SCDNR: Regulation bans use of natural lures, attractants for deer hunters

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COLUMBIA - S.C. deer hunters are reminded that the following regulation was put in place last year, affecting the use of natural deer lures and attractants in South Carolina.

"No person shall for the purposes of taking or attempting to take, attracting, or scouting any wild animal in South Carolina possess or use any substance or material that contains or purports to contain any excretion collected from a cervid, including feces, urine, blood, gland oil, or other bodily fluid."

This does not prohibit the use of synthetic products or substances collected by a hunter from deer legally harvested in South Carolina.

This preventative measure was established in response to the continuing spread of Chronic Wasting Disease across the United States and Canada. CWD is a transmissible or contagious, always fatal, neurological disease that affects members of the Cervidae (deer) family. The disease-causing agent of CWD can be spread via deer urine and other bodily fluids which can contaminate the environment, posing a risk to deer in the area.

While there has not been a case of CWD in South Carolina or in any neighboring states, SCDNR and many other states have proactively prohibited the use of natural lures and attractants in order to minimize the potential for CWD introduction. Please do your part to keep CWD out of South Carolina.