The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will conduct public hearings for informational purposes July 26 in Columbia and July 29 in Jena on a notice of intent (NOI) that restricts supplemental feeding and deer carcass export from the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Control Area.
The action is intended to replace the current Declaration of Emergency (DE) in place for the described area in an effort to curb the spread of the always fatal deer disease.
The July 26 hearing will be held at the Grayson Baptist Church Gymnasium, 915 Louisiana Highway 850, Grayson near Columbia at 10 a.m. The July 29 hearing is set for the Jena Community Center, 1245 Fairgrounds Drive, Jena at 6 p.m.
The NOI will add portions of Caldwell, Catahoula, La Salle and Richland parishes to a CWD Control Area. All of Tensas Parish and portions of Madison, Franklin and Concordia parishes were already included in an existing CWD Control Area. The CWD Control Area will be expanded in Franklin and Concordia parishes.
The proposed expansion was necessitated because of a CWD confirmed positive wild deer on private land in Catahoula Parish in March. The discovery was made in a hunter-harvested white-tailed buck. This is the first CWD confirmed positive in a wild deer outside of Tensas Parish. CWD was first detected in Louisiana in 2022. The Catahoula Parish positive brings the total number of CWD detections for Louisiana to 40.
The NOI, in part, reads:
- Supplemental feeding, baiting, placement of bait, or hunting over bait is prohibited within the portion of the CWD Control Area designated as the CWD Enhanced Mitigation Zone. Supplemental feeding and baiting is allowed in the portion of the CWD Control Area designated as the CWD Buffer Zone, but only by non-stationary, mechanical or electronic broadcast methods. The use of bait not normally ingested by deer is allowed for feral hog trapping, or by holders of bear harvest permits during the designated bear baiting period.
- The export of any deer carcass or part of a deer carcass originating within an LDWF designated CWD Control Area is prohibited, except for: meat that is cut and wrapped; meat that has been boned out; quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached, antlers, clean skull plates with antlers, cleaned skulls without tissue attached, capes, tanned hides, finished taxidermy mounts and cleaned cervid teeth. Deer heads may be transported out of the CWD Control Area solely for taxidermy purposes by waiver.
To see the current DE and full NOI, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/resources/category/commission-action-items or https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cwd for maps and additional information about CWD.
CWD is a neurodegenerative disease of white-tailed deer and other members of the family Cervidae. It is caused by a prion, an infectious, misfolded protein particle, and is 100-percent fatal. There is no treatment or preventative vaccine for CWD. CWD infected deer may exhibit signs of weight loss and emaciation, salivation, frequent drinking and urination, incoordination, circling, lack of fear of people, and always results in the death of the animal.
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.
The public may comment on the NOI until August 5, 2025. Comments may be submitted to LDWF Deer Program Manager Johnathan Bordelon by email at jbordelon@wlf.la.gov or by mail sent to LDWF, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA., 70898.
For more information, contact LDWF Deer Program Manager Johnathan Bordelon at jbordelon@wlf.la.gov
