As deer hunting season in Massachusetts begins in less than a week, hunters will be faced with extra challenges when trying to lure in the overpopulated hooved and antlered animal.
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has implemented a new statewide regulation that bans the use and possession of natural deer scents, deer urine being the most popular, as an attractant to lure in deer. The agency says it’s all in the effort to combat the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Massachusetts deer population.
“The use or possession of any scent attractants derived from deer tissues or fluids is prohibited, including urine, scent glands, and bladders. Restricting deer urine and deer-based lures is one way to help prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) to Massachusetts,” says an update on the Mass Wildlife website previewing the fall hunting season.
“Urine of infected deer can contain CWD-causing prions that stay in the environment for many years. Deer may still be infected even if they appear healthy, so “CWD-free” labels on urine-based lures may not be reliable. This risk is present for all deer-derived lures and attractants,” Mass Wildlife adds.
But Chronic Wasting Disease – a highly contagious “incurable and always fatal disease” that infects animals in the deer family, including white-tailed deer and moose – has not even been detected in Massachusetts, according to Mass Wildlife.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says the disease, however, is spreading rapidly across North America, and has been confirmed in 37 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces, the closest of which to Massachusetts is New York. No New England states have reported and trace of the disease in its respective deer populations, according to a USGS map.
“At this time, there is no evidence suggesting CWD is present in Massachusetts. Once CWD is detected in an area, it is nearly impossible to eradicate. For this reason, keeping Massachusetts CWD-free is the best strategy to avoid the loss of mature deer, particularly bucks,” Mass Wildlife said.
A group of 11 state lawmakers are pushing back, sending a letter last month to Healey’s Secretary of Executive Office of Administration & Finance Matthew Gorzkowicz expressing concerns over the new ban, calling it “overly cautious.”
“Prohibiting natural deer-based lures is an overly cautious approach to a problem that has never been detected in Massachusetts. It would also adversely impact hunters and small businesses in our districts and across the Commonwealth,” the letter reads.
“The absence of CWD in wild deer populations in Massachusetts isn’t an accident; it’s because almost all of the deer-based lures that are manufactured and sold in the United States originate from farms that are members of the Responsible Hunting Scent Association (RHSA), and all RHSA farms test their deer for CWD in accordance with federal regulations under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services,” it says.
The lawmakers go on to claim that the new measure could result in impacts to the state’s deer culling program and adversely effect efforts to prevent the spread of tick-borne illnesses.
“If the focus these reforms is to increase the cull rate due to concerns regarding overpopulation and deforestation, and to better manage tick-borne illness, removing a tool from our sportsmen and women will undermine the broader goals of these policy changes,” the lawmakers said.
“Accordingly, we respectfully request that you reevaluate the proposed changes to prohibit the use of deer-based lures and instead consider further studying the issue or, at the most, implementing a testing requirement similar to the one recently implemented in New York,” they said.
The state of New York has not banned the use and possession of natural deer scents, but has implemented a new protocol that includes strict surveillance, testing and carcass importation rules.
The new regulation has gained attention across the country, including from CWD Evolution Founder Davin Henderson, Ph.D, of Colorado, who also sent the administration a letter opposing the ban.
“Banning natural deer urine lures will do nothing to prevent the spread of CWD and will only take away another tool commonly used by hunters to be successful. It seems from the other recommended changes that MA Wildlife is trying to encourage more hunting,” Henderson said. “Banning deer urine lures and adding further regulations to companies that support hunters in your state would seem to be working against increasing the desire for hunters to hunt in Massachusetts.”
Mass Wildlife says CWD can have long lasting impacts on both the environment and the economy.
“When CWD prevalence is high, there can be shifts in the population’s age structure, where there are more young individuals and fewer mature deer. Additionally, studies have shown that CWD prevalence can reduce hunter participation, which can impact the outdoor sports industry and lower hunting license and permit sales,” the agency said, adding that annual costs to manage the disease in some U.S. states average around $773,000.
The letter was signed by Republican state Sens. Ryan Fattman, Bruce Tarr, and Peter Durant and Reps. John Marsi, Donald Berhiaume, Marc Lombardo, Joseph McKenna, Paul Frost, along with Democratic state Sens. John Cronin and Michael Moore and Rep. Jeffrey Rosario-Turco.
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