AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER Maine) — A fatal deer disease that was discovered in Quebec, is getting closer to Maine and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are asking hunters to help stop the spread.
The MDIFW is implementing emergency rules to protect the state's deer and moose herds.
"Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the most serious threat facing our deer and moose populations in modern times," says the MDIFW Commissioner.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, moose, elk, and caribou and is transferred through a mutant protein in saliva, blood, urine, feces, antler velvet, and body fat of the animals.
There is no treatment or vaccine for the disease so to prevent it from spreading the Dept. of Wildlife is not allowing importation of deer or other cervids into the state except:
- boned-out meat; properly identified and labeled.
- hardened antlers;
- skull caps with or without antlers attached that have been cleaned free of brain and other tissues;
- capes and hides with no skull attached;
- teeth
- finished taxidermy mounts
The rules also prohibit the temporary importation of cervid carcasses and parts that are in-transit through Maine to another jurisdiction and they apply to all states and provinces except New Hampshire.