MDC encourages hunters in SWMO to have deer sampled for CWD all season

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is again asking deer hunters to have their deer sampled for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Hunters play an important role in helping MDC monitor the disease and the health of Missouri’s deer herd.

CWD is a contagious, deadly brain disease of white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. It has been found in Missouri and MDC is working with hunters and others to limit the impact of the disease on Missouri’s deer herd. Testing harvested deer for CWD is a vital effort to help identify where cases of the disease are in the state and limit its spread. Learn more about CWD at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.

MDC will again conduct mandatory sampling of harvested deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the firearms deer season – Nov. 14 and 15 – in select counties around the state. MDC has moved mandatory CWD sampling to a four-year county rotation. Mandatory CWD sampling will now be conducted in every county of the state once over the next four years. Learn more about Mandatory CWD Sampling at mdc.mo.gov/cwd and look under the Mandatory CWD Sampling tab.

Counties in the Southwest region of Missouri where mandatory CWD sampling will be required this year of all hunters who harvest deer on Nov. 14 or 15 are Cedar, Dade Greene, Polk, and Lawrence. Mandatory sampling locations for these counties are:

El Dorado Springs MoDOT Facility, 3865 E. Hwy. 54 in El Dorado Springs
Sloan Conservation Area, Hwy. 160, near Lockwood
Southwest Regional MDC Office, 2630 N. Mayfair Ave. in Springfield
Mount Vernon High School’s Ag Building, 400 Hwy. 174 in Mount Vernon
Bolivar Fire Station No. 2 (West), 812 S. Killingsworth Ave. in Bolivar

MDC is also offering voluntary CWD sampling opportunities for hunters who harvest deer in any county at any time during any of Missouri’s deer hunting seasons. These additional sampling opportunities include at MDC offices, cooperating taxidermists and meat processors, and self-service freezers.

Voluntary sampling locations in the Southwest region of Missouri include:

MDC Cassville Office, 601 State Hwy. 248 in Cassville (freezer and sampling)
MFA, 79 N. Hwy. W in Cassville, (freezer)
Bear Creek Meats LLC, 19827 E. 1450 Stockton
Oldfield Packing, 192 Andrews Rd. in Sparta
MoDOT OZ, 1810 Selmore Rd. in Ozark (freezer)
Mitchells Taxidermy, 12751 State Hwy. 125 Chadwick
The Muffler Shop, 1123 S. Ash in Buffalo (freezer)
MDC Southwest Regional Office, 2630 N. Mayfair Ave. in Springfield (freezer and sampling)
Ozark Forest Taxidermy, 10929 N. Farm Road 177 in Fair Grove
Matthews Wildlife Art Taxidermy, 9880 North Cedar Valley Lane in Faire Grove
Hays Processing, 13663 Hwy. 83 in Quincy
J. Community Center, 301 Industrial Dr. in Carl Junction (freezer)
Race Bros., 2309 Fairlwan Dr. in Carthage (freezer)
4C Cattle and Processing, 10701 County Rd. 160 in Carthage
MDC Lebanon Office, 2350 S. Jefferson Ave. in Lebanon (freezer and sampling)
Robert E. Talbot, State Hwy. 96, in LaRussell (freezer)
Honey Hole Wildlife Artistry, 24493 Lawrence 21000 in Marionville
Goodman Meat Processing LLC, 125 N. Roy Hill Blvd. in Goodman
Southwest City Processing LLC, P.O. Box 7 Southwest City
J & K Meats, 27019 SSR-A in Stella
Neosho Office, 1510 S. Hwy. 71 in Neosho (freezer)
Scotts Taxidermy Studio INC, 4701 S. Byers Ave. in Joplin
Bolivar Forestry, 412 Killingsworth Ave. in Bolivar (freezer)
MoDOT Galena, 1880 St. Hwy. 248 in Galena (freezer)
Drury-Mincy, 3339 Gunnison Rd. near Kirbyville (freezer)
Branson, 226 Claremont Dr. in Branson (freezer)
Real Trophies Taxidermy, 414 S. Fork in Branson
J&E Custom Butchering, 844 Morningside Rd. in Seymour
MoDOT Webster, 333 Pin Oak Loop in Webster (freezer)
Mountainside Outfitters, 12337 State Hwy. U in Fordland

Hunters using self-service freezers will need 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 bucks) while leaving about six inches of neck attached before coming to the freezer head drop-off location. Hunters will need to record their name and contact information, Telecheck ID number, and location where the deer was harvested on material provided. Materials will be available at the freezer sites such as trash bags, zip ties, and data sheets that hunters can use in labeling their deer heads. MDC staff will collect the deer heads for CWD testing throughout the season.

For an interactive map of all voluntary CWD sampling sites throughout the state, visit mdc.mo.gov and look under Voluntary CWD Sampling.

Archery deer hunting runs through Nov. 13 and opens again Nov. 25 through Jan. 15, 2027. Firearms deer hunting opened with the early antlerless portion Oct. 9-11 followed by several other firearms portions through Jan. 5, 2027. For more information on deer hunting in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer.

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