CWD Check Stations in western Kentucky are now voluntary Deer Sample Collection Stations

​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 13, 2021) - Hunters in the five-county Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Zone in western Kentucky will not be required to bring their harvested deer to a CWD Check Station for the remainder of the late muzzleloader season, but the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will continue to offer an option for hunters in the area who would like to get a deer tested for the disease.

Enhanced surveillance including the use of deer check stations was enacted following a detection of the disease in September in Tennessee, about 8 miles south of Kentucky's border.

On Dec. 11, the department closed its 17 CWD check stations in Calloway, Marshall, Graves, Hickman and Fulton counties until further notice due to severe damage caused by storms that moved through western Kentucky. Out of respect for all impacted by the storms, the department has converted the check stations to voluntary Deer Sample Collection Stations for the rest of the season, which ends Dec. 19.

Hunters in the CWD Surveillance Zone can voluntarily drop off heads of their legally harvested and telechecked deer for CWD testing and aging using marked receptacles placed at the same 17 locations. Visit fw.ky.gov/CWD to find these locations.

The service is free and, again, is not mandatory for hunters.

Lab testing for CWD and age determination may take several weeks.  If a hunter-submitted sample tests positive for CWD, the department will notify the hunter.  Results will also be available to hunters via Kentucky Fish and Wildlife's website.  

Hunters who intend to submit a deer head for testing and age determination should:

• Remove any antlers, if present, and preserve the head with at least 4 inches of the neck attached.
• Place the head in a garbage bag and seal the open end with a knot. Garbage bags will be available at each location.
• Fill out a biological sample tag. Hunters must provide their name, phone number, email address, telecheck confirmation number, county of harvest, indicate if the deer was male or female and whether the deer was harvested on public or private land.
• The top portion of the tag should be attached to the garbage bag. Zip ties will be provided at each location. Hunters should keep the bottom portion of the completed tag for their records.
• Use the sample ID on the bottom portion of the tag to look up results using the following link: https://app.fw.ky.gov/cwdlookup/.
• Place the bag containing the sample into the marked receptacle.

Step-by-step instructions will also be posted at each location.

With the cooperation of hunters who participated in the early muzzleloader and modern gun seasons and visited CWD check stations, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has collected tissue samples from more than 3,000 deer harvested in the CWD Surveillance Zone this year.

Lab testing has not detected CWD in any samples from Kentucky to date.​