It’s Official! New CWD Hunting Restrictions in Effect for North Louisiana
As of this past Thursday, April 9, the rules have officially changed for scores of deer hunters in north Louisiana.
You might recall that back on March 11, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) issued a Secretarial Declaration of Emergency (DE) as a response to the confirmed CWD detection in a hunter-harvested white-tailed deer in Ouachita Parish in January. The adult doe, harvested in Deer Area 2, was voluntarily submitted for sampling and later confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The detection is the first confirmed CWD positive in Ouachita Parish.
On April 9, at the monthly meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) that Declaration of Emergency was ratified and has expanded the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) control area in northeast Louisiana.
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Deer hunters in the area need to know that the DE now includes all of Ouachita Parish and portions of Lincoln, Jackson, Union, Morehouse, Caldwell and Richland parishes. The existing CWD control area was expanded to include these new areas.
What this means for deer hunters is that within the confines of the CWD Control Area, baiting and feeding deer is restricted. The portions of the CWD Control Area referred to as the Enhanced Mitigation Zone and Buffer Zone include varying restrictions on bait. While baiting and feeding will be prohibited within the Enhanced Mitigation Zone, baiting will be allowed within the CWD Buffer Zone through methods explained in the DE.
In addition, deer carcass transport rules are included that prohibit the export of certain deer parts. Food plots are still allowed.
To read the entire Declaration of Emergency and all its associated restrictions on baiting, feeding and carcass transport, go to the LDWF website HERE.
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Gallery Credit: Gary McCoy