In December of 2000, journalist Hal Herring revealed in High Country News that "the sale of velvet antler from domestic elk in North America is estimated by its proponents to be a $3 billion industry. Korea is still the primary destination for most velvet products, but promoters have created a demand in the U.S. alternative medicine and nutritional supplement market." This lucrative business of grinding up elk antlers and selling them as nutritional supplements amounts to a world-wide uncontrolled experiment in transmitting CWD (also called 'mad deer' or 'mad elk' disease) to humans. Research scientist Dr. Bruce Chesebro told Herring that taking elk antler supplements is "playing with fire. ... It's basicaly the same thing we do in the lab with mice" to infect them experimentally. [3] Yet no agency is warning consumers, much less banning such dangerous experimentation, and sales of velvet elk antler supplements are just a mouse click away.