DEC proposes changes to protect NY

Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious and fatal disease and the DEC is looking to protect deer and moose.

DEC Proposes Changes To Protect NY Deer & Moose From CWD: Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious disease similar to “Mad Cow Disease” in cattle, or Jacob Creutzfeldt Disease in humans. It affects the central nervous system and is always fatal. There is no known cure. It has been detected in deer, elk, and moose in other states and reports have been spreading in recent years.

There were two cases of it in New York several years ago. One occurred in a wild deer near Verona and the other was in a captive deer near Gloversville. The DEC killed a high percentage of the deer in the area near Verona although no other cases were found. There has been a lot of criticism of the DEC handling of the situation. However, the threat is very real and now the emphasis is on preventing it from entering New York from other areas where it is common. It can be picked up by direct contact with infected animals body fluid or by eating contaminated sources of food.

The DEC and Dept. of Agriculture & Markets (DAM) have finalized their “CWD Risk Minimization Plan” with recommendations to strengthen protection for deer, moose and captive deer and elk. The proposed changes are as follows:

Expand the prohibition on importation of carcasses or parts of CWD susceptible to all jurisdictions outside of NYS, not just those known to have CWD now. Only parts of deer, elk, or moose that may be imported are deboned meat, cleaned skull cap, antlers with no flesh attached, raw or processed cape or hide, cleaned teeth or lower jaw, and finished taxidermy products. Modify the list of species to only those susceptible to CWD (elk, deer, moose). Conduct joint DEC and DAM inspections of captive deer and elk facilities.

Comments on the above rules will be accepted until October 6, 2019. You can see the details of these and instructions for submitting comments on the DEC website. There will be separate rules about feeding deer and moose. These may be seen on the DEC website and will be available for comment until September 1, 2019.

The DEC urges all NY residents to be aware of the serious nature of CWD and follow the guidelines: Do not import carcasses from other states, report any obviously sick or abnormally behaving deer, do not feed deer,