Protect Our Deer, Prevent The Spread Of CWD
By Gary Moore
In October 2024, a red deer from a captive facility in Herkimer County, NY tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). This was the first CWD detection in New York since 2005 and is the closest confirmed case of CWD to New Hampshire and Vermont.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game and Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials, “The movement of captive cervids including moose, deer, elk, and caribou, as well as any species of captive deer remains the number one threat in the spread of CWD, but the transportation of high-risk cervid parts including the brain, spinal cord, and lymph nodes across state lines can also play a significant role in its dispersal.”
It is essential that hunters do everything possible to prevent this devastating disease from spreading by adhering to laws and regulations regarding the transportation of cervids from CWD-positive jurisdictions.
New Hampshire’s regulation states you may legally bring back only deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth, hides or capes with no part of the head attached, and finished taxidermy mounts. Antlers attached to skull caps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed.
Vermont’s regulation is similar. Only meat that is cut up, packaged and labeled with hunting license information and not mixed with other deer or elk during processing; meat that is boneless; hides or capes with no part of the head attached; clean skull-cap with antlers attached; antlers with no other meat or tissue attached; finished taxidermy heads; and upper canine teeth with no tissue attached may be brought back.
The use of natural urine-based lures also poses a threat. Multiple synthetic deer lures are available for sale that do not pose any risk of spreading disease which can be used as an alternative to natural urine.