County Whitetails.