In 2018, a red deer from a captive facility in Quebec tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). This remains the closest confirmed case of CWD to the New Hampshire border. It is essential that hunters do everything they can to help prevent this devastating disease from spreading to the Granite State by adhering to New Hampshire laws regarding the transportation of cervids (members of the deer family including moose, deer, elk, and caribou, as well as any species of captive deer) from CWD-positive jurisdictions.
New Hampshire hunters who make trips to CWD-positive jurisdictions (listed below) are required to follow the mandatory regulations on bringing home any cervid carcasses. You may legally bring back ONLY de-boned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth, hides or capes with no part of the head attached, and finished taxidermy mounts. Antlers attached to skull caps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed.
To date, CWD has been detected in wild or captive cervids in 31 states and 4 Canadian provinces: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York*, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The most current map of CWD-positive jurisdictions is on the Fish and Game Department’s website at https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wildlife-related-diseases/deer-diseases.
A nationwide effort is underway to prevent further spread of this disease. Actions include collecting annual samples of deer tissue as part of ongoing monitoring and surveillance efforts and restricting the transport and spread of potentially infected animals, carcasses, tissues, and bodily fluids. Movement of captive cervids continues to remain the number one threat in the spread of CWD however the transportation of high-risk cervid parts (brain, spinal cord, lymph nodes) across state lines can also play an important role.
The use of natural urine-based lures also poses a threat. Several states and Canadian provinces have already banned the use and possession of natural urine-based lures due to the potential for disease transmission. Multiple synthetic deer lures on the market today that do not pose a risk of spreading disease can be used as an alternative to natural urine.
During the fall deer-hunting season, New Hampshire Fish and Game, with significant support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services located in Concord, collects heads and extracts samples from hunter-killed deer across the state for testing. As a result of these efforts, 8,187 deer have been tested in New Hampshire since 2002. “No samples have tested positive for CWD to date,” said NH Fish and Game Deer Project Leader Becky Fuda. “However, all it takes is for one contaminated item to be brought across the state border to change the future of New Hampshire’s deer herd forever. This is why it is vital that hunters do all they can to help our herd stay CWD free.”
For more information about CWD, its cause, preventing its spread, and New Hampshire’s monitoring efforts, visit the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department website at https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wildlife-related-diseases/deer-diseases.