In order to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease, California hunters who bring game from out of state must follow regulations or face penalties. This is the second year the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will cite returning hunters who violate the state's regulation against CWD, a fatal neurological disease that has already been found in 14 states and two Canadian provinces.

"Hunters are key players in keeping CWD out of California, and need to be aware of the deer and elk carcass importation law," said Assistant Chief Mike McBride. "The Department's effort at education is now being supported by active enforcement. Being unaware is no longer an excuse."

Passed in 2002, the CWD regulation helps protect the state's deer and elk herds. If convicted of importing any part of a deer or elk's brain or spinal column, the court could fine the violator up to $1,000 and impose a six-month jail term. DFG will seize any animal believed to carry CWD.

According to the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 712, only the following hunter-harvested deer and elk parts are allowed into California:

?Ģ Boned out meat and commercially processed cuts of meat?Į?Ģ Portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached ?Į?Ģ Hides with no heads attached?Į?Ģ Clean skull plates (no meat or tissue attached) with antlers attached ?Į?Ģ Antlers with no meat or tissue attached ?Į?Ģ Finished taxidermy heads?Į?Ģ Upper canine teeth (buglers, whistlers ivories)

During DFG-operated checkpoints last year at Department of Food and Agriculture inspection stations, wardens saw an extremely low compliance rate - only 5 percent at one location, McBride said.

"Hunters who have spent a lot of money to go out of state to hunt should be prepared to go to court and spend more money if they bring back illegal portions of deer or elk," said McBride. "The time has come to get tough against those who put California at risk from this disease."

Besides checkpoints, wardens have authority to inspect harvested game, and, based on their observations and experience, can conduct vehicle stops once successful hunters return to California.

Although not present in California, CWD has been detected in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. It has also been detected in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Scientists have no cure for the disease, which remains resilient and has a long incubation period.

?Į?ĮScientists first saw CWD in captive deer and elk in the 1960s and in wild deer and elk in the early 1980s. By the mid-1990s, scientists identified the disease in several captive herds and believed it spread among captive herds when owners unknowingly exported sick animals to other states. Today, the disease is in wild deer and elk in at least 11 states. How CWD spread to wild deer in most cases is unknown. Scientists know little about how the disease transmits from animal to animal.

California is considered a low risk state for CWD due to its long-term ban on the importation of live elk, its prohibition on elk farming, and its strict monitoring of live deer importations. Because of that, DFG Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Pam Swift said DFG believes the likely introduction of CWD would be through hunters bringing in infected carcasses.

"Animals carry the disease in their nervous tissue, and California's regulation bans importing brain or spinal cord tissue from deer and elk harvested out of state," Swift said.

For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease, visit the DFG Web site: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/deer/wasting.html, or go to www.cwd-info.org.