RT-QuIC Tested Urine
Tink’s® and Wildlife Research Center®, leading manufacturers of quality hunting scents, have significantly invested in the science of CWD research and funded a study with CWD Evolution, LLC. This has led to a testing process specifically designed for checking deer urine for CWD contamination, utilizing a widely accepted technology called RT-QuIC.
Tink’s® is now testing every lot of natural urine prior to bottling, to certify that no CWD is detected and provide final confirmation that Tink’s® products are safe for use without risk of spreading CWD. These products can be easily identified on both the packaging and the bottle label by this logo:
Are hunting scents effective?
Animal scents have been used effectively for countless years by hunters and trappers. Deer scents can improve your odds of success by adding realism to a grunt call or rattling horns, drawing in a buck during the rut with an estrous product, or just by simulating doe in the area to give a sense of safety. It is incredibly rewarding when you have that big buck respond to your scent set-up!
Why is our tradition at risk?
CWD is a growing concern. Wildlife agencies are under great pressure to take action towards stopping the spread of this disease,such as population management, carcass transport restrictions, live deer movement restrictions, and unfortunately in some cases, less scientifically supported measures.
Unfortunately, some take it so far that they propose their own ideologies to ban urine-based scents even though scientific studies don’t support this. It appears to be more politically motivated than science based. CWD prions cannot be detected in urine without amplification. In fact, urine from clinically sick deer must be highly concentrated in order to produce enough prions to even register on an ultra-sensitive test. In the study commonly referenced, the infected urine was concentrated 10 times greater than normal, and then injected directly into the brains of genetically modified mice, made to be far more susceptible to CWD than a deer. Even in these experimental conditions that were extremely unnatural, only 1 in 10 subjects proved infected.
Let’s be honest, deer in the wild don’t get urine injected into their brains. The scientists that authored the studies most commonly referenced when considering urine bans have this to say of urine bottled by ATA Deer Protection Program Producers, “the risk of urine-based scents spreading CWD is Virtually Zero”.
What are scent companies doing?
Urine used by scent manufacturers like Tink’s® is collected at elite facilities that are highly regulated and continuously monitored for CWD. Furthermore, these manufacturers and the facilities where their urine is collected, proactively participate in the Archery Trade Association Deer Protection Plan. This robust certification program was put together by disease experts, prion scientists, and state wildlife agencies to protect these facilities from CWD contamination.This program requires closed herds, increased monitoring, inspections, and facility requirements well beyond what is required by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Now, as a final confirmation the products are safe without the risk of spreading CWD, Tink’s® is having urine tested for CWD contamination prior to bottling. Some agencies have aggressively pursued bans on urine-based scents, stating there is no commercially available test to check the urine for CWD. That is not true anymore!
Speak up! Hunters have to stand up for their right to use urine- based scents. Take Action Now! Show up at public meetings and tell them not to ban urine-based scents. Contact your representatives. Make sure wildlife agencies know the use of urine-based scents is a safe, important, and effective tool in the tradition of hunting. Support the scent companies that are fighting for your tradition of deer hunting and using urine-based scents. Support the scent companies that are fighting against CWD.Look for urine-based scents with the ATA Deer Protection Program seal, and RT-QuIC Tested seal, on the packaging.