LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is suing a Louisville hunter who illegally brought an infected dear head from Wisconsin into the state.
According to a news release, Nicholas J. Behringer, 47, admitted to a violation of a state regulation for importing the deer head from another state. It was infected with chronic wasting disease, a highly infectious disease that kills deer and elk.
Behringer paid a $50 fine and court costs in Shelby County District Court on Jan. 3. According to a news release, it is the first time the state has sought civil damages against a hunter for importing a diseased deer carcass.
It is the first documented case of chronic wasting disease in Kentucky in more than 20 years. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife said no deer or elk harvested in Kentucky have tested positive for the disease yet.
“Over the past two decades, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has tested more than 40,000 deer and elk in Kentucky for CWD as part of its efforts to prevent the spread and introduction of this disease into the commonwealth,” Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Rich Storm said. “For years, we’ve informed the public about the threat posed by CWD in our hunting guides, press releases, magazine and television shows, websites, town hall meetings and social media. The information is out there for hunters.”
The department filed a complaint April 26 in Franklin County District Court seeking $1,900 in damages. That amount is the cost of the investigation, testing, prosecution and disposal of the infected carcass.
For more information about the department's efforts to prevent the spread, click here.
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