November firearms deer hunting season opens this weekend, and for the first time deer killed in Boone County must be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease.
Boone County was one of 18 counties added by the Missouri Department of Conservation this year to the state's Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management zones for mandatory testing.
Counties are included in the CWD management zones if they have had positive detection of CWD or they are within 10 miles of a positive detection of CWD.
No deer has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in Boone County, which has been part of voluntary testing previously.
If deer are killed this Saturday and Sunday, the head must be brought into CWD testing sites throughout mid-Missouri. Opening weekend is important for CWD testing since most deer are killed in the first two days.
Three sampling sites are open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Boone County:
- Hallsville Primary School, 6401 MO-124, Hallsville
- Ashland Optimist Club, 511 Optimist Drive, Ashland
- MDC Central Regional Office and Conservation Research Center, 3500 E. Gans Rd, Columbia
CWD, sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose, elk and muntjac. The disease results in degeneration of the brain and nervous system. There are no treatments or vaccines and it is always fatal for infected animals.
Maddie Fennewald from the MDC said that mid-Missouri counties have previously been involved in a voluntary part of the CWD management zone, but an increase of positive CWD cases caused the MDC to mandate testing during opening weekend.
"Last season, we had a couple positives in mid-Missouri," Fennewald said. "From there, our regulations committee determined an entire process on who needs to be included. A lot of that comes from proximity to where a positive test was found."
In 2023, 162 deer tested positive for CWD throughout 39 counties.
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It's important to test for CWD because it has the ability to spread before researchers even know it's on the landscape, Fennewald said. Mandatory testing allows biologists to have a better grasp on how much the infection rate has changed.
"Deer hunting is a huge part of culture of Missouri and that resource is important to hunters, wildlife watchers and the ecosystem itself," Fennewald said. "If it's left unchecked, it could be dangerous to deer. That's why we're trying so intensively to track, manage and understand what we're dealing with."
All deer harvested from CWD management zone counties must be Telechecked before any parts are transported out of the county. Hunters are able to Telecheck deer on the MO Hunting app or on the internet using an ID number provided on their hunting permit. Once they're in the database, they'll be asked questions on what type of deer they've killed.
Hunters are able to bring the carcass or the head with at least six inches of the neck attached. CWD sampling only takes a few minutes. An incision is cut across the neck of a deer to remove lymph nodes. Those tissue samples are sent to an independent lab for testing.
The head will be returned to the hunter after sampling.
MDC regulations state that only one antlered deer may be taken during the entire firearms season. Hunters have the option to take two antlered deer during the archery and firearms deer hunting seasons combined.
Boone County used to have an antler-point restriction which stated that an antlered deer must have at least four points on one side to be taken. That regulation was removed this year to slow the spread of CWD as younger bucks are more likely to spread the disease to more areas, according to the MDC website.
The MDC relies heavily on the public to bring their game in.
"We understand that this is a resource that's important to them, and we're asking that they help us manage that population," Fennewald said. "We all have the same end goal, and that's a healthy deer population."
According to the MDC website, hunters can also prevent the spread of CWD and other diseases by placing carcass remains in trash bags, burying the deer on-site where it was killed, or simply leaving it on-site as a last resort so scavengers won't scatter potentially infectious parts. The MDC heavily recommends against burning a carcass or disposing it in water.
Firearms deer hunting permits for any-deer are available for purchase on the MDC website. Fees are $18 for residents and $276.50 for non-residents. Antlerless deer hunting permits are $7.50 for residents and $26 for non-residents.
