CWD Detected in Ouachita Parish: Louisiana Issues Emergency Deer Hunting Rules

MONROE, La. (KPEL News) — Louisiana’s deer herd faces a new threat in north Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has issued a Declaration of Emergency after a hunter-harvested adult doe tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Ouachita Parish in January, marking the first confirmed CWD detection in the parish.

LDWF Secretary Tyler Bosworth signed the declaration, which expands the existing CWD control area to cover all of Ouachita Parish, along with portions of Lincoln, Jackson, Union, Morehouse, Caldwell, and Richland parishes. The doe, harvested in Deer Area 2, was voluntarily submitted for sampling. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, later confirmed the positive result.

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What Hunters in the Affected Area Need to Know

The Declaration of Emergency divides the control area into two zones with different rules. Within the Enhanced Mitigation Zone, all baiting and feeding are prohibited. Within the Buffer Zone, baiting remains allowed under specific methods spelled out in the declaration.

Both restrictions take effect April 1 for supplemental feeding and baiting, though the declaration itself is already in force. Hunters should review the full declaration and control area map at the LDWF website to determine which zone applies to the land they hunt.

The declaration also restricts what hunters can take out of the control area. Whole deer carcasses cannot leave. Allowed items include deboned meat, meat that is cut and wrapped, quarters with no part of the head or spinal cord attached, clean skull plates with antlers, tanned hides, finished taxidermy mounts, cleaned deer teeth, and the cape.

What Is CWD and Why Does It Matter?

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease in deer, elk, and other cervids. It belongs to a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, similar to BSE in cattle. Infected deer show progressive neurological symptoms, excessive salivation, emaciation, and eventually die. There is no treatment.

The disease spreads through direct deer-to-deer contact and through the environment. CWD prions can persist in soil and on vegetation indefinitely, which is why wildlife managers treat early detection as urgent. That’s also why baiting restrictions matter: bringing deer together at feed sites increases transmission risk.

No evidence currently shows CWD can infect humans. Both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend against consuming venison from deer known to be infected. Hunters who take deer inside a known CWD area should get their deer tested before eating the meat. LDWF provides testing free of charge.

How Many CWD Positives Has Louisiana Had?

Louisiana’s first CWD-positive deer turned up in 2022. The state now has 55 confirmed positives total, including single detections in Ouachita, Catahoula, and Concordia parishes, with the remaining cases concentrated in Tensas Parish.

The Ouachita detection matters because it pushes the disease further into north-central Louisiana’s deer country, away from the Tensas Parish cluster where previous cases had been found.

What Happens Next

The Declaration of Emergency is effective for 180 days, subject to ratification by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. LDWF has simultaneously activated its CWD Response Plan and will continue surveillance efforts in the affected area.

A Notice of Intent to establish permanent rules for the expanded control area will be introduced while the emergency declaration is in force. Once the commission approves permanent rules, those rules will replace the current emergency declaration.

Hunters with questions or who spot a live deer showing possible CWD symptoms should contact an LDWF Wildlife field office or call 800-442-2511 outside of business hours.

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