ECO's Find Animal Parts From Montana At Suffolk County Seafood Facility

Something’s Fishy at the Seafood Facility - Suffolk County
On Jan. 4, ECOs Kaufherr, McGhee, Paschke, and Zullo conducted a compliance check on a seafood facility in Cutchogue. During the inspection, the Officers found a mule deer head in the facility’s freezer, along with two coolers full of deer meat and a coyote pelt. The ECOs conducted several interviews and determined the mule deer was harvested in Montana, a state with increased cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a highly contagious and fatal disease affecting cervid populations including deer, moose, and elk. The Officers seized the deer head and ticketed the individual who had imported it with possessing deer parts from another state. ECOs then sent the deer head to an incinerator to prevent the potential spread of CWD. For more information on CWD and restrictions to prevent its spread, visit DEC’s website.