Here is some advice that the PA Game commission has provided to its hunters who are planning to hunt in other states. It is in regard to the prevention and or introduction of chronic wasting disease (CWD).
GAME COMMISSION OFFERS ADVICE TO HUNTERS HEADED OUT OF STATE
HARRISBURG - With thousands of Pennsylvania hunters heading off to hunt
big game in other states and Canadian provinces, Pennsylvania Game
Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe reminds hunters that, in an
effort to prevent the introduction of chronic wasting disease (CWD) into
the Commonwealth, the agency prohibits hunters from importing specific
carcass parts from members of the deer family - including mule deer, elk
and moose - from 11 states and two Canadian provinces.
Roe noted that this importation ban was contained in an executive order
signed into effect in December of 2005, and affects hunters heading to:
Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York (only from
CWD containment area), South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia (only from
Hampshire County), Wisconsin and Wyoming; as well as the Canadian
provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The specific carcass parts, where the CWD prion (the causative agent)
concentrates in cervids, that cannot be brought back to Pennsylvania by
hunters are: the head (including brain, tonsils, eyes and 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.
Roe noted that the prohibition does not limit the importation of: meat,
without the backbone; 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.
Pennsylvania hunters heading to a state with a history of CWD should
become familiar with that state's wildlife regulations and guidelines
for the transportation of harvested game animals. Wildlife officials
have suggested hunters in areas where CWD is known to exist follow these
recommendations to prevent the possible spread of the disease:
- Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that appears sick; contact
the state wildlife agency if you see or harvest an animal that appears
sick.
- Wear rubber or latex gloves when field-dressing carcasses.
- Bone out the meat from your animal.
- Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.
- Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field-dressing is
completed.
- Request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from
other animals being added to meat from your animal, or process your own
meat if you have the tools and ability to do so.
- Have your animal processed in the endemic area of the state where it
was harvested, so that high-risk body parts can be properly disposed of
there. Only bring low-risk materials back to Pennsylvania.
- Don't consume the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph
nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field-dressing, coupled with boning
out a carcass, will remove most, if not all, of these body parts.
Cutting away all fatty tissue will help remove remaining lymph nodes.)
- Consider not consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive
for the disease.
Roe said hunters who harvest a deer, elk or moose where CWD is known to
exist should follow that state's wildlife agency's instructions on how
and where to submit the appropriate samples to have their animal tested.
If, after returning to Pennsylvania, a hunter is notified that his or
her game tested positive for CWD, the hunter is encouraged to contact
the Game Commission for disposal recommendations.
The Game Commission, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania and U.S.
departments of Agriculture, has conducted tests on 196 elk and 10,010
deer killed by hunters in Pennsylvania over the past five years. Since
1998, the Game Commission, in cooperation with the Department of
Agriculture, has tested nearly 500 deer that have died of unknown
illness or were exhibiting abnormal behavior. No evidence of CWD has
been found in any of these samples.
The Game Commission will continue to monitor for and collect samples
from deer and elk that appear sick or behave abnormally. The agency,
this year, plans to continue to test all hunter-killed elk and
approximately 4,000 hunter-harvested wild deer for the disease.
First identified in 1967, CWD is a transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy (TSE) that affects cervids, including all species of
deer, elk and moose. It is a progressive and always fatal disease of the
nervous system. Scientists theorize CWD is caused by an unknown agent
capable of transforming normal brain proteins into an abnormal form.
There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, nor is
there a vaccine. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and
ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, weight loss, increased
thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death. There is currently
no scientific evidence that CWD has or can spread to humans, either
through contact with infected animals or by eating meat of infected
animals. The Center for Disease Control has thoroughly investigated any
connection between CWD and the human forms of TSEs and stated "the risk
of infection with the CWD agent among hunters is extremely small, if it
exists at all" and "it is extremely unlikely that CWD would be a
food-borne hazard."
"Hunters spend a lot of time in the woods, and are a valuable source of
information to wildlife agencies across the United States," Roe said.
"If a hunter sees a deer or elk behaving abnormally, or dying from
unknown causes, contact the state wildlife agency and provide as much
specific information as possible about where the animal was seen."
In 2005, Pennsylvania CWD task force members completed the state's
response plan, which outlines ways to prevent CWD from entering our
borders and, in the event CWD is found in Pennsylvania, how to detect
it, contain it and work to eradicate it. The task force was comprised
of representatives from the Governor's Office, the Game Commission, the
state Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
state Department of Health, the state Department of Environmental
Protection and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, as well as
representatives from stakeholder groups including hunters, deer farmers,
deer processors and taxidermists. Initiated in 2003, a copy of the
final plan can be viewed on the Game Commission's website
(
www.pgc.state.pa.us) by clicking on "CWD Update" in the "Quick Clicks"
box in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
"We know that Pennsylvania hunters are just as concerned about keeping
CWD out of Pennsylvania as we are, and we are confident that they will
do all they can to protect the Commonwealth's whitetail and elk
populations," Roe said.
Other information, including tips for taxidermists and meat processors,
can be found on the Game Commission's website (
www.pgc.state.pa.us) in
the CWD Update.
Websites for all 50 state wildlife agencies can be accessed via the Game
Commission's website (
www.pgc.state.pa.us). Click on the "Related
Links" section at the bottom of the homepage, then select "Wildlife
Agencies," and then choose the state of interest from the map.
Additional information on CWD can be found on the CWD Alliance's website
(
www.cwd-info.org).
Facts about the Pennsylvania Game Commission: To keep the agency "on its
toes" in relation to CWD testing, in February, Game Commission Executive
Director Carl G. Roe launched a "full-blown emergency situation" as a
mock drill to test the agency's internal response plan for CWD, as well
as the state's CWD Response Plan. For more information about the drill,
see "Release #019-07" in the "Newsroom" on the agency's website
(
www.pgc.state.pa.us).
