Bringing the head home?

..... Rinse it in a creek or other water source now your brain matter free.

Those creeks and streams are a drinking water source for many of us in the back country. Maybe carry some water from there to rinse the skull? ... PLS.
 
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It makes no difference what the species is as long as all the meat and brain tissue is removed to comply with any state requirement. Since I'm out there for a couple months every Fall I have access to a propane setup with a big pot that will even hold an elk head. After as much brain tissue can be removed using a pressure washer wand then the skull is simmered long enough to get the rest of the material out. Then all I have to do when I get home is finish the outer skull to whiten it and put it on a plaque. This mule deer was just taken and done in 2015 well after the regs. that are now up were made.
 
From what Prariehunter posted, it is illegal to bring the head intact to a taxidermist for boiling. Even illegal to bring the head back to the truck to boil/clean. Must be processed at kill site.
 
We don't have this problem yet here in Florida but if by chance you have an infected deer won't this spread the problem. Or are you boiling them first. If your washing them in a car wash aren't you just spreading the problem by putting brain matter in the runoff leading to the creeks.
Not passing judgment just trying to learn the best way. I've always boiled them when I get home with a turkey fryer but they also were coming from ky which also doesn't have cwd.

I always thought that car washes ran a closed system that recaptured all there water. Maybe im wrong?
 
Even boiling the skull doesn't "kill" the CWD agent. Wherever a CWD infected cervid's central or peripheral nervous system is disposed, there you will leave a deposit of prion, presumably infectious for up to decades.
 
Even boiling the skull doesn't "kill" the CWD agent. Wherever a CWD infected cervid's central or peripheral nervous system is disposed, there you will leave a deposit of prion, presumably infectious for up to decades.

Even burning will not bust up those prions, unless it is a special, hi-temp, cremetorium,

Someone suggested cleaning out the skull in a stream. Please don't, that will just move those prions around some more.
 
From what Prariehunter posted, it is illegal to bring the head intact to a taxidermist for boiling. Even illegal to bring the head back to the truck to boil/clean. Must be processed at kill site.

Read the ENTIRE last sentence in his post again because you only quoted the first half!
 
Most municipal solid waste landfills are considered “approved” for CWD. It simply means they use practices that render cervid wastes inaccessible to live animals. Most of them already use these practices to keep human pathogens from infecting the public. This typically includes some combination of artificial barriers, incineration, burying, capture and/or treatment of leachates. Private landfills may or may not use these techniques so I would try to avoid those unless I could verify they are approved for treating animal parts/bio hazardous materials. Throwing parts into a pit or bin that might sit out, exposed for days would probably not be considered “approved” disposal. Could be a little more difficult for those rural dwellers to find adequate disposal facilities.
 
Read the ENTIRE last sentence in his post again because you only quoted the first half!

Agreed, also the wording of the last sentence is ambiguous, because it doesn't denote whether you can leave the state bagged and then dispose of it in an approved landfill (you can't).

The head, spine and other nervous tissue shall be left at the site of the kill or bagged and disposed of in an approved landfill.

This is a summation... the actual law for in-state transportation reads;

"(b) Deer, elk and moose carcasses harvested from any hunt area in Wyoming may be
transported within Wyoming to a camp, a private residence for processing, a taxidermist, a
processor, or a CWD sample collection site in Wyoming, provided the head and all portions of
the spinal column remain at the site of the kill or such parts are disposed of in any approved
landfill in Wyoming."

So you can take your deer/elk/moose skull back to camp to clean, or to a taxidermist before you leave the state, per section (d) regarding out of state transport, you can only take finished taxidermy or clean antlers out of state.

"(d) Only the following parts of any deer, elk or moose harvested from any hunt area
in Wyoming may be transported to other states, provinces or countries: edible portions with no
part of the spinal column or head attached; cleaned hide without the head or skull plate; antlers
that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue; teeth; or, finished taxidermy mounts. Whole
deer, elk and moose carcasses harvested from any hunt area shall not be transported out of
Wyoming."


https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regulations/Regulation-PDFs/REGULATIONS_CH2.pdf
 
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Agreed, also the wording of the last sentence is ambiguous, because it doesn't denote whether you can leave the state (you can't).

The head, spine and other nervous tissue shall be left at the site of the kill or bagged and disposed of in an approved landfill.

This is a summation... the actual law for in-state transportation reads;

"(b) Deer, elk and moose carcasses harvested from any hunt area in Wyoming may be
transported within Wyoming to a camp, a private residence for processing, a taxidermist, a
processor, or a CWD sample collection site in Wyoming, provided the head and all portions of
the spinal column remain at the site of the kill or such parts are disposed of in any approved
landfill in Wyoming."

So you can take your deer/elk/moose skull back to camp to clean, or to a taxidermist before you leave the state, per section (d) regarding out of state transport, you can only take finished taxidermy or clean antlers out of state.

"(d) Only the following parts of any deer, elk or moose harvested from any hunt area
in Wyoming may be transported to other states, provinces or countries: edible portions with no
part of the spinal column or head attached; cleaned hide without the head or skull plate; antlers
that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue; teeth;
or, finished taxidermy mounts. Whole
deer, elk and moose carcasses harvested from any hunt area shall not be transported out of
Wyoming."


https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regulations/Regulation-PDFs/REGULATIONS_CH2.pdf

The part that I put in bold is why I'm in full compliance with Wyoming and any other state I go through, as well as where I live when I get back to MI!
 
The part that I put in bold is why I'm in full compliance with Wyoming and any other state I go through, as well as where I live when I get back to MI!

Agreed you are in compliance, sorry I meant the wording was ambiguous as to whether you could put the head in a bag, drive home and then do a euro, which you can't.
 
I had remembered something about it from one of the podcasts I've listened to on CWD and just looked up some more information on it. The CWD prions bind to Clay really well, I wonder if using clay in some form or fashion to clean the skull would be effective. On a skull plate I could see it being something that would work but on a euro I'm not sure how you would get the clay in and out of the brain cavity. Maybe some clay liquid solution that the prions could bind to and then be disposed of locally where the animal was killed.

Probably not anything practical, but maybe at some point.
 
It sounds like you're wanting a shoulder mount but if you do decide to go the euro route, there are a lot of places around that promise a 24hr turn on a euro to make everything simple and legal. We had an Elk euro done and sure enough they gave it back the next day and did an amazing job on it. Also we used a meat processor that processed and froze the meat and prepared the cape and antlers for us for two mule deer. We had to pay a little extra to have everything expedited but it was worth the money for the peace of mind.
 
I’m confused on the “teeth” reference. You can get the lower jaw off easily but every euro mount still has teeth on the top jaw. What am I missing?
 
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