MDC encourages hunters in Ozarks to have deer sampled for CWD all season

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is again asking deer hunters to have their deer sampled for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Hunters play an important role in helping MDC monitor the disease and the health of Missouri’s deer herd.

CWD is a contagious, deadly brain disease of white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. It has been found in Missouri and MDC is working with hunters and others to limit the impact of the disease on Missouri’s deer herd. Testing harvested deer for CWD is a vital effort to help identify where cases of the disease are in the state and limit its spread. Learn more about CWD at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.

MDC will again conduct mandatory sampling of harvested deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the firearms deer season – Nov. 14 and 15 – in select counties around the state. MDC has moved mandatory CWD sampling to a four-year county rotation.  Mandatory CWD sampling will now be conducted in every county of the state once over the next four years. Learn more about Mandatory CWD Sampling at mdc.mo.gov/cwd and look under the Mandatory CWD Sampling tab.

Counties in the Ozark region of Missouri where mandatory CWD sampling will be required this year of all hunters who harvest deer on Nov. 14 or 15 are Carter, Oregon, Ripley, and Shannon.  Mandatory sampling locations for these counties are:

• Van Buren MoDOT Facility at 9721 Hwy. 60
• S. Forest Service Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area 31620 Hwy. 60 near Ellsinore
• Thomasville Community Center at 134 Old St.
• Thayer High School at 401 E. Walnut St.
• Alton High School 505 School St.
• Gatewood School at 11111 Hwy. 142
• Doniphan MDC Forestry Office at 109 Ripley 21-N-1
• Eminence Elementary School at 17794 Hwy. 106
• MDC Twin Pines Conservation Education Center at 20086 Hwy. 60 in Winona
• Timber Volunteer Fire Department Shed at 39245 Hwy. 19

MDC is also offering voluntary CWD sampling opportunities for hunters who harvest deer in any county at any time during any of Missouri’s deer hunting seasons. These additional sampling opportunities include at MDC offices, cooperating taxidermists and meat processors, and self-service freezers.

Voluntary sampling locations in the Ozark region of Missouri include:

• Hometown Processing LLC at 3450 State Hwy. 32 in Salem
• Droptine Taxidermy at 3781 CR 4110 in Salem
• Scenic Rivers Taxidermy at 6894 W. Hwy. 32 in Salem
• MDC Salem Office at 1715 W. Hwy. 32 (freezer)
• Alpha Omega Taxidermy at RR 1 Box 3466 in Ava
• Conley’s Quick Stop at 4303 State Rte. N in Pomona (freezer)
• MDC Ozark Regional Office at 551 Joe Jones Blvd. in West Plains (freezer and sampling)
• Hughes Taxidermy LLC at 1095 Girdley St. in West Plains
• Holman’s Mounts at 1355 Hwy. P in Alton
• Alton Shop at Old Cane Bluff Rd. (freezer)
• Thomasville VFD at 542 County Rd. 424 (freezer)
• Caney Mountain CA at 597 Refuge Dr. near Gainesville (freezer)
• MDC Rolla Office at 12655 State Rte. Y (freezer)
• Dry Forks Taxidermy at 11570 County Rd. 3410 in Saint James
• Waynesville RFPD Training Center at 25785 Red Oak Rd. (freezer)
• Carnivores Meat Market at 240 Marshall Dr. Ste. 4 in Saint Robert
• Eubanks Taxidermy at 109 Mesa Dr. in Waynesville
• Good’s Deer Processing at 11272 State Hwy. 21 N. in Doniphan
• MDC Eminence Office at 19722 St. Hwy. 19 in Eminence (freezer)
• Lacey Taxidermy and Wildlife Art at 17549 CR 505 in Winona
• P & P Heritage Meats at 90 Industrial Park Rd. in Cabool
• MDC Houston Office at 1020 Hwy. 63 N. (freezer)
• Nelson Deer Processing LLC at 111 Green St. in Licking
• MDC Norwood Office at 6138 (freezer)
• God’s Country Taxidermy at 11373 Hwy. AF in Mountain Grove

Hunters using self-service freezers will need to remove the deer’s head in advance so it can be left in the freezer. Hunters should cut off the head (and antlers for bucks) while leaving about six inches of neck attached before coming to the freezer head drop-off location. Hunters will need to record their name and contact information, Telecheck ID number, and location where the deer was harvested on material provided. Materials will be available at the freezer sites such as trash bags, zip ties, and data sheets that hunters can use in labeling their deer heads. MDC staff will collect the deer heads for CWD testing throughout the season.

For an interactive map of all voluntary CWD sampling sites throughout the state, visit mdc.mo.gov and look under Voluntary CWD Sampling.

Archery deer hunting runs through Nov. 13 and opens again Nov. 25 through Jan. 15, 2027. Firearms deer hunting opened with the early antlerless portion Oct. 9-11 followed by several other firearms portions through Jan. 5, 2027. For more information on deer hunting in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer.