HENRICO, Va. — State authorities are asking hunters to check regulations before transporting deer after a progressive neurological disease was found in 12 deer harvested in Frederick County and one deer killed on the road in Shenandoah County.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) said that because of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), deer hunters must follow carcass importation regulations in other states when they transport a deer carcass out of Virginia, and must follow state importation regulations when transporting carcasses into Virginia. The regulations are listed below.
The department is taking certain management strategies within the CWD containment area of Frederick, Clarke, Warren, and Shenandoah counties.
All deer killed in those areas on Nov. 19 and 26, 2016 must be brought to a designated sampling station for CWD testing.
Sampling stations include Cather’s Market, Crossroads Grocery, Gore Grocery, Clarke County Fairgrounds, Town and Country Superette, Fort Valley Contry Store, Foodway Supermarket, Rivermont Shell Gas, T&R Processing, Larkin’s Store and Graden’s Supermarket.
Hunters can still check their deer via telephone or Internet but must bring the deer to a designated CWD sampling station on the dates above.
Special hunting season regulations will continue to apply on private lands in Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties and the City of Winchester, including daily bag limit of two deer per day, full season either-sex early and late muzzleloading seasons on private lands in Shenandoah County.
Earn-A-Buck is in effect for Clarke, Frederick, and Warren Counties, and the City of Winchester.
Additionally, feeding of deer is prohibited year-round in Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties, and the City of Winchester, and rehabilitation is prohibited for any deer that originates from within the CWD Containment Area.
To assist with Containment Area (CA) surveillance, DGIF is strongly encouraging hunters who are successful in the CA on days other than mandatory sampling days to volunteer the head and neck from their deer by bringing it to a self-service refrigerated drop station, located in the following places:
- Frederick-Winchester Conservation Club, 527 Siler Road, Winchester (north of Gainesboro)
- North Mountain Fire and Rescue, 186 Rosenberger Lane, Winchester (off Rt. 600, behind Tom’s Market, refrigerator is next to the garage)
- Department of Forestry, 265 Lakeview Dr., Woodstock (this refrigerator is a walk-in unit)
- Enders Fire department, 9 South Buckmarsh St., Berryville (refrigerator is behind the building)
- Elk Lodge, 4088 Guard Hill Rd., Front Royal (use exit 6 off of I-66 and head south. Refrigerator is under the pavilion to left of the parking lot)
CWD has been detected in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. The disease is a slow, progressive neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in deer, elk, and moose in North America. The disease ultimately results in death of the animal.
Symptoms exhibited by CWD-infected deer include staggering, abnormal posture, lowered head, drooling, confusion, and marked weight loss. There is no evidence that CWD can be naturally transmitted to humans, livestock, or pets.
Anyone who sees a sick deer that displays any of the signs described above should contact the nearest DGIF office immediately with accurate location information. Please do not attempt to disturb or kill the deer before contacting the DGIF. More information on CWD can be found on the DGIF website at www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd.
Carcass import restrictions for hunters from neighboring and nearby states hunting in Virginia are listed here:
| Kentucky, North Carolina | Deer harvested from anywhere in Virginia must be boned-out or quartered so the brain and spinal cord are removed. |
Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee Whole deer carcasses are allowed from Virginia except those originating from Virginia’s CWD Containment Area (Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke and Warren Counties), which must be boned-out or quartered so the brain and spinal cord are removed.
Additional restrictions exist for Virginians that hunt out of state and bring venison back to Virginia. For information regarding carcass-restriction zones throughout the U.S. and in Canada and deer parts allowed to be brought into Virginia from these zones, please visit www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd/.
Carcass import restrictions for out-of-state Virginia hunters hunting in a neighboring or nearby states are listed here:
| Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee | No restrictions |
Pennsylvania Whole deer carcasses* from anywhere in Pennsylvania are prohibited from entering Virginia. Maryland Whole deer carcasses* from Allegany and Washington Counties are prohibited from entering Virginia. West Virginia Whole deer carcasses* from Hampshire, Hardy, and Morgan Counties are prohibited from entering Virginia.
* Carcasses are allowed if boned-out or quartered so the brain and spinal cord are removed.
