Caribou, Deer, Elk & Moose - Sounds Wild
Deer Scent Attractants

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Deer scent attractants and CWD

Deer hunters in Alaska use a variety of tricks to bag deer. Calling is one way to attract deer, blowing a deer call that imitates the sound of a doe or fawn. Some hunters rattle antlers, imitating the sound of bucks sparring to attract curious or aggressive buck deer during the fall mating season.

In the past, some hunters also used scents to attract deer. These are not commonly used in Alaska, because of the concern of drawing bears, but they are popular down south. Many of these contain urine from domestic deer, often does in estrus. In 2012, scent attractants that contain real deer or elk urine were banned in Alaska.

Urine-based scent attractants are a possible route into Alaska for chronic wasting disease, a degenerative, fatal illness that affects deer, moose, and elk. The disease has not yet been found in Alaska - and wildlife managers are working to keep it out.

CWD is spreading in the Lower 48. It was first detected in mule deer in northern Colorado in the late 1960s and since then it's spread to free-ranging and captive deer and elk in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. CWD has also been detected in wild moose in Colorado and Wyoming.

An infected animal can transmit the disease through urine. Keeping deer scent attractants out of the state is one way to keep Alaska's deer, moose and caribou populations disease-free.