Pennsylvania Game News - November 2019 - 50

HUNTING DEER OUT-OF STATE
Pennsylvanians who harvest deer, elk,
mule deer or moose out-of-state likely can't
bring them home without first removing
the carcass parts with the highest risk of
transmitting chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Pennsylvania prohibits the importation of
high-risk cervid parts from states where CWD
has been detected. This prohibition reduces
the possibility of CWD, which always is fatal to
the cervids it infects, spreading to new areas
within Pennsylvania.
There now are 25 states and three Canadian
provinces from which high-risk cervid parts
cannot be imported into Pennsylvania.
The parts ban affects hunters who harvest
deer, elk, moose, mule deer and other
cervids in: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and
Wyoming; as well as the Canadian provinces
of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec.
High-risk parts include the head and
backbone, as well as the skull plate with
attached antlers if visible brain or spinal cord
tissue is present.

allowing hunters to take additional
antlered deer also is being considered.
If disease-management objectives are
not reached through hunting, the postseason, small-scale targeted removal of
deer could be conducted in parts of CWD
areas where determined necessary.
The draft plan provides a solid
foundation for gauging public support on
future CWD management in Pennsylvania
and the actions through which it could
be carried out, said Game Commission
Executive Director Bryan Burhans.
"Hunters are essential to CWD
management," Burhans said. "Without the
effort they put in hunting and harvesting
deer, and submitting samples from the
deer they harvest in CWD areas, our
collective fight to slow CWD's spread
50

and limit the disease where it exists in
Pennsylvania would be all the more an
uphill battle.
"The Game Commission's draft CWD
Response Plan puts hunters first in CWD
management, and their support will be
fundamental to the final plan's success,"
Burhans said. "That's why we're seeking
input on the draft plan. The fight against
CWD is not a lost cause in Pennsylvania,
but only by working together can the
Game Commission and the public achieve
goals to better protect the state's deer and
elk and ensure the future of hunting."
CWD first was detected in Pennsylvania
in 2012. Through 2018, 250 free-ranging
CWD-positive deer have been detected
within the state. At present, Pennsylvania
has three active Disease Management
Areas (DMAs), totaling more than 8,000
square miles. Within DMAs, specific
regulations apply regarding the hunting
and feeding of deer. It's unlawful to
intentionally feed deer within a DMA.
Hunters in DMAs may not use or possess
urine-based deer attractants. And deer
harvested within a DMA may not be
transported out of the DMA unless the
carcass parts with the highest risk of
transmitting the disease are removed first.
While CWD is always fatal to deer
and elk, it is not known to infect people.
Still, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention recommend never consuming
meat from CWD-positive animals.
Comments on the draft CWD
Response Plan can be submitted
through the CWD Response Plan page
at www.pgc.pa.gov or mailed to the
Pennsylvania Game Commission ATTN:
CWD Plan Comments, 2001 Elmerton
Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.
There is a comment form on the page
that can be submitted electronically or
printed, then mailed.
http://www.pgc.pa.gov
Pennsylvania Game News - November 2019

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