Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a dangerous transmissible disease. There are no known treatments for CWD and the spread of this disease can negatively impact wild populations of white-tailed deer. In the summer of 2012, a pen-raised white-tailed deer infected with CWD was found in Pennsylvania. In response the Pennsylvania Game Commission established a Disease Management Area (DMA) around the area where the infected deer was located and an executive order was given that established several restrictions within the DMA. One restriction was the prohibition of deer urine-based lures within the DMA. Deer urine-based lures are used by white-tailed deer hunters to attract deer for harvest. However, deer urine-based lures have been known to be collected from domestic white-tailed deer herds, with the potential of an animal infected with CWD residing within these domestic herds. Thus, urine-based lures can cause the spread of CWD into wild deer populations. The objective of this study is to determine if there are reliable field based tests to enforce the current prohibition of deer urine-based lures as part of a CWD prevention strategy. Millersville University student Ken Strauser (below) will use the following forensics test kits to test for the presence of deer urine-based lures: Nite-site luminol kit, Hemascein blood kit, Uritrace and Urine Stain Ultraviolet Light. Results of all 4 forensics test on the deer urine-based lures will be compared to a control lure (i.e., water) to determine if any of the forensic tests can detect the lure on either clothing, boots or on the forest floor.
