Whats wrong with this deer?

[merhunts]

Sorry about the poor quality. As you can see the poor deer is skin and bones, his tongue is hanging out 5 or 6 inches. It looks like he's trying to eat but he doesn't look like he's getting much. I have contacted the NCWRC about it but haven't heard from them.

[Land_Owner]

Looks like Blue Tongue Disease also known as Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD)
http://www.deerhuntersclub.com/articles/blue-tongue-disease/

[jpred1]

Thats bad, it needs to be trapped and helped or killed and buried to get it out of the misery.

[Spanky]

The proper thing to do is put it out of it's misery and not worry about the NCWRC.



Spanky

[yukondog]

As much as I hate needless killing of game, myself I think I would put it down.

[srussell]

Looks like Blue Tongue Disease also known as Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD)
http://www.deerhuntersclub.com/articles/blue-tongue-disease/

i do belive you are right

[okieshooter]

Blue tongue got pretty bad here a few years ago. Some of my buddies that cut logs for a living were finding dead deer on a daily basis.

[buck460XVR]

from the posted website.....

This disease is spread by biting midges like flies or gnats. Some of the symptoms of this disease are high fever, excessive salivation, and swelling of the facial area and tongue. The blue tongue that gives the disease its name occurs only in a small number of cases. Once the deer is bitten and infected with the virus most symptoms will began to show within a few weeks. The death rate is usually low but tends to more noticeable in seasons of high temperatures and little rain. When a deer is infected with the virus their extremely careful nature is often changed. They move toward water and shade to try to comfort themselves from the high fever. They are less fearful of humans, and lose their appetite for food. Death can come from hemorrhages of the heart or other glands and starvation. The disease is nontransferable to humans. It can only be carried by biting insects infected with the disease.

If this is true, odds are the deer will recover.

[merhunts]

Thats what i thought it was, but wanted some more input. Thanks. I'll post what NCWRC says about it.

[Land_Owner]

A bullet in that deer is a kindness.  Shoot, shovel, and shut up.  No one is ever going to say you "poached" that deer.  You would be doing it a favor.  At this advanced stage in its decimation it is just waiting for Mother Nature's unkind end - death by starvation.

[okieshooter]

If this is true, odds are the deer will recover.
[/quote]
I don't think the deer will recover but the disease will stop spreading in cooler wetter weather.

[elhoward622]

We had one about 4 years ago at our hunt club that was cover in these growths.  He was nicknamed "warts" and had a messed up twisted up little 5point rack.  We put him down just in case it was some communicable disease so it wouldn't spread.  Doesn't really matter in the long run but here in alabama we don't have tags so shooting a cull, wounded, or suffering animal is done without much thought.

[Huntsman1]

We had a whitetail doe with an abnormally large cist bag hanging from under her chin the size of a cabbage..she seemed healthy other than that. Have'nt seen her since but the F&W officer said it could be from a wound.

[elhoward622]

This one had grape sized growths all over its body with several large growths hanging off of it. Its head and one eye were a mass of growths.  Not sure what it was but it even smelled bad when we shot it.

[digs68]

I was guessing bluetongue myself. We had it hit here and there through the years here in Missouri. My brother was bowhunting a few years ago when a scrubby little doe came stumbling up the path. When she got closer, he noticed a huge goiter under her neck. He had intended on letting her pass and let nature take it's course, but she was struggling and then she tried and tried to scramble under an old fence in the woods. He had enough, and decided to put her down. He put an arrow through her and left her lay.
She wasn't fit to eat anyway.
I agree with the others. Put that deer down. It may help keep the disease from spreading.

[wareagleguy]

What ever you do DO NOT put out any corn or anything else to will gather deer to a general spot.  Looks like Blue Tongue and if so it can kill every deer you have.

[Ron 1]

i do not beleive blue tounge can spread thru the slobber of one deer to another at least that is what the dnr in michigan are saying
rw

[wareagleguy]

Didn't say it was but it is spread by gnats and no-see-ums.  Catarrhal fever (blue tongue) can occur in farm animals such as sheep.  For stopping an infestation on a farm it is suggested to quarantine the infected.  You will cause a much larger spread of the infection if you put out bait.