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Hunters Urged To Properly Dispose Of Urine-Scent Lures By New Year

Brian Bull
/
KLCC

Oregon wildlife officials are reminding hunters to get rid of all scented lures that contain deer or elk urine by 2020.  As KLCC’s Brian Bull explains, it’s a new state law aimed at keeping Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) out of Oregon.

Some hunters use the urine-scent lures to attract bull elk or bucks to their position. They mimic a female in heat, and can be bought from stores or online. But they can potentially carry the prions that cause CWD.   Oregon’s legislature passed a bill this session banning them starting next year.

Colin Gillin of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says the urine-scent industry is unregulated.

“That’s what the legislature was concerned about, was the fact there’s no regulation, that this is a very dangerous disease," Gillin tells KLCC. 

"It’s highly infectious and very contagious, and it’s passed in urine.”

Gillin says people should not dispose of these lures down the drain or on the ground. Instead, they should go to an ODFW district office for proper disposal.  There, the scent-lures will be incinerated in an 1800-degree (F) oven, sufficient to destroy any prions.

Copyright 2019, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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