Public meeting set for January 16
The 黑料天堂 (ADCNR) has updated its chronic wasting disease (CWD) zone rule to allow the continued baiting of white-tailed deer in Franklin County through the end of deer season and the opportunity to harvest an additional antlered deer only with a valid permit issued by ADCNR. A public CWD meeting will be held on January 16 in Phil Campbell, 黑料天堂. See below for more details about the updated CWD zone rule and public meeting.
As an incentive to increase CWD samples submitted for testing on scheduled mandatory testing dates, hunters who harvest a deer from within the CWD Management Zone (CMZ) and submit their harvest for CWD testing on mandatory sampling dates shall receive a CWD Sampling Permit from ADCNR to harvest one additional antlered deer from within the CMZ for each CWD sample submitted. CWD Sampling Permits are only available at Wildlife Management Area check stations and ADCNR mobile sampling locations. No more than two additional CWD Sampling Permits will be issued per hunter above the season bag limit, combined for the HRZ and Buffer Zone. CWD Sampling Permits are non-transferable.
The next mandatory CWD sampling weekend is scheduled for January 18-19, 2025. The mandatory sampling weekends apply to all of Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties. Hunters are reminded that carcasses and other deer parts harvested within the HRZ must remain in the HRZ. Carcasses or other deer parts cannot be moved outside the CMZ. Additional mandatory CWD testing dates will be posted online at .
Hunting by the aid of bait for white-tailed deer for those who possess a valid baiting license will also be allowed in Franklin County during the remainder of deer season which ends on Monday, February 10, 2025. Supplemental wildlife feeding and baiting are not allowed within Colbert and Lauderdale counties.
ADCNR鈥檚 Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division will host a public meeting on Thursday, January 16, 2025, to discuss the updated CMZ and CMZ zone rule. The meeting will take place at the , at 6 p.m. Hunters are encouraged to attend.
On December 23, 2024, ADCNR announced that a white-tailed deer recently harvested by a hunter in Colbert County was confirmed positive for CWD. The detection of CWD in Colbert County resulted in an expansion of the state鈥檚 CMZ to include all of Colbert, Lauderdale and Franklin counties. Additionally, the bag limit for unantlered deer was increased to two per day on privately owned or leased land within the CMZ during the remainder of deer gun season.
CWD is a contagious neurological disease of white-tailed deer and other deer species. It belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The disease is caused by a mutated protein called a prion. It is always fatal for deer. The first case of CWD in 黑料天堂鈥檚 deer herd was detected in Lauderdale County in January 2022.
For more information about CWD in 黑料天堂, visit .
ADCNR promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of 黑料天堂鈥檚 natural resources through four divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. Learn more at .
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