Missouri Shifts CWD Testing Strategy as Hunters Resist Program

Missouri shifts strategy to combat deer disease

The Missouri Department of Conservation is changing how it tracks chronic wasting disease, a deadly pathogen that has already infected roughly 1% of the state’s 1.5 million white-tailed deer.

According to reporting from KBIA and KOMU, the agency is moving away from its previous method of mandatory testing in every county where the disease was detected or near positive cases. Instead, the state will implement a rotating system where one-fourth of Missouri’s counties are tested every year, meaning any single county will only undergo testing once every four years.

This strategy change has caused friction within the hunting community. While biologists argue the new method provides a broader look at disease persistence, some hunters view the department’s actions with deep suspicion or outright hostility.

Tensions rise between hunters and conservationists

For some, the presence of testing signs at local businesses is a breaking point. Allen Moris, a hunter with 40 years of experience in Missouri, refuses to participate in the program and has vowed to boycott any business that facilitates it.

Missouri Shifts CWD Testing Strategy as Hunters Resist Program — Photo: komu.com

“If you test, I will never do business with you ever, for anything. If I see one of those signs there, you know, sticking out front, the CWD testing here, I will never, ever,” Moris said.

Moris characterized the orange CWD sampling signs—which feature bold black lettering and the Missouri Department of Conservation logo—as being “anti-hunting, anti-conservation and anti-land owner.”

Tony Kalna, who manages the Missouri Deer Hunter Facebook page, expressed a sentiment shared by many in the community. While acknowledging that the disease is a legitimate threat, Kalna suggested that the state’s response is an overreaction, noting that many people view the department’s efforts as a “waste of money and time.”

Meat processors and taxidermists find themselves caught in the middle of this cultural divide. At a facility in Harrisburg, Ryan Freman and his father, Trey, manage a business that handles everything from slicing bacon to vacuum-sealing meat for farmers and hunters. The facility also offers CWD testing to assist in monitoring the pathogen.

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Freman noted that while he sees both sides of the debate, the refusal to test hasn’t crippled their operations, though there is a visible divide between those who cooperate and those who do not.

The science of disease management

Biologists emphasize that the goal of testing is not merely to react to outbreaks, but to build a statistical map of how the disease moves through the environment. Because CWD can spread through animal-to-animal contact or via soil and water, understanding its presence in specific areas is critical for long-term management.

Mindy Paulek, a biologist in Colorado who has studied whether the disease can jump between species, explained the necessity of voluntary and systematic data collection.

“It gives a better statistic or more knowledge of how that, how much that disease is persisting in that area and where,” Paulek said. “And so it gives the biologist a better idea to try to better manage it.”

The Missouri Department of Conservation has also adjusted its approach to population control. In the past, the department utilized targeted culling in “hot zones,” sometimes employing methods that were unavailable to recreational hunters. Under the new plan, the agency is providing an increased number of free deer tags to landowners with at least 20 acres of property in CWD-positive areas.

To further reduce the ability of the disease to spread, the department has removed antler-point restrictions. This allows hunters to take younger, healthy deer, which helps decrease the reproductive rate of the population.

However, the effectiveness of these population-reduction tactics remains a point of contention. Experts like Paulek suggest that simply thinning the herd does not inherently solve the problem if the pathogen remains in the environment. With some hunters opting out of testing or hunting in areas where it isn’t mandated, officials face the challenge of managing a disease that is already present in nearly every county in the state.