Announcements

New CWD Check Stations for 2025 Firearm Deer Seasons

CWD Sampling

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is a fatal disease of the central nervous system in deer, elk, and moose.

Since the first case of Chronic Wasting Disease was discovered in Illinois, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources started a “targeted surveillance program” in wild deer. Since then, the Department has implemented recent changes to the CWD management program. See the2025-2029 CWD Pilot Projectfor more information.

This site provides consolidated CWD information including: CWD statistics that show the Total Cases per Year and Total Cases per Year per County, FAQ’s, a query system for samples taken, test results for hunters, annual reports, and other CWD resources.

Testing Locations & Results

Hunters are strongly encouraged to test their deer for free.
An interactive map of sampling locations (zoom and click on map icons for location details) or a list by county is available to find the nearest sampling location.
There are several testing options:
- Archery deer hunters can drop off heads of adult deer in CWD sample drop-off barrels or a sampling vendor. Use this map or list to find drop-off barrels or sampling vendors.
- Voluntary CWD sampling is available to successful firearm deer hunters in CWD positive counties at mandatory check stations during the 7-day firearm season. Use this map and list of addresses to find a check station near you.
- Firearm deer hunters harvesting deer outside of CWD positive counties can use sample drop-off barrels or sampling vendors to have CWD samples taken. Use this map and list of addresses to find drop-off barrels or sampling vendors.

Hunters wanting to mount a deer should have an IDNR cooperating taxidermist collect the sample. Testing procedures will not damage the deer skull. Hunters not using an IDNR cooperating taxidermist can bring the caped out skull to an IDNR sample drop-off barrel location.
New this year: Hunters statewide who provide a mobile phone number with their CWD sample and have a valid email address linked to their ExploreMoreIL customer account will receive text and email notifications of test results. Notifications to hunters who harvest deer testing presumptive positive for CWD will include a link to an interactive mapping application to verify the location of where they harvested their deer. Final confirmation test results will be sent via text only if further testing changes the initial test result. If a hunter with a CWD-positive deer has not verified their township range selection (TRS) location after 15 days, an IDNR biologist will attempt to contact them via phone to confirm. Hunters who fail to provide the TRS of harvest will be ineligible to receive complimentary replacement tags for the following annual deer season. For more information, read our recent press release. CWD testing results also can be found online.

IDNR biologists registering a deer at a firearm season check station

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Chronic Wasting Disease?

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease found in cervids (deer and elk). It belongs to the family of prion diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). The prion that causes CWD accumulates in certain parts of infected animals — the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen. Though it shares certain features with other TSEs, like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) or scrapie in sheep, it is a distinct disease apparently affecting only deer and related species. CWD has been diagnosed in captive or wild free-ranging deer, elk and moose in 36 states and four Canadian provinces.

What are the signs of CWD in deer?

The disease attacks the brains of affected animals, causing them to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose coordination and eventually die. Signs of the disease include excessive salivation, loss of appetite, progressive weight loss, excessive thirst and urination, listlessness, teeth grinding, holding the head in a lowered position and drooping ears. Many of these signs can also be symptoms of other diseases. CWD is a slowly progressive disease; infected deer may not show signs of the disease for 18 or more months. In fact, the majority of deer from Illinois that have tested positive for CWD have otherwise appeared healthy.

Why should I be concerned about CWD?

For many years CWD was known to occur only in a small area of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. However, the distribution of the disease has expanded into a number of other states and Canadian provinces. In February 2002, CWD was discovered in wild deer in southern Wisconsin. In November 2002, Illinois confirmed that a CWD-infected deer had been found near Roscoe in Boone County, near the Wisconsin border. To date, CWD has been confirmed in 25 Illinois counties: Adams, Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago. In Illinois, the disease is most common in eastern Winnebago, northwest DeKalb, west and central McHenry, most of Boone County, northeast Kane, central LaSalle, west and central Kendall and Grundy, and in the southeast and southwest corners of Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties, respectively. If left unmanaged, CWD prevalence will increase and the disease will spread throughout the state. There is currently no treatment or vaccination for the disease.

What do we know about CWD as it relates to the Illinois deer herd?

Since the first case of CWD was discovered in Illinois in 2002, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has maintained an active management program to protect and maintain healthy deer populations throughout Illinois by minimizing the area where CWD currently occurs and provide continued deer hunting opportunities throughout the state. During the fall firearm deer seasons, Illinois officials systematically sample hunter-harvested deer from around the state for CWD testing and test any suspect deer exhibiting signs of infection. The IDNR also initiated a focused winter sharpshooting program for CWD management. Results of these practices have determined the geographic distribution of CWD currently encompasses 25 Illinois counties, with several core areas across northern Illinois.

How is CWD transmitted?

Research has shown that CWD may be transmitted by various means including direct or indirect contact. For example, contact among animals or ingestion of infected bodily fluids and feces. In addition, transmission from environmental sources or vertical transmission of CWD from pregnant female to unborn offspring is possible. Prions from decomposing infected carcasses and bodily waste may remain in certain soils for many years and cannot be eradicated easily by environmental factors, heat or disinfection.

How is CWD diagnosed?

Lymph nodes are collected from various sources of deer and are examined with a microscope using a special stain to identify the CWD prion. These samples must be from freshly killed deer. Testing for CWD is conducted by federally approved laboratories: there is no quick test that you or your meat processor can perform to ensure that your animal does not have CWD.

Is CWD transmissible to humans?

CWD has been known to occur in deer, elk and moose in the United States for years. In spite of ongoing surveillance for similar disease syndromes in humans, there has never been an instance of people contracting the disease from butchering or eating meat from CWD infected animals. A World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts reviewed all the available information on CWD and concluded that there is no scientific evidence that CWD can infect humans. However, there is much that scientists still do not know about CWD, and we cannot state that transmission of CWD to humans is absolutely not possible. Information on precautions for handling and processing deer can be found at the following Illinois Department of Agriculture Website.

Is it still safe to consume venison from a CWD positive deer?

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is not tasked with regulating food safety, so we can’t say whether it is safe or not. IDNR’s recommendation is that hunters should use caution when handling sick or unhealthy deer in counties where CWD has been detected. If you’re hunting in one of those counties, you should have your deer tested for CWD. If you receive a positive CWD test result, IDNR recommends proper disposal of the venison which includes double-bagging all parts in a plastic trash bag and disposing of it through your regular trash pickup.

Currently, there is no scientific evidence that CWD is transmissible through consumption of meat from an infected animal, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, “If your animal tests positive for CWD, do not eat meat from that animal.” Experts suggest that hunters take simple, common-sense precautions when field dressing deer:

Wear rubber gloves when field dressing carcasses.
Bone out the meat from your animal.
Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.
Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed.
Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of harvest animals. (Normal field dressing coupled with boning out of a carcass will remove essentially all of these parts.)

What do my CWD test results mean?

Pending – Test results for this animal have not yet been completed; check back at a later date.
Not Detected – Laboratory tests failed to detect any evidence of CWD in this animal.
Positive – CWD was detected in this animal.
No Test – There are a variety of reasons why a valid test may not be possible on a sample. In some instances, the specific tissue needed for testing may not have been present in the sample. In other cases, the tissue may have been in poor condition, making it unusable. No inferences can be made about the presence or absence of CWD in these situations.

What should I do if I observe a deer that I suspect might have CWD?

Call your local IDNR District Wildlife Biologist office which can be found here, or the IDNR disease program manager. The IDNR will make every effort to collect samples from the suspect animal for CWD testing.

Is CWD a risk for Illinois’ livestock?

There is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted under natural conditions to cattle, sheep, or other conventional livestock.

Are any changes being made in Illinois hunting/wildlife regulations as a result of this disease?

Some new regulations have been implemented, and any further changes that go into effect will be publicly announced. We have banned the feeding of deer because diseases are more easily spread among animals when they become concentrated at feeding areas. This change does not apply to food plots or standing crops but includes salt blocks that are not part of an active livestock operation. We have also limited the parts of deer, elk and moose that hunters can bring into Illinois after they harvest the animal in another state: hunters are allowed to bring antlers on a cleaned skull cap, boned-out meat, and hides. Since the prion that causes CWD tends to concentrate in some of the inedible parts of deer that are discarded after butchering, this is one added precaution that can be taken to prevent the spread of the disease from other states into Illinois. The full text of the current rules that relate to hunting can be found within 17 Ill. Adm. Code Section 635.30 Importation of Animal Carcasses and Parts; Section 635.40 Feeding or Baiting of Wildlife; and Sections 675.10 – 675.70 Special White-Tailed Deer Season for CWD Control.

What are we doing to prevent the spread of CWD in Illinois?

Key staff from the IDNR and Illinois Department of Agriculture have developed and implemented plans regarding surveillance of wild deer and captive herds, import and export of deer and elk, and a response to the discovery of chronic wasting disease in Illinois. Hunters are asked to participate in the surveillance effort by providing samples of harvested deer when requested and by alerting authorities when suspect animals are found. The Department of Natural Resources also continues to implement its sharpshooting program to acquire additional samples for surveillance testing and monitoring, remove as many sick individuals as possible, and reduce the herd within known CWD locations to prevent further spread of the disease. Through these efforts, we have slowed the rates of infection and the geographic expansion of CWD in Illinois.