Keith Lusher 12.19.25
The Missouri Department of Conservation has announced it will pause its controversial post-season deer removal program, a strategy that was designed to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease but had drawn growing criticism from hunters across the state.
MDC Director Jason Sumners outlined the shift in an open letter released Monday, saying the agency plans to work more closely with hunters and landowners to develop a more sustainable approach to managing CWD.
Chronic wasting disease was first detected in Missouri in 2010 and has since spread to new areas of the state. While infection rates remain relatively low, with roughly 1 percent of samples testing positive last year, MDC officials say research shows outbreaks can accelerate once prevalence reaches about 5 percent.
For more than a decade, the department has relied on a combination of surveillance and aggressive management to limit the disease. Those efforts included mandatory testing during deer season, restrictions on feeding and on the movement of deer carcasses, and a targeted deer removal program conducted outside the regular hunting season. The post-season removals typically ran from January through mid-March and were carried out with landowner permission using methods not allowed during general hunting seasons.
According to MDC Deer Program Leader Jason Isabelle, the department collected approximately 22,000 deer samples following mandatory testing in November, resulting in 32 positive CWD cases. Last year alone, MDC removed about 4,700 deer through targeted removal efforts, while hunters statewide harvested an estimated 275,000 deer during regular seasons.
Sumners said the agency’s approach has helped slow the spread of CWD but acknowledged that the program has been divisive. Many hunters objected to the use of bait and spotlights during agency-led removals and questioned the effectiveness of killing deer outside the season.
In his letter, Sumners emphasized that CWD is a fatal disease that can significantly impact deer populations if left unmanaged, altering age structure and reducing resilience to other stressors such as drought and epizootic hemorrhagic disease. He also stressed that long-term success depends on public support.
“At this time, MDC will be pausing our post-season targeted removal efforts to work with hunters and landowners to adapt and identify a more sustainable path forward,” Sumners wrote.
The department said it remains committed to keeping infection rates low and will continue surveillance and collaboration efforts as it evaluates future management strategies.
MDC invites the public to comment on these proposed regulation changes from Jan. 16 to Feb. 14, 2026, at mdc.mo.gov/about-regulations/wildlife-code-missouri/proposed-regulation-changes.
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