At one time or another, most deer hunters have used scent lures in hopes of attracting that randy old buck that may be on the prowl. One of the more popular deer scent lures is a concoction that contains urine from a doe in heat. These deer attractants come in many different trade names. As far as I know, there is no irrefutable scientific evidence that this stuff works, but there is plenty of anecdotal testimony from hunters who swear by the effectiveness of a quality deer scent. In my experience, when it comes to urine-based deer scents, the word “quality” is a synonym for foul odor.

Years ago, when I was a hard-driving deer hunter, I always dabbled a few drops of doe scent on a piece of felt pinned to the back of my hunting cap.Whew! You get used to the smell after a time, but I learned never to wear my cap into the deer camp, especially during a damp day. Did my estrus stench ever work in the deer woods? On at least one occasion, I’m convinced that a downwind buck I killed met his doom when he hung around just long enough to get a noseful of my ripe odor.

In his book, Top End Bucks, veteran deer hunter Ralph Norris is not big on deer scents. He writes, ” You mix human odor with any scent and it will creat a hybrid smell from your body that will be worse.”

Now there is another twist on this deer-scent debate. State fish and wildlife agencies are questioning whether urine-based deer scents are safe or even should be used at all by hunters.There is some new science. While it was first thought that the infectious agent (the prion) in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), that can infect deer, only resided in brain and spinal tissue. Now, it seems, it is being found in saliva, some muscles and even urine!

It is believed that the use of some urine-based deer scents may be capable of transmitting CWD to new areas. The safest urine-based deer lures would be those certified safe by the manufacturer. Here are the deer lure advisories from Maine and Vermont:

Maine’s Deer Scent Advisory

In most cases, the urine used to formulate commercial “doe-in-heat” or other buck lures is collected from captive deer or elk farms. If CWD prions are passed in the urine of CWD-infected deer and elk, the infective agent may be present in these lures. If present, then CWD prions may inadvertently be placed where susceptible Maine deer may contact and ingest them. Depending upon how the lure is handled, CWD contaminated deer lures could also be a source of exposure (and inadvertent ingestion) by people. In addition researchers are demonstrating that once prions are in the environment they may contaminate the area by remaining in the soils for years to come.

At this time, we do not know whether any captive/farmed deer or elk used by the lure industry have ever contracted CWD. To date, deer lures are not being checked for the presence of CWD prions. Until more is known about whether commercial deer lures pose a realistic risk of spreading CWD, we recommend that hunters use caution in spreading urine-based lures in the environment, and avoid placing the lures on their clothing or skin. Avoid placing deer lures on the ground or on vegetation where deer can reach them. Deer lures can be safely placed above deer height, allowing air circulation to disperse the scent. We would also strongly recommend using synthetic, non-urine based lures that have become available on the market until further research can show that deer urine does not pose a risk of containing infectious prions.

Vermont’s Deer Scent Advisory

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is asking hunters to help keep Vermont deer healthy by avoiding the use of deer urine-based attractant scents.The infectious agent of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal disease of deer, is a mutant protein or “prion” that can be passed in urine. This mutant protein can bind to soils and remain infectious for many years. Some captive deer facilities producing urine products for hunting have not complied with mandatory disease prevention and monitoring regulations. The products they are producing may, as a result, be capable of transmitting diseases such as CWD.CWD is fatal to deer and moose and has been impossible to eliminate once it has been fully established in a population. CWD has not been detected in Vermont after several years of testing brain tissue samples from dead deer.

Dr. Shawn Haskell, Vermont’s state wildlife biologist in charge of deer, says that if CWD is ever detected in Vermont, local deer numbers would have to be greatly reduced to remove the disease before it becomes established. This reduction would have to be done for at least five years. More information about Chronic Wasting Disease can be found in the Big Game Management Plan, on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website, and at www.cwd-info.org.

There you have it. Once again, science introduces yet another finding that must be cranked into the choices made by deer hunters.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal and has written his first book, A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].