INDIANA, Pa. - — The National Deer Alliance (NDA), along with a coalition of in-state, regional and national conservation groups, compelled the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) Commission to abandon a proposed rule change to chronic wasting disease (CWD) Management Zone delineation.

The group of organizations, which included the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), sent a letter on July 3 to the Commission recommending it follow national best management practices to manage the spread of CWD. NDA and the other organizations supported maintaining the current structure of the CWD Management Zones as well as continuing the ban on supplemental feeding within these zones.

“Nobody likes to deal with CWD but when good decisions are made to address slowing its spread it’s important that we stay the course,” said NDA president and CEO Nick Pinizzotto. “We were happy with the support of so many ogranizations and appreciate the commission’s definitive July 16 vote of 4-0 to keep best management practices in place.”

The proposed change would have shrunk CWD Management Zones from 25-mile radii to 10-mile radii around areas where the first CWD cases were found in the state in 2018. The CWD Surveillance Zones would have carcass transportation restrictions in place but no ban on supplemental feeding. It remains the MDWFP staff’s recommendation to not use supplemental feeders so as not to concentrate deer, and the tabling of the proposed changes is key to slowing the spread of CWD in Mississippi’s wild deer herd..

More information on NDA, its mission and its partners is available at https://nationaldeeralliance.com/.

About National Deer Alliance: NDA is a nonprofit conservation organization with a mission to serve as the guardian for wild deer conservation and our hunting heritage. Focusing primarily on issues at the policy level, NDA is a leader in advocating for sustainable, science-based conservation of wild deer and fair-chase hunting, and is a source for credible, responsible, and timely information. NDA is an established and respected leader in the fight against chronic wasting disease. Learn more at nationaldeeralliance.com.

Media Contacts:

Nick Pinizzotto, National Deer Alliance, P: 833.255.3337; nick@nationaldeeralliance.com