CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations

CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations


Brian Mulherin - Daily News Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

If you hunt out-of-state and hope to bring back a trophy, the rules are likely to be stricter next year. Its been illegal for a few years now to bring full deer and elk carcasses in from states where chronic wasting disease is present, but it wasnt illegal for taxidermists to have them.

If Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries follows the advice of her staff at this weeks Natural Resources Commission meeting, it will be illegal for taxidermists to work on improperly caped deer and elk from CWD-positive states.

According to Rod Clute, big game specialist with the DNR, hunters must have their animals skinned out, with the skull removed from the cape, and may not transport a skull that contains any soft tissue, skin or fur. Meat must be de-boned, as well.

Jody Goodman of Bug-to-the-Bone Taxidermy said the change will cost him 50-100 customers a year.

Goodmans business specializes in removing soft tissue from skulls using dermestid beetles. He primarily prepares skulls for European-style mounts, which display a bare skull with antlers.

Absolutely, itll be devastating, Goodman said of the change. I would say we get probably anywhere from 50 to 100 a year (from CWD-positive states).

Goodman said hes not sure of the concern, since its not like the carcasses are disposed of improperly.

Most people bring them frozen and we immediately burn any tissue we remove, Goodman said. Theyre just making it harder and harder for people to make money.

Goodman said it seems to him the Department of Natural Resources is dancing around the elephant in the room.

If they want to shut down chronic wasting disease, for one thing theyd shut down all these deer farms because thats the only place theyve found it, Goodman said.

Another local taxidermist said he understood the change.

Its a rough law, but nobody wants CWD here, said Jamie Flewelling of Legends Taxidermy.

Were a CWD-free state, outside the one that maybe had it, Flewelling said. People are either going to have to be educated on how to cape these animals out before they go on the hunt or if they want them mounted, theyre going to have to have them caped out or mounted there.

Flewelling said he has turned hunters away who didnt know they were hunting in a CWD-positive state or province. Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, New York, Saskatchewan and Alberta have all had CWD-positive deer or elk found either on open land or in game farms.

Flewelling said if hunters dont know how to cape a deer, he wouldnt mind showing them, even if they may not bring their trophy to his shop. He said he would be interested in hosting a clinic for hunters who have tags for other states and are interested in learning how to cape-out animals.

You can save yourself a lot of work if you know what youre doing, Flewelling said.

Clute said game farms will be separated from taxidermy studios if the updated regulation passes.

There was some correlation between taxidermy, deer held in captivity and CWD in New York, Clute said. So were separating the two.

Cervid facilities cant host taxidermy operations and taxidermists cant have captive cervids under the proposed rule change.

The price of taxidermy permits is expected to double. A license will cost $100 specimen tags will cost $10 per 50 tags if the proposed change passes.

mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000096/!x-usc:mailto:bmulherin@ludingtondailynews.com

843-1122 x348CDW




http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=42967&newsgroup_id=




CWD MICHIGAN UPDATE September 5, 2008


snip...

>>>but the hunter was allowed to keep the mount, according to Dr. Jennifer Strasser, a veterinarian with the Indiana Board of Animal Health and a state conservation officer. "As long as the skull cap and cape are cleaned properly, the hunter can safely keep the mount," she said.? <<<


i think it's foolish. in my opinion, the complete carcass should have been incinerated, including the head mount.


snip...



http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250638



10-29-2007, 02:24 PM




XXXX ask ;


What part did you find "stupid"?


>>>but the hunter was allowed to keep the mount, according to Dr. Jennifer Strasser, a veterinarian with the Indiana Board of Animal Health and a state conservation officer. "As long as the skull cap and cape are cleaned properly, the hunter can safely keep the mount," she said.<<<


i understand most states allow this, but does not make it the safest way.with the risk of the skull cap and cape NOT being cleaned properly, the risk is just to great to introduce the TSE agent to a state that has not documented it yet. why take the risk ? i think it's foolish. in my opinion, the complete carcass should have been incinerated, including the head mount. just my opinion.


The movement of high-risk carcass parts (brain, spinal cord, lymph tissues) is a potential avenue through which CWD could be spread from infected areas. Investigations in New York indicate that the infection could have been spread by a taxidermist who accepted specimens from CWD-positive states, allowed rehabilitated fawns access to the taxidermy workshop and spread potentially infectious curing salt waste as a fence line weed killer on his deer farm. ...


What Every Taxidermist Should Know About Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) -->



http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=458&q=168948




see full text ;




http://www.buckmasters.com/bm/Community/Forums/tabid/60/forumid/14/postid/10141/view/topic/Default.aspx




Monday, January 05, 2009

CWD, GAME FARMS, BAITING, AND POLITICS



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-game-farms-baiting-and-politics.html





Tuesday, January 06, 2009

CWD Update 93 December 29, 2008



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-update-93-december-29-2008.html




TSS