It's tricky because the symptoms may not manifest for up to a year and sometimes even longer. This time of year is extra tricky because I get deer that show up late in winter and are emaciated from a lack of food, but it could also be disease. If I suspect a deer is infected I call the game warden and they would come out to put it down and get the lymph nodes tested. There is no other way. Thus far I have not had to do this. The only deer I have lost thus far was one that for sure was starving for too long in the hills and took too long to find his way to me and several last year that played chicken in the highway but that has stopped since I started feeding them twice a day.
I could actually see formaldehyde preserving the prions. I am curious what ph of acid they used. I would be surprised if the bleach I use does not decompose the prions but maybe I have been going through the wrong process all this time. If you can suggest a better procedure I will look into it. I'm not worried about ruining boots.
> Prions cannot be destroyed by boiling, alcohol, acid, standard autoclaving methods, or radiation. In fact, infected brains that have been sitting in formaldehyde for decades can still transmit spongiform disease [1]
How do you spot a diseased animal, and what's your protocol for dealing with it?
[1] https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/prions