Chronic wasting disease was recently detected in a hunter-harvested deer in northwestern Alabama, making it the 28th state where CWD has been documented.
It’s the first time CWD has been detected in a state that borders Florida.
Chronic wasting disease is a contagious, neurological disease that has been found in captive and wild deer in 28 states, two Canadian provinces and in South Korea.
The disease is always fatal in deer but does not seem to affect people.
As of last year, Florida prohibits importing or possessing whole and parts of carcasses of all members of the deer family originating from any area outside of Florida.
There is an exception for deer harvested from a property in Georgia or Alabama only if the property is bisected by the Florida state line and is under the same ownership.
The rules do allow people to import de-boned meat; finished taxidermy mounts; antlers; hides, skulls, skull caps, and teeth if all soft tissue has been removed.
And remember, if you happen to see a sick or abnormally thin deer or deer dead of unknown causes, please report its location to the CWD hotline, at (866) CWD-WATCH.
Since 2002, the state has tested nearly 14,000 hunter-killed, road-killed and sick/diseased deer for CWD.
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