A Declaration of Emergency (DE) has been issued by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Tyler Bosworth in response to a recently confirmed Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) detection in a hunter-harvested white-tailed deer in Ouachita Parish in January.
The DE includes all of Ouachita Parish and portions of Lincoln, Jackson, Union, Morehouse, Caldwell and Richland parishes. The existing CWD control area is being expanded to include these new areas. 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.
The DE restricts baiting and feeding within the CWD Control Area. 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. While the DE is effective now, the implementation of the supplemental feeding and baiting prohibition will begin April 1. In addition, deer carcass transport rules are included that prohibit the export of certain deer parts. Click here to see the full DE and map.
LDWF has implemented its CWD Response Plan and will continue ongoing CWD surveillance efforts in the area. The DE is effective for 180 days, subject to ratification of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC). A NOI will be introduced to promulgate permanent rules for the CWD control area while this DE is in effect. After final approval by the LWFC, the NOI would replace the DE that is in effect.
The first CWD-positive deer was detected in Louisiana in 2022. At present, 55 CWD-positive deer have been detected, which include a single detection in Ouachita, Catahoula and Concordia parishes, with the remaining detections from Tensas Parish.
There is no statewide feeding ban included in the DE.
About CWD:
CWD is infectious, always fatal, and has no treatment. CWD is part of a group of diseases know as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These diseases cause irreversible damage to brain tissue in deer, which leads to excessive salivation, neurological symptoms, emaciation, and death of the animal. Additionally, CWD is shed by infected deer onto the landscape and can persist in the environment indefinitely, spreading the disease to other deer. Emergency action is required to mitigate further spread of the disease.
Although CWD has not been shown to be contagious to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend against the human consumption of deer known to be infected with CWD. Also, it is recommended that people hunting in areas known to harbor CWD-infected deer have their deer tested for the disease prior to consuming the animals. LDWF will provide testing for hunter-harvested deer free of charge.
For more information and control area maps on CWD, click here.