MDWFP reminds hunters of special CWD regulations

Mississippi deer carcass Transportation Ban

Here’s a reminder for Mississippi deer hunters that the presence of chronic wasting disease in deer has caused the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to make some regulation changes aimed at keeping the disease from spreading.

It is unlawful to:

• Import, transport or possess any portion of a cervid carcass originating from any state, territory, or foreign country into Mississippi.
• Transport any portion of a cervid carcass outside from an MDWFP-defined CWD Management Zone.

CWD management zones

North MS Management Zone

Includes Alcorn, Benton, Desoto, Leflore, Marshall, Panola, Pontotoc, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, and Union counties.

Issaquena Management Zone

All portions of Warren County;

All portions of Issaquena and Sharkey counties defined as:

• All areas east of the Mississippi River;
• All areas south of Highways 14 and 16;
• Areas west of the Yazoo River.

Regulations

Carcasses may not be transported outside of any CWD Management Zone. Research has shown that decomposed carcasses of infected animals can also contribute to transmission when prions bind to soil and plant material. Thus, movement of carcasses may introduce CWD into previously uninfected areas. Any harvested deer may be taken directly to a taxidermist or meat processor within the CWD Management Zone. Only these products may leave the a zone:

• Cut/wrapped meat (commercially or privately);
• Deboned meat, or bone-in quarters with no part of the spinal column or head attached;
• Hides with no head attached, finished taxidermy;
• Antlers with no tissue attached;
• Cleaned skull plates (no brain tissue);
• Cleaned skulls (no lymphoid or brain tissue).

Hunters may only transport a deer head outside of a MDWFP-defined CWD Management Zone to a permitted taxidermist participating in the CWD collection program. A CWD sample number must be obtained from the participating taxidermist prior to transporting the deer head outside of the MDWFP-defined CWD Management Zone. This sample number must accompany the deer head while in transport and be available for inspection by Law Enforcement upon request. The deer head must be delivered to the participating taxidermist within 5 days of receiving the sample number. This does not apply to deer, elk, or other cervids harvested outside of Mississippi.

Supplemental feeding (salt licks, mineral licks and feeders) is banned in all CWD Management Zones Direct contact with prions is the most effective means of transmitting CWD. Research indicates saliva may have the highest concentration of prions. Thus, to minimize concentration of deer and potential spread of CWD, supplemental feeding is banned within all CWD Management Zones.