MDC Seeking Public Feedback on Updates to Its CWD Plan

The Missouri Department of Conservation is revising its surveillance and management plan for chronic wasting disease (CWD) and wants public feedback on the plan’s goals, objectives, and potential changes to deer hunting regulations.

CWD is a fatal, contagious disease in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family.

The disease is 100 percent fatal to deer, and there is no known cure, treatment, or vaccine. 

The disease can be spread from deer to deer through direct contact and when deer encounter the disease-causing agent after it has entered the environment from an infected deer.

According to MDC, CWD poses a direct threat to the health of Missouri’s deer population, making efforts to manage the disease critically important. 

MDC developed its first CWD Surveillance and Management Plan after detecting the first cases in 2010 in north-central Missouri.

Following the detection of CWD in other areas of the state, MDC updated its CWD Surveillance and Management Plan in 2015.

With the continued detection of CWD in new areas and expanding distribution where the disease exists, MDC is again revising its CWD Surveillance and Management Plan to ensure that surveillance and management efforts adapt to changing disease dynamics.

For more information on CWD, MDC’s ongoing efforts to manage CWD in Missouri, and to read and comment on the draft CWD Surveillance and Management Plan goals and objectives, and proposed changes to deer hunting regulations, visit MDC online at mdc.mo.gov/cwdplan.