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As noted in an earlier blog post the first case of CWD was confirmed in Washington earlier this month. In that blog post I noted that there would be additional regulations coming out as a result of that. On August 23, 2024, the State of Washington implemented emergency regulations in this region, mostly effective immediately. I’ll detail out the regulations and effective date below.
Effective August 23, 2024, it is illegal to transport deer, elk, moose or parts thereof, taken from within the 100 series GMUs in areas that require a Washington state hunting license, to other areas of Washington state. This excludes meat that has been deboned. So now all animals will need to be deboned in the field at the location of the harvest.
Also effective August 23, 2024, is anyone who salvages a deer or elk in the CWD initial response area (GMUs 124,127,130) must submit the whole head with at least 3 inches of the neck attached, or extracted retropharyngeal lymph nodes at the base of the skull for CWD testing within 3 days of receiving a salvage permit (roadkill permit).
Effective September 1, 2024 baiting of deer, elk and moose is prohibited in GMUs 124,127 and 130. This includes natural or synthetic scents that contain or are derived from cervid urine and glandular extracts. I would not be surprised to see this regulation expanded statewide as baiting has been under attack here in Washington for several years now.
Effective September 1, 2024 successful deer, elk and moose hunters in GMUs 124,127, and 130 are required to submit the whole head of a harvested animal with at least 3 inches of the neck attached or extracted retropharyngeal lymph nodes to WDFW for CWD sampling within 3 days of harvesting.
It is anticipated that the Department will propose similar permanent rules for the Washington Fish and Wildlife commission to vote on soon.
These new regulations significantly increase the burden on those who are successful in this part of the state and hunters should plan accordingly.
Submitting the entire head will force the FaG to have a giant warehouse cooler to house all these heads until they have been tested and destroyed or cleared. Head could be contaminated even though it never had cwd originally. Successful hunters must cut their antlers off at the base or lose them forever. The part of the body that carrys the disease is what is being dragged out and transported to god knows where? Too many issues with this puzzle