MDC provides freezers for voluntary CWD sampling in St. Louis region

St. LOUIS, Mo-To make it easier for deer hunters to have their deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has deployed deer head drop-off sites in six counties in the St. Louis region. Each site has a freezer that will preserve the samples, which will be picked up by MDC staff for CWD testing.

The freezers are one way that hunters can have their deer tested for CWD. These self-serve drop sites enable hunters to submit deer heads for sampling at their convenience throughout the 2024-2025 deer hunting season. Hunters should note that that the freezers in Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington counties will not be available Nov. 16-17 when hunters in these counties must take their deer (or the head) to a mandatory CWD sampling station.

The sample drop-off sites in the St. Louis region include:

• Crawford Co.-City of Bourbon-Road Maintenance Building, 325 Merkel St. in Bourbon
• Franklin -MDC's Meramec Workstation, 3220 S. Hwy 185 at Meramec Conservation Area
• Franklin Co.-East Central College, 1964 Prairie Dell Road in Union
• Franklin Co.-New Haven Farm and Feed, 9659 State Highway 100 in New Haven
• Jefferson Co.-Festus/Crystal City Conservation Club, 2567 US Highway 61 in Festus
• CharlesCo.-August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area, 2360 Highway D in St. Charles
• Warren-MDC's Warrenton Office, 26620 State Highway U in Warrenton
• Washington -U.S. Forest Service Office, 10019 West Highway 8 in Potosi

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

Hunters will be required to remove the deer's head in advance, so it can be left in the freezer. Hunters should cut off the 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, the Telecheck ID number 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.

Hunters will be able to check the CWD test results themselves online using their Telecheck ID number at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZuEwithin approximately three weeks. MDC will notify a hunter directly if their sample returns a positive result. Although there have been no known cases of CWD affecting humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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 identify the presence of CWD is to have the deer tested. The disease has been confirmed in Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington counties in MDC's St. Louis 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 having their deer tested for CWD.

Hunters who harvest deer from any of the CWD Management Zone counties must follow carcass transportation restrictions when traveling to CWD sampling sites. Visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z9Vor see the 2024 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Information and Regulations booklet for more information.