Dear Editor:

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been around for many many years and will be around for many, many more years. It didn’t begin because the Game and Fish started testing for it and it will not ever go away because it has and always will exist in the soil.

They say they continue testing to see how widespread the disease has become. They announce that the disease is widespread but do not give results to back this up. To be fair to the general public — not just the colleges, universities and special interest groups — why not give the public the results of all this testing so that they can make up their own minds? These test results should show how many tests have been done, by who and how many tests have been positive for CWD, starting when the very first test was taken. This should be statewide results, not just little pieces of the state that work to their advantage.

We would like to see the number of samples tested in the state each year as well as the results of the tests, the number of positives versus the number of tests run. Percentages do not count. We need actual results.

I believe the public has a right to know where and how their money is being spent; after all, the most important part of a survey based on tests is the results of the testing. Or is it all a waste of time, money and energy over a naturally occurring disease that I believe has been blown way out of proportion just to benefit Wyoming’s Game and Fish, the government and to promote their eastern ideology. This information should be published in the local newspapers, not buried in the Game and Fish website pages.

The Game and Fish say they are not getting the results they need as the hunters are not turning in their samples. They are again threatening the hunters with more restrictions, shorter seasons or no season. The CDC has become involved as the consensus is that those deer that test positive might be harmful to eat — no proof, no data, just speculation. This is just another form of intimidation.

There is no democracy here, we give them information, and they give back threats, take more control, give half of the facts, and want more money and more boots on the ground. Talk about socialized government. Think about it.

Rand Christensen

Otto