More than 10,000 deer hunters participated in the Missouri Department of Conservation's mandatory chronic wasting disease sampling efforts last weekend in 25 counties, including Cole and Moniteau, according to an MDC news release.
MDC collected 15,872 tissue samples last weekend from deer killed for CWD testing.
MDC also has collected about 750 tissue samples for CWD testing over the past several months from hunted and road-killed deer, with no new cases of CWD found so far this season.
MDC sends test samples to an independent laboratory for testing and will report results as they become available.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been no documented cases of CWD in humans, but it is important to prevent human exposure to CWD. As a safeguard, the CDC recommends hunters consider having their harvested deer tested for CWD before eating the meat if the animal was harvested from an area where CWD has been found. The CDC also recommends not consuming an animal that tests positive for the disease.
With mandatory sampling done for the year, MDC continues to offer CWD sampling through the rest of the deer-hunting season.
Hunters who harvest deer inside the 41-county CWD Management Zone, which includes all counties in Mid-Missouri, throughout the remaining deer hunting season can have their deer sampled for CWD testing for free at more than 55 participating taxidermists and designated MDC offices in and around the zone.
For more information about CWD, visit mdc.mo.gov/cwd.
Based on recommendations from the CDC, MDC is requiring all deer donated to Share the Harvest that were harvested in Missouri counties where CWD has been found to be tested for the disease. Deer that test positive for CWD will not be used and will be properly disposed of.