Deer carcass import restrictions enacted
A new wildlife rule has been implemented in North Carolina prohibiting the importation of whole deer carcasses and restricting importation of specific carcass parts from anywhere outside the state.
The regulation is an effort to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease, a transmissible and fatal neurological disease affecting cervids such as deer, elk, moose and caribou.
The only deer parts that can be imported are: meat with all bones and bone fragments removed; caped hides with no part of the skull or spinal cord attached; antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates and cleaned skulls free from meat and brain tissue; cleaned lower jawbones or cleaned teeth; and finished taxidermied products and tanned hides.
All parts must be appropriately labeled. Chronic wasting disease contaminants can persist in the soil for years. Most U.S. states have some form of importation or exportation regulations for cervid parts. Chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in 25 states and three Canadian provinces.
See complete rule at www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Hunting/Documents/Deer/Rules-for-Importation-of-Deer-Carcass-Parts.pdf.
