The recent discovery of chronic wasting disease in deer in Barton County means Jasper County is part of a management zone for the deer disease this fall. And that means different rules for hunters, including mandatory sampling, during opening weekend of the of the firearms season, Nov. 11-12.
Hunters will be required to take their harvested deer or the head on the day of harvest to one of MDC’s mandatory CWD sampling stations. Sampling and test results are free.
No deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Jasper County, but nine tested positive last fall in Barton County. They were among the 117 deer that tested positive statewide out of the 33,000 sampled from July 2022 to April 2023.
The rules apply to all hunters who harvest deer in other counties designated part of a CWD Management Zone.
Other CWD Management Zone counties for mandatory CWD sampling are: Adair, Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Caldwell, Carroll, Cedar, Chariton, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Franklin, Gasconade, Grundy, Hickory, Jefferson, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Madison, Montgomery, Oregon, Perry, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Ray, Ripley, Schuyler, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Vernon, and Washington.
McDonald County is still part of a CWD Management Zone, but according to state officials, they are not doing mandatory sample collecting in the county on Nov. 11-12. MDC will have a voluntary collection site in the county.
“Mandatory CWD sampling significantly increases the number of tissue samples we can collect in a relatively short period of time,” MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle said in a statement. “The large number of samples collected during mandatory CWD sampling gives us a solid understanding of the distribution and prevalence of the disease — where it is and how many deer may have it. It can also help us find new cases in new areas so disease management can begin as soon as possible to slow the spread of CWD and protect Missouri’s deer population.”
Opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season encompasses the most popular two hunting days for most deer hunters in Missouri.
“Focusing on this key weekend gives us the best opportunity to collect the most tissue samples during a very concentrated time period,” said Isabelle.
CWD is a fatal neurological illness that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. The disease can be transmitted freely within and among deer populations.
In all, more than 400 deer in Missouri have tested positive for CWD since the first case in wild deer was found by the Missouri Department of Conservation in early 2012, out of hundreds of thousands of deer tested over the past two decades.
According to the department, of the more than 33,000 samples last season, about 3,500 were collected during targeted culling efforts conducted in cooperation with landowners on a voluntary basis after the close of regular deer season in areas near where CWD has been found.
Through targeted culling, 41 CWD-positive deer were removed to help slow the spread of disease. One such culling was in February in Barton County at and near Prairie State Park, after positive cases were found last fall on private land near the park.
Under Missouri rules, a county is added to a management zone if a positive case of chronic wasting disease is identified within 10 miles of the border.
In Arkansas, 1,545 CWD cases have been reported in wild deer since the first case was discovered there in 2016.
Twelve of those have been in Benton County, Arkansas, just south of McDonald County, and 164 have been in Carroll County, just south of Barry County, Missouri.
Arkansas also has identified 50 positives in its wild elk population. No cases have shown up in Missouri’s wild elk population.
To find mandatory CWD sampling station locations, go to mdc.mo.gov/cwd, or look in MDC’s 2023 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where permits are sold.
Hunters can get their CWD test results for free online at mdc.mo.gov/cwdResults.
Read More: Jasper County part of CWD management zone for deer hunters | Local News