With hunting season rapidly approaching, area hunters are reminded of certain protections regarding chronic waste disease (CWD) in different animals.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently announced that importing high-risk parts or materials from deer, elk and other cervid carcasses that are harvested, killed or taken in any state or country outside of Pennsylvania is prohibited. Additionally, hunters are prohibited from moving high-risk parts outside of any Disease Management Area or CWD Established Areas.
High-risk parts include the head; spinal cord; spleen; skull plate with attached antlers; fur when visible brain/spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth; and unfinished taxidermy mounts.
Prohibition of harvesting high-risk parts serves two purposes:
- Allowing more accurate testing and surveillance in other states, since other states monitor CWD differently.
- Defining the state of CWD in established areas.
Game Commission CWD biologist Andrea Korman said that while much is still unknown about CWD, limiting its exposure is essential. More information regarding CWD, including statistics and boundary descriptions, can be found by clicking here.
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