Citation Issued for Violating Deer Carcass Transportation Regulations

10/20/2017 2:59:59 PM

From MDWFP

DESOTO COUNTY ­– On October 17, 2017, conservation officers of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) issued a citation to a DeSoto County man for violating 40 Miss. Admin. Code, Part 2, Rule 2.7, Prohibition on Cervid Carcass Importation.

The DeSoto County resident had recently traveled to Wyoming to hunt mule deer. After his return to Mississippi, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department contacted the hunter to inform him that the mule deer he harvested in Wyoming had tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The positive result was confirmed by the Wyoming State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Laramie, Wyoming. Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal neurological disease that affects cervids (white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, red deer, sika deer, and fallow deer).

After being notified by Wyoming that his deer had tested positive for CWD, the DeSoto County resident contacted the MDWFP. Conservation officers were dispatched to collect the remains of the deer. The mule deer had not been processed as required by the regulation; therefore, the officers issued the citation.

The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks passed the carcass importation regulation in May of 2016, in an effort to prevent the introduction of CWD into Mississippi. Similar restrictions are in place in other states.

“It is our duty to protect the state’s natural resources, and the public health, safety, and welfare,” stated Colonel Steve Adcock, Chief of Law Enforcement for the MDWFP. Adcock went on to say, “this regulation will hopefully help us to prevent something catastrophic from occurring here in Mississippi.”

Hunters are encouraged to review Mississippi’s rules on lawful transportation of trophies or meat from animals harvested out of state, before bringing these items into Mississippi.

To date, no cases of CWD have been confirmed in Mississippi.

For more information regarding hunting and outdoors in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp.com or call us at 601-432-2400. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mdwfp or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDWFPonline.