In 2013, the AGFC adopted regulations to prevent CWD from spreading into the state through mishandled cervid carcasses. Cervids include any member of the Cervidae family, including white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, sika deer, fallow deer, mule deer and caribou.
According to Code 05.26 of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Code Book, it is unlawful to import, transport or possess any portion of a cervid carcass originating from any area outside the boundaries of Arkansas, with the following exceptions:
Meat that has been completely deboned. Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates or cleaned skulls where no tissue is attached to the skull. Cleaned teeth. Finished taxidermy and antler products. Hides and tanned products. Other portions of deer originating from the land between the Mississippi River levees in Tennessee and Mississippi.
Deer or elk harvested in commercial wildlife hunting resorts in Arkansas may be transported or possessed only after a CWD sample is collected.