Thought you all might like to know this:
Oct. 21, 2005
Commission approves emergency ban on cervid carcass importation
LITTLE ROCK - In an effort to minimize the risk of chronic wasting disease being brought into Arkansas, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission today passed an emergency ban on the importation of cervid carcasses. The ban goes into effect immediately.
In 2002, the AGFC passed a similar law making it illegal to import, ship, transport or carry into the state, by any means, any live member of the cervid family, including but not limited to white-tailed deer and elk.
The new ban makes it unlawful to import or possess in Arkansas a cervid carcass or carcass part from any area, as proclaimed by the AGFC, that has a known case of CWD or considered taken from a captive facility or within an enclosure.
One way that the disease can be transmitted is by infected carcasses. At this time, 23 states have adopted regulations affecting the transportation of hunter-harvested cervids.
Chronic wasting disease is a nervous system disease that has been observed in deer and elk in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and the two Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The disease causes damage to portions of the brain of the animal and there is no cure for the always-fatal disease.
There are, however, a few exceptions to the ban:
Meat that has the bones removed.
Meat that has no portions of the spinal column or head attached.
Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, or cleaned skulls.
Cleaned teeth.
Finished taxidermy products.
Hides and tanned products.
Deer or elk harvested in commercial wildlife hunting resorts.
Return to The Taxidermy Industry Category Menu
This type of ban has gotten pretty popular. It should be ok for most hunters and taxidermists. Its actually a smart move, compared to some of the emergency regs we saw earlier. Many states even make certain case by case exceptions for skulls that are going to be processed, thus left intact.
I have heard that the case of CWD in New York was a direct result of an imported cervid by a taxidermist who kept live deer. The story I heard was that the carcass was not treated properly and live deer were able to lick bones or meat from the carcass within the pen and the captive deer ended up with CWD. Taxidermists should be VERY careful as I have herd that because of non-complience with laws currently on the books, combined with under-funding to enforce the laws, there is liable to be a HEFTY fine for someone to emphasize put the fear of GOD into deer breeders and taxidermists.