Illinois deer hunters get a way to test for CWD

This deer season, the state of Illinois is offering hunters a voluntary method to check their deer for chronic wasting disease.

Although there have been no cases reported in southern Illinois, 28 counties in the northern and central parts of the state have had confirmed cases since 2002.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has announced that they will offer mail-in sample kits to hunters who collect lymph node samples from harvested deer. The kits will then be tested for CWD.

The kits will be distributed for free, by request on a first-come first-served basis. Illinois hunters can request a kit online at the Hunt Illinois website, or in person by contacting a local district wildlife biologist. Hunters can request up to two kits at time.

A list of sampling locations is available at the Hunt Illinois website.

IDNR officials say the testing is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. 

CWD is a fatal disease of the central nervous system that affects deer and elk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization recommend that people not consume meat from CWD-positive deer.


(Photo: IDNR)