Lexington County deer hunters may need to change their tactics.

South Carolina has banned the use of natural deer lures and attractants, SCDNR announced last week.

The new regulation makes it unlawful to possess or use, for the purpose of hunting or scouting, any substance or material that contains or claims to contain any excretion collected from a deer, including urine, feces, gland oil or other body fluid.

The ban was established to prevent the introduction of Chronic Wasting Disease into South Carolina.

CWD is a contagious, always fatal, neurological disease that affects members of the deer family.

The ban does not prohibit the use of synthetic products or substances collected by a hunter from deer legally harvested in South Carolina.

Synthetic products should be clearly labeled as such.

Find more information on the ban and CWD at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/chronicwasting.html .