CONTACT:
Becky Fuda: (603) 744-5470
Andy Timmins: (603) 271-1742
September 26, 2024

Concord, NH – In 2018, a red deer from a captive facility in Quebec tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). This remains the closest confirmed case of CWD to the New Hampshire border. Movement of captive cervids (members of the deer family including moose, deer, elk, and caribou, as well as any species of captive deer) remains the number one threat in the spread of CWD, but the transportation of high-risk cervid parts including the brain, spinal cord, and lymph nodes across state lines can also play a significant role in its dispersal. It is essential that hunters do everything possible to prevent this devastating disease from spreading to the Granite State by adhering to New Hampshire laws regarding the transportation of cervids from CWD-positive jurisdictions.
New Hampshire hunters who travel to CWD-positive jurisdictions (listed below) are required to follow the mandatory regulations when bringing home any cervid carcasses. You may legally bring back ONLY deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth, hides or capes with no part of the head attached, and finished taxidermy mounts. Antlers attached to skull caps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed.
To date, CWD has been detected in wild or captive cervids in 34 states and 5 Canadian provinces including: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York*, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. To view the most current map of CWD-positive jurisdictions, visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wildlife-related-diseases/deer-diseases.
A nationwide effort is underway to prevent further spread of CWD, and New Hampshire is one of many states that conduct annual CWD monitoring. During the fall deer-hunting season, New Hampshire Fish and Game, with significant support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services located in Concord, collects heads and extracts tissue samples from hunter-killed deer across the state for testing. As a result, 8,577 deer have been tested in New Hampshire since 2002. “No samples have tested positive for CWD to date,” said NH Fish and Game Deer Project Leader Becky Fuda. “However, all it takes is for one contaminated item to be brought across the state border to change the future of New Hampshire’s deer herd forever. This is why it is vital that hunters do all they can to help our herd stay CWD free.”
The use of natural urine-based lures also poses a threat. Several states and Canadian provinces have banned the possession and use of natural urine-based lures due to the potential for disease transmission. Multiple synthetic deer lures are available for sale that do not pose any risk of spreading disease which can be used as an alternative to natural urine.
For more information about CWD, its cause, preventing its spread, and New Hampshire’s monitoring efforts, visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wildlife-related-diseases/deer-diseases.
*New York is no longer considered a CWD-positive jurisdiction by New Hampshire. However, New York–killed deer still may not be transported through Massachusetts or Vermont.

