New regulations on the transport and possession of deer being harvested out of state were implemented this year in an effort to help prevent the importation of chronic wasting disease.
CWD, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, is a “transmissible spongiform encephalopathy disease characterized by spongy degeneration of brain tissue resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death in members of the deer family.” It is transmitted “via oral ingestion of infectious prions which are shed through saliva, urine, feces and decaying carcasses.”
The new regulations implemented to slow the spread of CWD say that no person shall import, transport, or possess any cervid carcass or part of a cervid carcass originating outside of La. except for meat that is cut and wrapped, meat that has been boned out, quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached antlers, clean skull without tissue attached, capes, tanned hides, finished taxidermy mounts, or cleaned cervid teeth.
There have been 37 other states to implement similar transport regulations to La. to slow further spread of CWD, which has been discovered in 24 states and two Canadian provinces.
The most recent states where CWD has been found is Texas and Arkansas, but according to the LDWF the disease “has not been detected in Louisiana.”
For more information on these new regulations that were imposed this year visit the LDWF website at www.wlf.la.gov.
New transport and possession regulations for out of state deer
Body