Taking measures to protect big game
WITH hunting season in full swing, hunters who haul deer and elk carcasses into California from other Western states could face six months in jail and fines up to $1,000.
Game wardens, intent on preventing the spread of fatal chronic wasting disease, have been warning hunters since 2002 that it is against the law to bring the animals back into the state. Now authorities plan to issue misdemeanor citations to anyone importing brain or spinal cord tissue from big game that could transmit the disease to California deer and elk.
Chronic wasting disease -- known as mad cow disease when it strikes bovines -- has been found in deer and elk in 13 states, including Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
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Hugo Martin
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