Don't want to derail this thread too much. My point was CWD has the potential to alter laws governing interstate transport of deer meat, before or after processing.With the increasing incidence of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer, I advise gutting in the field and having the carcasses tested for CWD before processing. Since few people have a means to store their game while waiting for test results, it’s probably best to resort to commercial alternatives. The disease is transmissible to humans and cooking doesn’t prevent transmission; also, it is incurable as well as fatal.
CWD is caused by altered, heat-stable, proteins know as prions. Humans can acquire some prion diseases, but the prion(s) responsible for CWD have never been shown to infect humans. Recently, some mice genetically modified to be somewhat like humans from a protein receptor perspective were infectable by CWD prions in laboratory experiments. But, they did not develop the disease.
I work as a veterinary researcher (pathologist), so this stuff is really interesting to me. A reasonable precaution would be do ones best not to get brain or spinal cord fragments into the meat. Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy all the venison I can get :-). But, if I knew a harvested deer had the infection, I'd pass.
Good link: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) | Prion Diseases | CDC