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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) thanks the more than 10,000 deer hunters who participated in the Department’s mandatory CWD sampling efforts last weekend in 25 counties. Thanks to hunter participation, MDC collected 15,872 tissue samples last weekend from harvested deer for CWD testing.
MDC has also collected about 750 tissue samples for CWD testing over the past several months from harvested and road-killed deer with no new cases of CWD found so far this season.
MDC sends test samples to an independent laboratory for testing and will report test results as they become available. Stay up to date on test results received by MDC at mdc.mo.gov/cwd under CWD in Missouri.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been no documented cases of CWD in humans, but it is important to prevent human exposure to CWD. As a safeguard, the CDC recommends hunters strongly consider having their harvested deer tested for CWD before eating the meat if the animal was harvested from an area where CWD has been found. The CDC also recommends not consuming an animal that tests positive for the disease. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/cwd under Human Health Risks from CWD.
With mandatory sampling done for the year, MDC continues to offer CWD sampling through the rest of the deer-hunting season.
Hunters who harvest deer INSIDE the 41-county CWD Management Zone throughout the remaining deer hunting season can have their deer sampled for CWD testing for free at more than 55 participating taxidermists and designated MDC offices in and around the CWD Management Zone. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/cwd under Voluntary CWD Sampling Stations.
Hunters who harvest deer OUTSIDE the 41-county CWD Management Zone can have them tested for CWD for a fee through the State-Federal Cooperative Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Springfield or the University of Missouri Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Laboratory in Columbia. Both facilities coordinate with MDC on test results.
Contact the State-Federal Cooperative Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Springfield at (417) 895-6861, or agriculture.mo.gov/animals/health/diagnosticlabs.php, or the University of Missouri Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Laboratory in Columbia at (573) 882-6811 or vmdl.missouri.edu/. Hunters are responsible for testing fees, which run from $20 - $65. Contact the facility for specific costs, processes, and payment methods accepted.
Based on recommendations from the CDC, MDC is requiring all deer donated to Share the Harvest that were harvested in Missouri counties where CWD has been found to be tested for the disease. Deer that test positive for CWD will not be used and will be properly disposed of. Get more information on Share the Harvest at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-share-harvest.
