NCWF Weighs in on Deer Urine Ban
North Carolina Wildlife Federation CEO, Tim Gestwicki, shared his thoughts on the NC Wildlife Resources Commission’s new rule to prevent people from spreading chronic wasting disease through deer and elk urine and excretion.
The new rule states: No person may possess or use any substance or material that contains or claims to contain any excretion collected from a cervid (deer, elk), including feces, urine, blood, gland oil, or other bodily fluid for the purposes of taking or attempting to take, attracting, or scouting wildlife.
Gestwicki, who spoke with outdoors reporter Karen Chávez of the Citizen-Times, said NCWF supports the ban prohibiting the use of cervid urine to attract wildlife. Precaution is crucial if we are to avoid chronic wasting disease entering our state and infecting our wild deer and elk herds, he said, and the commission has exhibited strong leadership by adopting the ban.
Just as we are all taking precautions to keep the coronavirus from spreading and infecting humans, any and all steps to keep this devastating wildlife disease from spreading into North Carolina is necessary and appreciated by sportsmen and conservationists.
The article notes the prohibition doesn’t apply to “natural substances collected by an individual from non-farmed cervids legally taken in North Carolina or synthetic products.” The article also quotes Commission deer biologist, Jon Shaw, who reiterated that the only exception to the ban on natural substances is those of non-farmed deer legally taken in North Carolina.
If a hunter takes a part of the deer like the bladder and keeps it as a lure to attract deer, we did allow that. It doesn’t increase our disease risk of bringing chronic wasting disease into the state, according to Shaw.
CWD is fatal in cervids, including white-tailed deer and elk [but] so far there haven’t been any cases of CWD found in North Carolina, the article states. Said Shaw: “The infectious agent – prion – is found in urine, so we’re trying to eliminate that risk of bringing it into North Carolina the best we can.”
Read the full article about other 2020-21 NC Wildlife Resources Commission rules adopted that relate to wildlife management, fisheries, game lands and law enforcement.
New wildlife rules passed, including restrictions on target shooting, biking on game lands.