Reminders About Big Game Tagging

and Transportation

As big game seasons continue to open up we wanted to share a few important reminders regarding big game licenses, transporting your animal, and doing your part to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD).

A few reminders about tagging and transportation:

• The big game license is the white strip on the top, this is not a transportation tag, and the big game tag is the red/blue/green/yellow/pink portion on the bottom which is affixed to the animal;
• Hunters transporting big game must have the tagged leg/antler with the meat, along with the head or attached sex organs, unless the head is dropped off at a CWD check station and has the corresponding tag;
• Hunters who have tags for any deer/elk/antelope do not need to take that animals head or attached sex organs for transport. Antlerless tag holders must make sure they have either the head or the attached sex organs;
• It is illegal to transport any part of a big game animal from the field without the animal properly tagged or without a transportation permit;
• If a person other than the licensee transports big game animal parts (including boned out meat) the tagged leg or a transportation permit must accompany the items transported;
• Some common transportation violations Conservation Officers encounter are transporting the head/antlers without a tag, transporting boned out meat without a tag and not having the head or appropriate sex organs for transportation;
• Conservation Officers will be conducting road checks this fall to ensure that hunters are staying within their limits, transporting game and fish in a legal manner.

Hunters are encouraged to do their part to protect their herd from CWD, which can be done by leaving as much of the animal at the kill site as possible, properly disposing of carcasses, and ensuring they know all regulations regarding CWD prior to hunting.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that can be unintentionally transmitted from CWD-positive carcasses that are transported from the property of harvest and are not disposed of properly.

Proper disposal of carcass parts is an important management action for reducing the risk of unintentional transmission of CWD prions to susceptible wildlife from CWD-positive areas to areas where the disease is not yet known to exist. Research shows that prions can remain infectious in the environment for 16-plus years. This complicates CWD management because there is no known, practical way to destroy prions in the environment.

Good luck, be safe, and we hope you have a fantastic hunting season!