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. Search for locations online, on the Hunt Illinois app, or
at IDNR’s interactive map.
Hunters in CWD counties are strongly encouraged to have their
deer tested. Hunters who plan to have their deer mounted can
have a cooperating taxidermist collect the sample; testing
procedures will not damage the deer skull. Hunters not using a
cooperating taxidermist can take the caped-out head to an IDNR
sample drop-off site.
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 Nov. 22-24 and Dec. 5-8. Go online for
the locations of check stations.
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Hunters in non-CWD counties can use sample drop-off
barrels or sampling vendors to have samples submitted for testing.
Hunters can view the results of their CWD tests online. Please allow
two to four weeks for results to post. Priority is given to samples
from counties with known CWD cases. Hunters will be contacted by an
IDNR wildlife biologist if their deer tests positive for CWD.
Between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, IDNR’s
Wildlife Disease Program identified 459 CWD-positive deer in 21
Illinois counties, including Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb,
DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake,
LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will, and
Winnebago.
Go online for more information about CWD management in Illinois.
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information] |