It seems unlikely that hunting in Leelanau will be directly affected by the discovery of a bovine tuberculosis-infected deer in southwest Benzie County.
But Emily Sewell, who leads the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) response team to the discovery of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in the wild deer herd, said cooperation from hunters will be sought to help identify and control the disease. Also in play will be parameters employed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to test cattle farms near the location that a doe was shot during firearms deer season in Joyfield Township that tested positive.
“As far as deer at this time, there is no action being taken by the MDNR’s part to get more samples,” Sewell said.
That means there is no plan to hire sharpshooters to kill deer where the infected doe was taken, Sewell continued.
However, disease eradication permits may be issued to nearby landowners to reduce the size of the deer herd prior to the start of fall hunting seasons, she added. Deer eradication and cattle isolation from wild deer through high fences have been go-to deterrents in controlling the spread of bTB.
The deer was shot during the firearms season in Joyfield Township, a rural agricultural area west and north of Crystal Mountain Resort. It’s located about 15 miles south of Empire Township.
Northwest Michigan, including Benzie and Leelanau counties, already was part of a Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) test area in the fall, which is likely why the deer was found to be infected with bTB. Hunters were encouraged to leave the heads of deer harvested during hunting seasons at drop boxes located throughout the area. In Leelanau, a drop box was provided at Gabe’s Country Meats at the corner of County Road 677 and M-72.
Whether the discovery of a bTB-infected deer will result in more cooperation by hunters in providing deer heads to sample — as the MDNR hopes — or fewer heads won’t be known until next fall.
One reason for a lack of cooperation, Sewell said, is because recently enacted mandatory reporting rules for harvested deer require hunters to identify the township in which they were successful. Those providing heads for disease testing must identify the township and section in which the deer was shot.
Hunters may not want to reveal more detail about their harvests, she said. Still others would prefer that disease in deer go undetected to avoid herd reduction near their blinds. “They think the more disease we find, that will trigger sharp shootings … people have different reactions to us asking for those heads,” Sewell said. George Quackenbush, executive director of the Michigan Beef Industry Commission and a cattle farmer in northeast Michigan where bTB has been present since the 1970s, is hoping the Benzie deer represents an isolated case.
“Across Michigan and the nation, TB just pops up.
Sometimes that happens in cattle herds, and sometimes in wildlife,” Quackenbush said. Indeed, bTB was detected in 2000 in a deer tested in Antrim but since then the disease has been quiet in that county. Eleven counties in Michigan are included in focused bovine tuberculosis testing efforts in deer, the closest of which to Leelanau is Roscommon County.
“Folks should know that the cattle herd is safe, and that the beef is safe. There is a process that will play out. This is one animal that was found. State agencies will continue a process to determine how extent this is, or how extent it isn’t,” Quackenbush continued.
Terry and Cathy Lautner operate the only remaining dairy herd in Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties. Their farm is located near the intersection of Bugai Road and M-72 in Elmwood Township.
They are hoping that they won’t be required to continually test their 130-head herd.
“I hope it goes away,” Lautner said. “We don’t want to be roped into what happened in the northeast where it’s a pain to move cattle. The biggest thing is when deer can intermingle, come up and eat the (cattle) food. But I’ve only seen about five deer on my side of the road in the 40 years I’ve been here.”
