MDC provides freezer drop-off sites in central region to aid hunters in voluntary CWD testing

COLUMBIA, 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 9 counties in the Central region. Each site has a freezer that will preserve the samples, which will be picked up later by MDC staff for CWD testing. To submit a deer head for testing, hunters will be required to cut off the head in advance, so it can be left in the freezer.

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 throughout the 2024-2025 fall deer hunting season.

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

• Audrain Co.-Redding Farms USA, 2135 E. Liberty St. in Mexico
• Callaway Co. - Whetstone Creek CA, County Rd. 1003 in Williamsburg
• Camden Co. -MDC Camdenton Office, 783 Thunder Mountain Rd. in Camdenton
• Gasconade Co.-Old Dutch Mill Gas Station, 1988 US-50 in Owensville and MFA Hermann, 191 MO-100 in Hermann
• Howard Co.-MFA Fayette, 111 Armstrong St. in Fayette
• Maries Co.-Maries Co. SWCD office, 1001 Vienna Rolla Rd. in Vienna
• Montgomery Co.- Building next to Mike's Autocrafts, 1110 Farnen Rd. in Montgomery City
• Osage Co. -Linn USDA, 1315 E. Main St. in Linn and MDC Rich Fountain 1426 Hwy. E in Rich Fountain
• Saline Co. - Blind Pony Hatchery, 16285 BP Hatchery Dr. in Marshall

For an interactive map showing all voluntary CWD testing drop off 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 six 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. Staff will collect the head and pull the samples to be submitted for testing.

The 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, which includes Gasconade, Howard, Audrain, Maries, Osage, and Saline counties. Hunters harvesting deer in mandatory CWD sampling counties must use the MDC staffed sampling locations normally used for CWD Mandatory Sampling during the opening weekend. The drop-off sites will still be open in Camden, Montgomery, and Callaway counties, as these have been excluded from mandatory sampling during the 2024 season. The sites in these counties will provide a voluntary sampling option for those hunters who would still like to get their deer tested.

Hunters will be able to check the results themselves online using their Telecheck ID at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZuEwithin three weeks. MDC will notify a hunter directly if their sample returns a positive result. The Centers for Disease Control 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 extract lymph nodes from the animal's neck. The disease has been confirmed in Gasconade, Maries, and Osage counties in MDC's central 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.