For deer harvested from CWD Management Zone counties
Deer harvested from CWD Management Zone counties may only be donated to Share the Harvest if they are tested for CWD. Deer harvested outside of the CWD Management Zone do not need to be tested for CWD to be donated to Share the Harvest.
For the 2024 deer season, the CWD Management Zone includes the following counties: Adair, Audrain, Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Boone, Caldwell, Camden, Carroll, Cedar, Chariton, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cole, Crawford, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Grundy, Hickory, Howard, Howell, Jasper, Jefferson, Knox, Laclede, Lewis, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Madison, Maries, McDonald, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Oregon, Osage, Ozark, Pemiscot, Perry, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Ray, Ripley, Saline, Schuyler, Scotland, Shannon, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Vernon, Warren, Washington, and Webster.
New counties in the CWD Management Zone: The following counties were added to the CWD Management Zone for the 2024 deer season: Audrain, Boone, Cole, Dent, Douglas, Howard, Lewis, Maries, Monroe, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Randolph, Saline, Scotland, Shannon, Shelby, and Webster.
Find processors that participate in STH and conduct CWD testing
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Why is CWD testing required before deer can be donated to the Share the Harvest program if harvested in the CWD Management Zone?
CWD is a disease of deer, elk, and other members of the deer family. Although there have been no identified cases of CWD transmission to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following precautions:
- Hunters in areas known to have CWD should test their deer or elk for CWD before eating meat from the animal.
- Deer or elk that test positive for CWD should not be consumed.
- In general, if a deer or elk looks or acts sick, it should not be consumed.
CWD testing requirements have been put in place for the CWD Management Zone to ensure that deer donated to Share the Harvest are tested in accordance with the CDC’s recommendations.
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Donating deer from the CWD Management Zone — general information
- Hunters may present their unsampled deer for donation to processors participating in the Share the Harvest CWD Testing Program; the processor will collect a tissue sample or the head for testing.
- Or, deer can be sampled prior to donation, but hunters must present the CWD barcode number provided at the sampling location to the Share the Harvest processor.
- Hunters who harvest a deer from select CWD Management Zone counties on November 16 and 17, 2024, must present their deer to an MDC Mandatory Sampling station and will receive the CWD barcode number to take to the Share the Harvest processor at the time of donation.
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Donating deer from the CWD Management Zone that are bound for a taxidermist
To collect a CWD sample, processors will need to cut through the neck of your deer. CWD sampling will not affect a European mount. If you want to keep the cape, you will need to make special arrangements prior to visiting the Share the Harvest processor. Options include:
- Having a taxidermist cape your deer first, then deliver the caped head/deer to the processor participating in the Share the Harvest CWD Testing Program.
- Taking the deer to a taxidermist participating in the Voluntary CWD Sampling Program to have it sampled. Get the CWD Sample barcode number from them to give to the Share the Harvest processor.
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Donating deer from the CWD Management Zone if you want to keep the head
- Call ahead before visiting a processor to ensure you can keep your deer head. Some participating Share the Harvest Testing processors are collecting deer heads for sampling by MDC and do not sample the deer themselves.
- Deer with the head removed are not eligible for donation unless a sample was collected and a sample number is provided to the processor.
- You can find a CWD testing location by visiting our Voluntary CWD Sampling page. They will sample the deer free of charge and give you the CWD Sample barcode number to give to the Share the Harvest processor when you donate the deer.