New rules affect deer hunting in Illinois, Iowa

FREEPORT— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has new rules for hunters who wants to take deer across Illinois state lines into Iowa.

The Journal-Standard in Freeport reports (http://bit.ly/nE0HyE ) the new regulations aim at stopping the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease. The new rules affect any hunters who take deer in Illinois and plan to take the carcass to Iowa. The neurological disease is caused by an abnormal protein. It is fatal.

Upper Mississippi River Refuge wildlife specialist Russell Engelke says the new guidelines come after the disease appeared in a Jo Daviess County deer herd in Illinois. The county borders Iowa. Hunters may only transport “boned-out meat, cape, and antlers” to Iowa. Antlers may only be attached to a clean skull-plate.