CDW Zone expands in Missouri

The Missouri Conservation Commission recently approved proposed regulation changes from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) related to chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance and management efforts. They added four counties to the CWD Management Zone and reinstate mandatory CWD sampling requirements. The approved MDC regulations add Camden, Laclede, McDonald, and Pulaski counties to the CWD Management Zone, after deer with CWD were found in or near those counties. The CWD Management Zone now consists of 34 counties in or near where CWD has been found. Laclede County Conservation Agent Jarrad Milligan says this will cause some changes next deer season in the affected counties:

MDC previously reported it confirmed 44 new cases of CWD from more than 15,300 deer tested during the past year. Of the 44 new cases, one was found in Pulaski County, which had no previously known cases of CWD. Due to the detection of CWD in Pulaski County, MDC recommended that Pulaski County and adjacent Camden and Laclede counties be placed in the CWD Management Zone. Hunters must follow carcass-movement restrictions when traveling to a mandatory CWD sampling station.