Sampling required for all deer shot opening weekend
Above is the map released by MDC that shows different CWD mandatory testing and management zones in Missouri.
November 1, 2017
Charlea Estes-Jones
For the first time, Barry County hunters will be required to have all of their deer shot during opening weekend of firearms season checked for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The decision to make testing mandatory came after CWD was found within 25 miles of the Missouri border.
Warren Rose, outreach and education regional supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said, “The Department of Conservation is doing mandatory sampling in four southern counties that border Arkansas because we haven’t found Chronic Wasting Disease in Missouri, but Arkansas has seen it within 25 miles of our state line. Our protocol is to do mandatory sampling to see if we have it, and if so, how prevalent it might be.”
All deer taken from Barry County during that first weekend, November 11 and 12, will be required to take their deer to one of three mandatory check stations. The check stations will be located at :
• Roaring River State Park, Cassville
• Purdy Community Building, Purdy
• Central Crossing Fire Station #1, Shell Knob.
Once hunters arrive, MDC staff will be present to take tissue samples and send samples to independent labs to check each of the deer for CWD. The process is done quickly. Staff will cut along the deer’s neck, remove the lymph nodes, and hunters can then be on their way. Barry County is one of four counties that borders Arkansas that is included in the mandatory testing protocol. Stone, Taney and Ozark Counties are also included, along with 21 Missouri counties farther north in the state.
Rose said, “It’s been in the northern part of the state for awhile. Northern and around St. Louis. It’s been found in Missouri but not in southwest Missouri. It was also found in St. Clair County this past season.”
Through mandatory sampling, MDC will be able to make an evaluation as to whether CWD has spread into more counties in Missouri and how to work with landowners to stop the spread if it is present.
CWD is a highly contagious neurological disease. It causes brain deterioration that leads to abnormal behavior, emaciation, loss of bodily function and eventually death. Because of deer’s social habits, once it is in an area, it spreads rapidly given the right circumstances.
Rose said, “This is a disease spread from deer-to-deer from them licking each other or socializing, as they do. The chance of the disease spreading is high.”
While there is no known risk to humans, the disease is devastating to the deer population. Because CWD was found in Arkansas, Barry County and other counties have been under feeding bans to help reduce the chance of it becoming prevalent in Missouri.
Rose said, “That is why landowners need to follow regulations. Barry County and Stone County are both where you cannot feed or put out mineral blocks. It’s against the law.” Drawing multiple deer to a single location, while good for hunting chances, is dangerous for deer in areas that are at risk for CWD.
Rose said the process to get deer checked should be fairly quick, but he recommends coming earlier in the day if possible. He stated, “Try not to wait until the end of the day. If they harvest a deer in the middle of the afternoon, we’ll be slow and can process them much faster. All of the hunters show up at the end of the day. The lines tend to back up.”
To make the process go more quickly, hunters are asked to bring deer with their heads easily accessible in the back of a truck or vehicle.
He said, “This is new, people aren’t used to this, so we want to make sure everyone is well-informed. If they have questions, just ask one of the staff members there working. That’s what we are here for.”
Rose added, “They have to telecheck their deer first and have the permit and that information available, and also be able to point out on a county map the township range and section where they were harvested.” Staff will make note of where the deer was shot so that if CWD is found, they have an idea as to where the more prevalent areas are.
Only deer harvested within county will need to be checked.
The 25 mandatory CWD sampling counties are: Adair, Barry, Benton, Cedar, Cole, Crawford, Dade, Franklin, Hickory, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Moniteau, Ozark, Polk, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren and Washington.
So, what if CWD is found in Barry County? Rose said it would be handled as it is being handled in northern counties where they have found the disease. “In the future, the department will do more selective harvesting and sampling. We have a CWD action plan in place, and we are using those in the northern counties already. We would work with landowners and hunters to see where the deer were harvested and sample around there to see how prevalent the disease is.”
Selective removal is part of the plan should CWD be found. Rose said, “Intense harvesting of deer in those areas and testing is the main thing. Everything would be done only with landowner consent.”
However, for now, Barry County, among 24 other counties, are just in a sampling phase.
If you take a deer during the opening weekend of November firearms season, remember:
• Sampling locations will be open from 7:30 a.m. until at least 8 p.m. on Nov. 11 and 12.
• Deer must be presented by the hunter who harvested the animal.
• Hunters be asked to identify the location within the county the deer was harvested.
• Deer may be field dressed before being taken to a sampling station.
• Hunters have the option of presenting just the deer head with about six inches of neck attached.
• For bucks bound to a taxidermist, the cape may be removed prior to being taken to a sampling station as long as about six inches of the neck is left attached.
If you take a deer during any other part of the season, you can voluntarily have the deer tested, as well. Voluntary sampling stations in Barry County are Scott’s Taxidermy, in Exeter, and Reflections Taxidermy, in Monett. Alternately, you can have them sampled at the Southwest Regional MDC Office in Springfield during normal business hours.
For more information, go to https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/wildlife-diseases/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.
Charlea Estes-Jones
For the first time, Barry County hunters will be required to have all of their deer shot during opening weekend of firearms season checked for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The decision to make testing mandatory came after CWD was found within 25 miles of the Missouri border.
Warren Rose, outreach and education regional supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said, “The Department of Conservation is doing mandatory sampling in four southern counties that border Arkansas because we haven’t found Chronic Wasting Disease in Missouri, but Arkansas has seen it within 25 miles of our state line. Our protocol is to do mandatory sampling to see if we have it, and if so, how prevalent it might be.”
All deer taken from Barry County during that first weekend, November 11 and 12, will be required to take their deer to one of three mandatory check stations. The check stations will be located at :
• Roaring River State Park, Cassville
• Purdy Community Building, Purdy
• Central Crossing Fire Station #1, Shell Knob.
Once hunters arrive, MDC staff will be present to take tissue samples and send samples to independent labs to check each of the deer for CWD. The process is done quickly. Staff will cut along the deer’s neck, remove the lymph nodes, and hunters can then be on their way. Barry County is one of four counties that borders Arkansas that is included in the mandatory testing protocol. Stone, Taney and Ozark Counties are also included, along with 21 Missouri counties farther north in the state.
Rose said, “It’s been in the northern part of the state for awhile. Northern and around St. Louis. It’s been found in Missouri but not in southwest Missouri. It was also found in St. Clair County this past season.”
Through mandatory sampling, MDC will be able to make an evaluation as to whether CWD has spread into more counties in Missouri and how to work with landowners to stop the spread if it is present.
CWD is a highly contagious neurological disease. It causes brain deterioration that leads to abnormal behavior, emaciation, loss of bodily function and eventually death. Because of deer’s social habits, once it is in an area, it spreads rapidly given the right circumstances.
Rose said, “This is a disease spread from deer-to-deer from them licking each other or socializing, as they do. The chance of the disease spreading is high.”
While there is no known risk to humans, the disease is devastating to the deer population. Because CWD was found in Arkansas, Barry County and other counties have been under feeding bans to help reduce the chance of it becoming prevalent in Missouri.
Rose said, “That is why landowners need to follow regulations. Barry County and Stone County are both where you cannot feed or put out mineral blocks. It’s against the law.” Drawing multiple deer to a single location, while good for hunting chances, is dangerous for deer in areas that are at risk for CWD.
Rose said the process to get deer checked should be fairly quick, but he recommends coming earlier in the day if possible. He stated, “Try not to wait until the end of the day. If they harvest a deer in the middle of the afternoon, we’ll be slow and can process them much faster. All of the hunters show up at the end of the day. The lines tend to back up.”
To make the process go more quickly, hunters are asked to bring deer with their heads easily accessible in the back of a truck or vehicle.
He said, “This is new, people aren’t used to this, so we want to make sure everyone is well-informed. If they have questions, just ask one of the staff members there working. That’s what we are here for.”
Rose added, “They have to telecheck their deer first and have the permit and that information available, and also be able to point out on a county map the township range and section where they were harvested.” Staff will make note of where the deer was shot so that if CWD is found, they have an idea as to where the more prevalent areas are.
Only deer harvested within county will need to be checked.
The 25 mandatory CWD sampling counties are: Adair, Barry, Benton, Cedar, Cole, Crawford, Dade, Franklin, Hickory, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Moniteau, Ozark, Polk, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren and Washington.
So, what if CWD is found in Barry County? Rose said it would be handled as it is being handled in northern counties where they have found the disease. “In the future, the department will do more selective harvesting and sampling. We have a CWD action plan in place, and we are using those in the northern counties already. We would work with landowners and hunters to see where the deer were harvested and sample around there to see how prevalent the disease is.”
Selective removal is part of the plan should CWD be found. Rose said, “Intense harvesting of deer in those areas and testing is the main thing. Everything would be done only with landowner consent.”
However, for now, Barry County, among 24 other counties, are just in a sampling phase.
If you take a deer during the opening weekend of November firearms season, remember:
• Sampling locations will be open from 7:30 a.m. until at least 8 p.m. on Nov. 11 and 12.
• Deer must be presented by the hunter who harvested the animal.
• Hunters be asked to identify the location within the county the deer was harvested.
• Deer may be field dressed before being taken to a sampling station.
• Hunters have the option of presenting just the deer head with about six inches of neck attached.
• For bucks bound to a taxidermist, the cape may be removed prior to being taken to a sampling station as long as about six inches of the neck is left attached.
If you take a deer during any other part of the season, you can voluntarily have the deer tested, as well. Voluntary sampling stations in Barry County are Scott’s Taxidermy, in Exeter, and Reflections Taxidermy, in Monett. Alternately, you can have them sampled at the Southwest Regional MDC Office in Springfield during normal business hours.
For more information, go to https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/wildlife-diseases/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.