MDC holding mandatory CWD testing during opening weekend

Posted

Mandatory Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) sampling is happening opening weekend of firearms portion of deer season Nov. 12-13. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will have several sampling stations within Missouri made available for hunters.
 If a hunter harvests a deer from select counties in the CWD Management Zone during the opening weekend of deer season, they must take your deer — or just the head  — on the day of harvest to one of the following CWD sampling stations.
Perry County has two sampling stations: the Perryville MDC Forestry Office at 2206 W. St. Joseph St. and Heartland Social Club on Highway A in Uniontown.
CWD is a deadly, infectious disease in deer and other members of the deer family that eventually kills all animals it infects. The disease has been found in Missouri and is slowly spreading. MDC is working with conservation partners to find cases of CWD and limit its spread.
Mandatory sampling dramatically increases the number of tissue samples MDC can collect in a brief period of time. The increased number of samples gives MDC scientists a much better understanding of the distribution and prevalence of the disease — where it is and how many deer may have it. It can also help find new cases in new areas.
Opening weekend of the firearms deer season is the most popular two hunting days for most deer hunters. Hunters take about a third of our state’s total annual deer harvest during those two days. Focusing on this key weekend gives MDC the best opportunity to collect the most tissue samples during a very concentrated time period.

Tips for when visiting a sampling station:
Field dress and Telecheck your deer before arrival.
You can bring the carcass or just the head with at least 6 inches of the neck attached. (It is OK to remove the cape before you get to the sampling station.)
The person who harvested the deer must be present.
Be prepared to provide your Conservation Number and point out the location of harvest on a map.
If using a paper permit, have it detached from the deer for easy access. If using the MO Hunting app, have your permit and Telecheck information readily available.
Position the deer in your vehicle with the head and neck accessible.