Hunters encouraged to do their part to prevent spread of chronic wasting disease

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - The holiday season is in full swing, and so is deer season.

Many people around Louisiana will be doing some hunting over the next couple months, and there is one thing that hunters should keep in mind.

A farm in Elton is still under quarantine after state wildlife officials discovered a deer with chronic wasting disease, or CWD, last month.

Once it was confirmed the deer had CWD, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries began investigating how many other deer from different parts of the state may have been transported in or out of the facility before the quarantine was put in place.

“It’s ten additional parishes. As you can see, they are scattered all around the state, no particular region of the state, but all corners unfortunately,” said Johnathan Bordelon, who manages the deer program at LDWF.

He explained that officials are performing what is called a trace-out, meaning they will continue to survey and monitor the deer population on each of the properties.

To keep CWD at bay, Wildlife and Fisheries has put in place several practices, one of which is natural feeding over baited feeding.

“We’re trying to keep deer from artificially congregating. Again, deer will of course come into contact with one another, but when we introduce bait to a landscape, some of the social barriers break down, so social groups that mingle with one another all of a sudden come in contact with each other,” said Bordelon.

With deer season underway, Bordelon discussed ways hunters can do their part, too.

“At the end of the day, we’re hoping that hunters are cognizant and willing to bury deer parts on site that are not going to be used - if not, at least send them to a landfill, or at the very least, if you’re going to field dress your deer and leave parts behind, leave them on the property on which the deer was taken,” Bordelon said.

The Alliance for Public Wildlife estimates between 7,000 to 15,000 CWD-infected animals are being consumed by hunter families every year, and this number continues to rise by as much as 20 percent per year.

To further prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease, Wildlife and Fisheries encourages hunters to alert the department of any suspected cases of the illness.

Also, officials said no person shall legally import, transport or possess any deer carcasses that come from beyond state lines.

To contact LDWF about suspected cases of chronic wasting disease, click here.

For more information and resources on chronic wasting disease, click here.