Louisiana deer hunters will encounter new Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) rules as archery season opens in portions of Deer Areas 1 and 2 on October 1. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has expanded the states CWD Control Area, adding portions of Catahoula Parish and noting that Franklin and Concordia parishes will also see expansions. The change follows confirmation of a CWD-positive, hunter-harvested white-tailed buck on private land in Catahoula earlier this year, bringing Louisianas total detections to 40. LDWF characterizes CWD as a prion-caused neurological disease with no treatment or vaccine; it is uniformly fatal and may present as weight loss, erratic movement, lowered head and ears, increased salivation and urination, diminished fear of people, and eventual death. The updated Control Area brings strict baiting limitations. Inside the zone, supplemental feeding, baiting, placement of bait, or hunting over bait is prohibited. The Notice of Intent (NOI) further restricts how bait is deployed, barring delivery by non-stationary, mechanical, or electronic broadcast methods. LDWF lists limited carve-outs for other wildlife management needs: bait not normally ingested by deer can be used for feral swine control, and baiting associated with bear harvest permits is allowed during the designated bear baiting period. Otherwise, deer-related baiting within the Control Area is not permitted, aligning with the agencys emphasis on limiting unnatural congregation of cervids that can accelerate disease transmission. Carcass-movement controls are equally specific. Export of a deer carcassor any part of a deer carcassoriginating within a CWD Control Area is prohibited, with narrow exceptions designed to prevent transport of tissues most likely to harbor prions. Hunters may move cut-and-wrapped meat; fully boned-out meat; quarters or other portions with no part of the spinal column or head attached; antlers; clean skull plates with antlers; cleaned skulls without tissue attached; capes; tanned hides; finished taxidermy mounts; and cleaned cervid teeth. By waiver, deer heads may be transported out of the Control Area solely for taxidermy purposes. The thrust is simple: reduce the chance that infected nervous tissue leaves the zone and seeds new infections elsewhere. LDWF links the boundary expansion directly to surveillance results. After the new positive in Catahoula Parish, the department adjusted Control Area lines and signaled pending expansion in Franklin and Concordia. That iterative approach reflects a surveillance-driven policy: as detections occur, the Control Area grows to encompass likely risk. The calendar makes compliance urgent. With archery opening October 1 in portions of Deer Areas 1 and 2, hunters must align stands, bait practices, and post-harvest handling with the NOI from day one of the season. For hunters preparing to step off, the operational checklist is straightforward. First, confirm whether your property or public parcel lies inside the Control Area; if it does, eliminate any deer baiting and skip mechanical or electronic broadcast devices that distribute bait. Second, plan for compliant meat handling before you leave camp: bone out your deer, separate quarters from any head/spinal column material, and keep only the allowed keepsakes (antlers, clean skull plate, capes) if you need to travel. Third, if taxidermy is planned, use the waiver pathway for head transport and coordinate with your taxidermist in advance. Finally, if you are managing feral hogs or have a permitted bear hunt, ensure any bait use falls within the NOIs narrow allowances and timing. The intent is to maintain hunting opportunity while cutting down the two big spread vectorsconcentrated feeding sites and movement of high-risk tissues.