Chronic wasting disease is a major concern and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is reminding hunters it is illegal to bring into Louisiana out of state deer carcasses. LDWF Deer Program Manager Johnathan Bordelon says three Louisiana men from the Acadiana area were recently cited for transporting parts of harvested deer from Texas.
“Those parts were seized and citations were issued for that so we definitely want to remind hunters that the regulations is in place and it is aimed at protecting Louisiana’s deer herd,” said Bordelon.
The ban has been in place since March of 2017 in an effort to mitigate the spread of the deer-killing virus. Bordelon says the disease has been detected in 26 other states, including the three bordering Louisiana.
“Fortunately we have not detected it in Louisiana to date, and this prohibition aimed at keeping Louisiana CWD free,” said Bordelon.
There are some provisions that would allow hunters to bring in deer parts from other states. Bordelon says the transport of meat will be given the green light if the meat has been cut and wrapped with no part of the spinal column or head attached.
“They may have antlers also cleaned skull caps or cleaned skulls with antlers. They can now have the cape of the animal, they can have tanned hides, finished taxidermy mounts,” said Bordelon.
More details of the provisions can be found at wlf.la.org.
