GFP Commission Proposes Changes to Deer and Elk Carcass Transportation – Outdoor News Daily

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission proposed a change to the way hunters would be allowed to transport deer, elk, or moose carcasses from areas that have been identified as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) endemic areas.

The Commission made three proposed rule changes to help manage the spread of CWD.

1.A wildlife processing facility shall dispose of all remaining deer, moose,  and elk carcass parts taken from another state or a South Dakota chronic  wasting disease endemic area with a waste management provider or  permitted landfill. Game processors licensed by U.S. Department of  Agriculture or S.D. Animal Industry Board shall dispose of carcasses as  required by the conditions associated with such license.

2.Importation of whole deer, moose and elk carcasses and high-risk carcass  parts into South Dakota is restricted from other states, regardless of CWD  status of the exporting state.

Exceptions:

Only the following portions of hunter-harvested deer, moose and elk carcasses may be brought into South Dakota: cut and wrapped meat; quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached; antlers, hides or teeth; finished taxidermy mounts; and antlers attached to skull caps that are cleaned of all brain tissue.

Hunters could enter the state with a whole carcass or head with antlers attached if delivered to a licensed taxidermist, game processor, or to the hunter’s domicile. A hunter shall dispose of all remaining carcass parts from the above mentioned exceptions taken from another state with a waste management provider or permitted landfill within 14 days of processing.
Those carcasses only traveling through South Dakota and those carcasses that test negative for CWD would be exempt from this regulation.

3.Hunter-harvested deer, moose, and elk carcasses shall not leave a known  CWD endemic area within South Dakota.

Exceptions:

Only the following portions of hunter-harvested deer, moose, and elk carcasses may leave a known CWD endemic area within South Dakota: cut and wrapped meat; quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached; antlers, hides or teeth; finished taxidermy mounts; and antlers attached to skull caps that are cleaned of all brain tissue.
Whole deer, moose, and elk carcasses and high-risk carcass parts from harvested these animals may be transported from known CWD endemic areas only if the carcass is delivered to a licensed taxidermist, commercial processor, or to the hunter’s domicile. A hunter shall dispose of all remaining carcass parts from the above mentioned exceptions taken from a known CWD endemic area with a waste management provider or permitted landfill within 14 days of processing.
Those carcasses that test negative for CWD would be exempt from this regulation.

To comment in person, the public hearing will be held Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. MDT at the Spearfish Holiday Inn. Individuals can submit comments online at gfp.sd.gov/forms/positions/ or mail them to 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501. To be included in the public record and to be considered by the Commission, comments must include a full name and city of residence and meet the submission deadline of 72 hours before the public hearing (not including the day of the public hearing) per HB 1006.