Louisiana Implements Deer Carcass Ban to Protect Against CWD

Louisiana becomes the latest state to institute a carcass ban.

Wildlife officials across the country are taking more extreme steps to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). And Louisiana is the latest to institute a carcass ban intended to do just that.

A ban approved last year actually went into effect last Wednesday according to NOLA.com. That means restrictions on hunters wanting to bring in parts of animals affected by CWD. That means no deer, elk, moose or caribou parts of any kind can be brought into the Bayou State.

The ban mirrors what has been done in many other states in putting in exceptions for residents who want to hunt out of state.

Skulls or skull plates must be clean of all tissue before being brought over state lines. Also allowed are finished taxidermy mounts.

Meat can also be brought in the state, but it has to be boned out, cut and wrapped first. Meat portions must also not have any part of the head or spinal column attached.

The measures are intended to stop the spread of prions that cause the always-deadly neurological disease.

Such bans have been enacted or are at the least being considered in many other states. And authorities are taking them seriously. In at least one case last year, an Alabama hunter was actually hit with charges for violating the state's carcass ban.

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