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

THIS CONTENT IS ARCHIVED
News from the region
Southeast
Published Date
10/29/2020
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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is supporting Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing by providing hunters with convenient self-serve freezers for deer head drop-offs in Perry, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Jefferson counties. The sites are accepting samples now until Jan. 15, 2021, except for Nov. 14 - 15 when heads can be dropped off at MDC CWD Sampling stations.

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

  • Perry Co. – Perryville Forestry Office at 2206 W. St. Joseph in Perryville
  • Francois Co. – Farmington MDC Shop (behind USDA Office) at 812 Progress Drive in Farmington
  • Genevieve Co. – Dairy Queen parking lot at 18575 HWY 32
  • Jefferson Co. – Festus/Crystal City Chapter Conservation Club at 2567 HWY 61 in Festus

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 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. 14-15) and hunters are encouraged to use the MDC staffed sampling locations normally used for CWD Mandatory Sampling during the opening weekend.

Hunters will be able to check the results themselves online using their Telecheck ID at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZuE within two to four 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.

Hunters who harvest deer from any of the 30 CWD Management Zone counties are reminded that they must follow new carcass transportation restrictions when traveling to CWD testing sites. Visit mdc.mo.gov/cwd, or see the 2020 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 2020 archery deer season, Jan. 15, 2021.