The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is reminding deer hunters about locations where deer can be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD) free of charge. The agency issued a press release this week with information about the disease and where the free testing can be accessed.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal disease of the central nervous system in deer and elk. It was first detected in a suspect adult female deer from northwest Boone County in 2002. Since then, 173,486 wild deer have been sampled statewide, and 2,188 individual deer have tested positive for CWD. The disease is currently confined to a 21-county area in the northern third of Illinois.
Wildlife biologists monitor the geographic distribution and intensity of CWD primarily through testing of hunter-harvested deer. CWD is not known to be transmissible to humans; however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization do not recommend consuming CWD-positive venison (deer meat).
Hunters can visit participating vendors, including taxidermists and meat processors, or leave deer heads at self-serve drop-off sites; they can be found online, on the Hunt Illinois app, or at IDNR’s interactive map.
Additionally, firearm deer hunters in CWD counties can get a voluntary sample taken by a biologist when they bring harvested deer to mandatory physical check stations during the 2024 regular firearm seasons which runs from November 22-24 and December 5-8.
In the legislature, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie continues to navigate the CWD issue that has impacted northwest Illinois and areas within her 89th Legislative District. In addition to taking feedback from area residents on CWD management, McCombie has met with the state agency tasked with handling the ongoing CWD disease and is in the process of pursing legislation to find state fixes that will better accommodate constituent concerns. Find more about this effort here.