The Missouri Department of Conservation has reduced the number of counties in its management zone for chronic wasting disease or CWD. Starting this month, the number of counties in the zone drops from 48 to 29.
Counties that were dropped in southwest Missouri include Dade and McDonald.
MDC designed the CWD Management Zone in 2012 to include counties within 25 miles of where cases of the illness have been found. That was based on research from other states that showed deer may disperse up to 25 miles from the area where they were born. But recent MDC research shows that more than 90 percent of bucks in the state disperse less than 10 miles.
MDC added Christian and Howell Counties to the CWD Management Zone because of recent CWD detections in Stone, and Taney counties.
Hunters in the management zone must take their harvested deer on the day of harvest to a sampling station. There are also restrictions on feeding deer, antler-point restrictions and antlerless permits for some counties.
Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.
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