Following confirmation of a case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Spokane County in late July, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has filed multiple emergency rules to help prevent the spread of the disease across the state.
“CWD is a fatal illness of deer, elk, moose and caribou. The disease is caused by mutated proteins known as prions, which can contaminate the environment and be transmitted between animals through their feces, saliva and urine,” WDFW said in a news release. “Most animals with CWD appear normal until the end stages of the disease. It can only be detected through testing of lymph nodes or brain tissue. It is important to prevent a widespread outbreak of CWD in Washington to protect wildlife populations.”
The following emergency rule changes relate to CWD. These are summaries of the changes; for the full text of each emergency rule visit WDFW’s emergency rule change web page.
• Baiting: Effective Sept. 1, in game management units (GMUs) 124, 127 and 130, it is unlawful to hunt for deer, elk and moose using any type of bait placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, scattered or otherwise used for the purpose of attracting deer, elk or moose with the intent to hunt them. It is also unlawful to use natural or synthetic scents that contain or are derived from cervid urine and glandular extracts.
• Transport restrictions of dead wildlife: Effective Aug. 23, it is illegal to transport deer, elk or moose, or parts thereof, taken from within the 100 series GMUs in areas that require a Washington state hunting license, to other areas of Washington state. This excludes meat that has been deboned in the state or province where it was harvested and is imported as boned-out meat, or meat that has been deboned within 100 series GMUs and is transported as boned-out meat to other areas of the state.
• Mandatory CWD testing for salvaged deer and elk: As of Aug. 23, anyone who salvages a deer or elk in the CWD initial response area of GMUs 124, 127 and 130 must submit the whole head with at least three inches of the neck attached, or extracted retropharyngeal lymph nodes at the base of the skull to WDFW for chronic wasting disease sampling within three days of receiving a salvage permit.
• Mandatory reporting of hunting activity: Effective Sept. 1, successful deer, elk and moose hunters in GMUs 124, 127 and 130 are required to submit the whole head of a harvested animal with at least three inches of the neck attached or extracted retropharyngeal lymph nodes to WDFW for CWD sampling within three days of harvesting.
Information on how to have hunter-harvested or salvaged deer, elk, or moose tested is on WDFW’s CWD web page.
WDFW will propose similar permanent rules for the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to consider soon, according to a news release.
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