MDC provides freezer sites in southeast Missouri to aid hunters in voluntary CWD testing

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo - To make it easier for deer hunters to help monitor Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has deployed deer head drop-off sites in six counties within southeast Missouri. Heads will be picked up later by MDC staff for CWD testing. Hunters should leave about 6 inches of neck on the head.

The goal is to provide hunters an additional way of submitting their harvested deer for voluntary CWD testing. These self-serve drop sites will enable hunters to submit deer heads for sampling at their convenience during the 2024-2025 fall deer hunting season.

The sample drop-off sites in the Southeast region include:

• York's One Stop | 1107 Allen Road in Campbell
• Festus Crystal City Chapter Conservation Club | 2567 US Highway 61 in Festus
• Barefoot Fireworks | 6852 State Highway 67 in Fredericktown
• Bollinger County CO-OP | 200 State Highway 34 East in Marble Hill
• USDA Office | 812 Progress Drive in Farmington
• Welker Taxidermy | 44406 State Highway 51 in Patton
• MDC Forestry Office | 2206 West St. Joseph Street in Perryville
• Dairy Queen | 18575 State Highway 32 in Ste. Genevieve

For an interactive map showing all voluntary CWD testing sites throughout the state, go to https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZCH.

Hunters should cut off the deer head (and antlers for any bucks) while leaving about 6 inches of neck attached before coming to the drop-off location. Materials will be available at the freezer sites, such as trash bags, zip ties, and data sheets, that hunters can use in labeling the heads.

Hunters will need to record their name and contact information, as well as their Telecheck ID numbers and the location the deer was harvested. They can then simply leave the head in the freezer. MDC staff will collect the head and pull the samples to be submitted for CWD testing.

Drop-off sites will not be available for use during the opening weekend of the firearms deer season (Nov. 16 - 17) in counties where mandatory CWD sampling is required. These counties include Bollinger, Perry, St. Francois, and Ste. Genevieve counties in MDC's Southeast region. Hunters harvesting deer in mandatory CWD sampling counties Nov. 16 -17 must take their deer (or its head) to a mandatory CWD sampling station on the day of harvest. The freezer head drop-off sites will remain open in Dunklin and Madison counties Nov. 16 -17.

Hunters will be able to check the CWD test results online using their Telecheck ID at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZuEwithin four weeks. MDC will notify a hunter directly if their sample returns a positive result. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend consuming meat from a deer that has tested positive for CWD.

CWD is a neurological disease that is fatal to deer. A deer may be infected with no visible symptoms. The only way to positively identify the presence of CWD is to submit a sample for testing. The disease has been confirmed in Perry, St. Francois, and Ste. Genevieve counties in MDC's Southeast region, as well as counties elsewhere in the state. Hunters can play an important role in helping MDC monitor and track the disease in Missouri by providing this valuable data.

Hunters who harvest deer from any of the CWD Management Zone counties are reminded that they must follow carcass transportation restrictions when traveling to CWD testing sites. Visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z9V, or see the 2024 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Information and Regulation booklet for details.

The drop-off sites will be available to accept samples until the conclusion of the 2024-2025 archery deer season, Jan. 15, 2025.