By Trey Iles, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) wants to remind deer hunters to review the regulations for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zones before heading to the field. Maps of each CWD Management Zone and the full rules are on the LDWF website on the CWD page.
Baiting and supplemental feeding
This season, hunters may place bait and supplemental feed within a CWD Management Zone from now through March 31. Whether baiting is allowed in future seasons depends on two things for each zone: Meeting its CWD sampling goal and keeping the apparent CWD prevalence below 2.5%. If a zone misses its sampling goal or if the apparent CWD prevalence is above 2.5%, baiting will be prohibited there the following season.
Sampling goals
The CWD sampling goal is 145 samples for each CWD Management Zone. Every deer submitted for testing counts toward that goal, so hunter participation directly affects whether baiting stays open in a zone the following season.
Carcass export restrictions
No deer carcass or carcass part from a CWD Management Zone may be taken out of the zone, with these exceptions: meat that is cut and wrapped or boned out; quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached; antlers; clean skull plates with antlers; cleaned skulls with no tissue attached; capes; tanned hides; finished taxidermy mounts; and cleaned teeth. Any part taken out of the zone must carry a possession tag showing the hunter’s name, address, LDWF license number, parish of harvest, date of harvest and sex of the deer. Hunters who want to take an uncleaned head to a Louisiana taxidermist can get a waiver from LDWF.
CWD drop-off cooler locations
CWD Management Zones are smaller this season, so some CWD drop-off coolers are no longer inside a zone. Hunters should check the current cooler locations on the LDWF website before submitting samples. New coolers are being added at Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge in Avoyelles Parish and at D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge in Ouachita and Union parishes.
For more information on CWD, including zone maps, sampling locations and carcass export rules, visit the CWD page on the LDWF website.