If you want to donate your deer from a CWD-positive county, you still will be able to do so.
According to a news release, Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a deadly illness for white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. There have been no known cases of CWD infecting people, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends having deer tested for CWD if harvested in an area known to have cases of the disease. The CDC also recommends not eating meat from animals that test positive for CWD. Cases of CWD are relatively rare in Missouri with 75 confirmed in free-ranging deer since 2012.
Deer donated to “Share the Harvest” must be tested for CWD if harvested from any of the 11 counties where CWD has been found: Adair, Cedar, Cole, Franklin, Jefferson, Linn, Macon, Perry, Polk, St. Clair and Ste. Genevieve.
Deer season begins on September 15 and runs through January 15, 2019.
These deer can only be donated through processors participating in the “Share the Harvest” CWD Testing Program and located in or near any of the 11 CWD-positive counties. You can find participating processors at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.