Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-6-520: Short title — Chronic Wasting Disease Genetic Improvement

Act — Pilot program to enhance genetic durability.

A. This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Chronic

Wasting Disease Genetic Improvement Act”.

B. No later than November 1, 2024, the Oklahoma Department of

Agriculture, Food, and Forestry shall establish a pilot program to

enhance the genetic durability of Oklahoma deer against chronic

wasting disease. Such pilot program shall include, but not be

limited to, the following program characteristics:

1. The Department of Wildlife Conservation will begin

collecting DNA samples to establish a baseline of average genetic

codon markers and genomic breeding values for native, free-ranging

Oklahoma white-tailed deer. For establishing testing locations in

the state, the Department shall use Interstates 35 and 40 as

dividing lines or established Department deer management zones as

published in the current hunting regulations guide;

2. Limit participation in the program to native white-tailed

deer, born and raised in Oklahoma with genetic resistance breeding,

including the SS allele at codon 96, and that surpass the genomic

estimated breeding value cutoff established for the program by the

Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry; and

3. Beginning in 2026, during the months of February and March

and through the fifteenth of April, bred female and male deer may be

released.

C. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry

and the Department of Wildlife Conservation may promulgate rules as

needed to implement the provisions of this act.

D. The Department of Wildlife Conservation may charge a one-

time permit fee, which shall not exceed Five Hundred Dollars

($500.00), for citizens purchasing deer as a result of criteria

established in the pilot program.