If any hunter from North Carolina comes to Texas this season to deer hunt, they need to be careful about how they ship those heads home.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is warning citizens that two mule deer in Texas have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. As a result, North Carolina taxidermists can no longer accept full heads for mounts from Texas and must inform wildlife officers if they receive one.
In addition, anyone bringing a deer (mule or white-tailed) from Texas, or the 18 other states or two Canadian provinces where CWD has been detected, must follow North Carolina processing and packaging regulations.
States where CWD has been detected are Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Illinois, Utah, West Virginia, New York, Kansas, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, Missouri and, now, Texas. It also has been detected in Canada’s Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces.
CWD is a member of the group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It is a progressive, fatal disease that often results in altered behavior as a result of small changes in the brain of affected animals.
The Wildlife Commission tested about 1,400 free-ranging white-tailed deer for CWD in 2009, and found no CWD.
The Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance has posted an online map of CWD findings in North America.
