New deer hunting rules hit nine Kentucky counties after disease detection
– 3 min read
If you hunt deer in south-central Kentucky, there are some new rules you need to know about.
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The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission just expanded its Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance zone to include nine counties: Casey, Laurel, Lincoln, McCreary, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Wayne and Whitley. The expansion comes after a deer harvested in Pulaski County back in September tested positive for CWD.
This isn't the first time Kentucky has dealt with chronic wasting disease. The state already had a surveillance zone covering 14 western Kentucky counties, and earlier this year, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife made the difficult decision to euthanize 20 captive deer at the Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary in Meade County after CWD was detected there. That incident highlighted just how serious wildlife officials are about containing this disease.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife euthanizes 20+ deer at Meade Co. wildlife center
The agency confirmed late Tuesday that the animals were euthanized at the Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.
Shay McAlister
So what exactly is chronic wasting disease? It's an always-fatal illness caused by abnormal proteins called prions that attack the brains of deer and elk. There's no cure, and infected animals will eventually die. The good news is that it's not known to spread to humans, though the CDC still recommends not eating meat from any deer that tests positive.
Here's what the new rules mean for hunters:
The biggest change involves what you can and can't transport out of those nine counties. If you harvest a deer in the surveillance zone, you cannot take the whole carcass or high-risk parts (like the brain or spinal cord) outside the county where you killed it. But you can transport de-boned meat, clean skulls, antlers, hides and finished taxidermy mounts.
Interestingly, if you hunt outside the zone, you're allowed to bring carcasses into these counties. You also can no longer rehabilitate deer within the surveillance zone.
The baiting rules are a bit more nuanced. You can still bait in these counties, but you can't use contact feeders like troughs or gravity feeders. The reasoning makes sense: baiting causes deer to congregate unnaturally, which increases the risk of spreading CWD through saliva, urine and feces. Wildlife officials are essentially saying "you can do it, but maybe think twice about whether you should."
What hunters should do:
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has been testing deer for CWD since 2002, analyzing more than 70,000 samples from across the state. If you harvest a deer anywhere in Kentucky, you're encouraged to submit a sample at one of their drop-off sites or through a mail-in kit. The test is free, and you'll get your results back in about 4-6 weeks.
And as always, if a deer looks sick or is in poor condition, don't eat it. Trust your instincts on that one.
You can report sick or dead deer by calling 800-858-1549 or emailing info.center@ky.gov.
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