News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
November 9, 2005
Phone: (603) 271-3211
Email: info@wildlife.state.nh.us
For information and online licenses, visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us

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CONTACT: 
Sgt. Bruce Bonenfant: (603) 271-3127 
Jane Vachon: (603) 271-3211 
Kent Gustafson: (603) 271-2461
November 9, 2005 

CWD MONITORING IDENTIFIES ILLEGAL IMPORTATION OF DEER FROM NEW YORK 
STATE
DEER CONFISCATED; HUNTERS REMINDED TO KEEP N.H. CWD-FREE

CONCORD, N.H. -- Officials from the New Hampshire Fish and Game 
Department announced today that two hunters have been cited for illegally 
importing whole deer from New York State, a state where Chronic Wasting 
Disease (CWD) has been detected. The two deer were confiscated and 
destroyed as part of ongoing attempts to protect New Hampshire's deer and 
moose populations from the threat of CWD, a disease -- fatal to some 
members of the deer family -- that is found in 16 U.S. states and Canadian 
provinces.

"The threat posed by CWD to New Hampshire's deer herd is of serious 
concern to us," said Lee Perry, Fish and Game's executive director. 
"Hunters who hunt out of state need to abide by the rules, which are designed 
to allow people to bring their deer back to New Hampshire without 
putting the state's herd at risk." The confiscated deer from New York, not 
yet butchered, were incinerated to destroy any potentially contagious 
material.

Current N.H. regulations allow for the importation into New Hampshire 
of only deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth and/or hides or capes 
with no part of the head attached of deer and elk, from the 16 states 
and provinces where CWD has been confirmed. These include Alberta, 
Canada; Colorado; Illinois; Kansas; Minnesota; Montana; Nebraska; New 
Mexico; New York; Oklahoma; Saskatchewan, Canada; South Dakota; Utah; 
Wisconsin; West Virginia (the newest addition to the list) and Wyoming. 
Antlers attached to skull caps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue 
removed. More information is on pages 6 and 60 of the current New Hampshire 
Hunting Digest and at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/CWD_QandA.htm.

A CWD monitoring and testing program for wild deer has been conducted 
in New Hampshire by Fish and Game biologists since 2002. There is no 
evidence that this disease exists in the New Hampshire deer herd, and the 
rules and testing program are designed to prevent exposure via infected 
animals being imported from other areas. 

CWD is a contagious neurological disease that is fatal to deer, moose, 
elk, and other members of the cervid (deer) family. It is classified as 
a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or TSE, and it attacks the 
brains of infected animals, resulting in their becoming emaciated, 
exhibiting abnormal behavior and eventually dying. 

State officials remind hunters and others who enjoy eating venison that 
CWD is a wildlife management issue, not a public health issue. There is 
no evidence that CWD is linked to disease in humans. 

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Copyright 2005 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, 
Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should 
be directed to lpoinier@wildlife.state.nh.us.