The Game Commission designated a 600 mile area in Adams County as a CWDS unit.
As part of the Game
Commission’s order, which is part of the response plan, Roe used emergency
regulatory authority to set in place a variety of actions that will impact
hunters. Namely:
1. Hunters within the DMA are prohibited from moving high-risk parts outside
of the DMA. High-risk cervid parts
include: the head (including brain, tonsils, eyes and any lymph nodes); spinal
cord/backbone; spleen; skull plate with attached antlers, if visible brain or
spinal cord tissue is present; cape, if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is
present; upper canine teeth, if root structure or other soft tissue is present;
any object or article containing visible brain or spinal cord tissue; unfinished
taxidermy mounts; and brain-tanned hides. Parts not considered high-risk
include: meat, without the
backbone; cleaned skull plate with attached antlers, if no visible brain or
spinal cord tissue is present; tanned hide or raw hide with no visible brain or
spinal cord tissue present; cape, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is
present; upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft tissue is
present; and finished taxidermy mounts. To accomplish this, the agency
will contract with processors to be available at the check station to serve
those hunters who plan to move their harvest outside of the DMA without taking
high-risk parts with them.
2. Hunters who
harvest a deer within the DMA during the two-week firearms deer season (Nov.
26-Dec. 8) are required to bring their deer to a mandatory check station so that
samples can be collected for CWD testing. For those participating in any other
deer season prior to or after the two-week firearms deer season within the DMA,
bringing harvested deer to the check station is voluntary, but encouraged. Deer
harvested outside of the DMA will not be eligible for testing at the check
station; however, hunters may get their deer checked by the Department of
Agriculture’s Veterinary Laboratory, for a fee, by calling 717-787-8808
The check station is the Game Commission maintenance building on State Game Land
249, 1070 Lake Meade Road, East Berlin, Adams County.
The check
station will begin operation from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18,
through Tuesday, Oct. 23, except for Sunday, when the check station will be
closed. Details about check station hours for the remainder of the early archery
and the regular firearms deer season, as well as the late archery and flintlock
seasons, will be announced at a later date.
The benefit to the hunter is
two-fold: the Game Commission will cover the cost of having the animal tested,
and the hunter will be notified if the harvested deer is found to be infected
with CWD. The benefit to the agency is
that it will be able to test a sufficient number of deer within the DMA without
having to resort to culling deer simply for testing.
3. Hunters
within the DMA are prohibited from using or possessing any cervid urine-based
attractants. Such attractants cause deer to congregate in certain areas and
increases the likelihood that CWD could spread if it is found in the
wild.
Additionally, Roe
noted that the order prohibits the rehabilitation of deer within the DMA, as
those deer will be euthanized and tested for CWD.
The order also prohibits the
feeding of cervids, which causes deer to congregate in certain areas and
increases the likelihood that CWD could spread if it is found in the wild.
Finally, those individuals
with a menagerie permit from the Game Commission will be prohibited from
transporting live deer into or out of the DMA, and no new menagerie permits will
be issued for locations within the DMA.
The order does not impact
cervid livestock operations, which are under the jurisdiction of the Department
of Agriculture.