WILDLIFE/FISHERIES DEPT: Amends rules relative to chronic wasting disease.
SCR 24 is a concurrent resolution that amends Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rule LAC 76:V.137 governing chronic wasting disease (CWD) control areas. The resolution updates definitions and procedures for CWD management zones, including 5-mile and 15-mile zones, surveillance seasons, prevalence thresholds, and the process for establishing, modifying, and removing zones after a CWD detection. It also directs LDWF to use emergency declarations and website publication to implement zone changes, and it requires the Louisiana Register to print the amended rule in the Louisiana Administrative Code.
The resolution tightens and clarifies restrictions on supplemental feeding, baiting, hunting over bait, and carcass transport from CWD control areas, while also creating exceptions for certain situations such as feral hog trapping, bear baiting, and specified processed deer parts. It further authorizes a permitting system for transporting uncleaned cervid heads to Louisiana taxidermy businesses and provides for replacement tags for hunters whose harvested deer test positive for CWD. The measure also creates an incentive by allowing qualifying properties in the 5-mile zone to participate in Tier 1 DMAP at no cost.
The bill’s impact is primarily on administrative wildlife regulations rather than on the criminal or civil code. It changes how LDWF manages CWD response areas, how hunters and landowners may use bait and supplemental feed, what deer carcass parts may leave a control area, and how surveillance and containment decisions are tied to testing results and prevalence thresholds. It affects hunters, deer processors, taxidermists, landowners, and businesses that sell feed, bait, and related hunting supplies, especially in the listed parishes within the CWD control area.
Overall sentiment around SCR 24 appears strongly supportive and largely noncontroversial in the legislature, as reflected by unanimous or near-unanimous votes in both chambers and on concurrence. The resolution’s stated purpose is to better balance disease containment with hunting traditions and local economic interests, and the legislative findings emphasize both conservation and the economic importance of deer hunting. The main point of contention embedded in the text is the tradeoff between stricter disease-control measures and the burdens those measures place on hunters, landowners, and businesses; however, no recorded committee debate or floor opposition appears in the provided history.
Notable issues include the use of prevalence thresholds to determine when baiting restrictions apply, the scope of the CWD management zones, and the extent of carcass export limits. The resolution also reflects a policy choice to allow more targeted, science-based management rather than broad permanent restrictions, while still preserving LDWF authority to respond quickly to new detections.
SCR 24 amends LDWF’s CWD control-area rule, LAC 76:V.137, by redefining key terms, establishing procedures for CWD management zones, restricting baiting and supplemental feeding in specified zones, limiting export of cervid carcasses and parts, and authorizing permits for taxidermy transport and replacement tags. It affects wildlife management administration, hunters, landowners, taxidermists, processors, and related businesses in and around the designated control area parishes.
The legislative sentiment appears overwhelmingly favorable. The bill passed the Senate, House final consideration, and Senate concurrence unanimously or nearly unanimously, suggesting broad agreement that the rule update was a reasonable response to chronic wasting disease. The resolution frames the changes as a balance between disease containment, conservation, and the economic and cultural importance of deer hunting.
The principal tension is between wildlife disease control and the practical/economic burdens of baiting bans, carcass transport limits, and zone-based restrictions on hunters and local businesses. Supporters of the resolution emphasize targeted, science-based management and the need to protect deer populations, while the text itself acknowledges concerns from hunters, landowners, and feed/bait retailers about overly broad restrictions. No specific opposing lawmakers or committee objections are identified in the provided record.