Brian Jones: “first, I would like to thank my colleague from Wyoming for his work today and for his work on this very, very important…”

“first, I would like to thank my colleague from Wyoming for his work today and for his work on this very, very important issue of chronic wasting disease and prevention. This is an issue of great importance not only to Alabama but to 26 other States-- from Wyoming to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. This is an issue which, if we fail to act, will result in an environmental and economic crisis. Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is truly a terrible, contagious neurological illness that affects all deer, elk, and moose populations nationwide. It is a disease that is as bad as it sounds. It functions much like mad cow disease. Senator Barrasso gave all of the scientific words. He has a little bit more training in that than I do. So I will just call it what it is--mad cow disease and neurological disorders. It attacks an animal's nervous system and, over time, renders the animal weak and emaciated, with little control over its body. The disease has a fatality rate of 100 percent. Every single animal that contracts this disease dies. It is highly communicable, spreading not only through physical contact but also through contaminated environments where infected animals have been. The jury is still out on whether chronic wasting disease may be transmitted to humans, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend against consuming animals contaminated with the disease.…”