BOULDER, Colo., March 27 (UPI) -- Colorado Division of Wildlife managers say they've determined culling random deer doesn't seem to reduce the prevalence of chronic-wasting disease.
The wildlife officials told the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera the state will halt the culling operation this year.
Officials have been systematically killing randomly selected deer in herds suffering from CWD for four years to prevent the spread of the disease.
Chronic-wasting disease is similar to mad cow disease, in that it creates sponge-like holes in the animals' brains, causing them to lose weight, stagger and die.
The wildlife experts told the Daily Camera culling is simpler than just killing infected deer, since testing live animals requires taking a tonsil biopsy -- which isn't a quick or easy procedure.
Division of Wildlife field coordinators selected 16 tests sites for the culling experiment. In eight sites they used random culling, while in the other sites they did not. But after four years, the researchers said they found no discernible difference between the two areas.
State officials said they were continuing a partnership with Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks Department to study infected animals without killing them.
