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Stay up-to-date on latest information concerning Chronic Wasting Disease in Alabama.
Posted: November 3, 2025
Mandatory Testing Dates Announced for CWD Management Zone
Under Alabama’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone Regulation (220-2-.167), all deer harvested in the High-Risk Zone and the Buffer Zone of the state’s CWD Management Zone (CMZ) must be submitted for CWD testing during specific weekends of the 2025-2026 white-tailed deer season.
The mandatory sampling weekends in the High-Risk Zone of the CMZ are November 22-23, 2025; December 6-7, 2025; and January 17-18, 2026. The mandatory sampling weekends in the Buffer Zone of the CMZ are November 22-23, 2025, and January 17-18, 2026. The High-Risk Zone contains all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties and part of Franklin County, extending north of State Highway 24 from the Alabama/Mississippi state line east to U.S. Highway 43. The Buffer Zone includes the remaining part of Franklin County south of Highway 24 and east of U.S. Highway 43.
Posted: January 8, 2025
Public CWD Meeting and Mandatory Sampling Weekend Rescheduled
Due to inclement weather in north Alabama, the CWD public meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 9, has been rescheduled to Thursday, January 16. The meeting will take place at the Phil Campbell Campus of the Northwest Shoals Community College at 6 p.m. The Phil Campbell Campus is located at 2080 College Road in Phil Campbell, AL. Hunters are encouraged to attend.
The next mandatory CWD sampling weekend for all of Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties has also been rescheduled to January 18-19, 2025. Reminder: Hunters have the opportunity to receive a CWD Sampling Permit to harvest an additional antlered deer within the CMZ when they submit a deer harvested from within the CMZ for CWD sampling during the mandatory weekend. The mandatory sampling weekends apply to all of Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties. For more info, visit https://www.outdooralabama.com/cwd/cwd-sampling.
Posted: December 30, 2024
CWD Zone Rule Updated for Remainder of Deer Season
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, Alabama.
Click the links below to view the amended regulations.
- 220-2-.167 Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone Rule (Filed Dec. 30, 2024)
Posted: December 23, 2024
CWD Detection in Colbert County Expands the State’s CWD Management Zone
A white-tailed deer recently harvested by a hunter in Colbert County in northwest Alabama has been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The detection of CWD in Colbert County has resulted in an expansion of the state’s CWD Management Zone (CMZ) to include all of Colbert, Lauderdale and Franklin counties in the CMZ.
A portion of Franklin County has been included in the High-Risk Zone (HRZ) within the CMZ. The HRZ portion of Franklin County extends north of State Highway 24 from the Alabama/Mississippi state line east to U.S. Highway 43 (see map below). The remainder of Franklin County south of State Highway 24 and east of U.S. Highway 43 has been designated as a Buffer Zone within the CMZ.
Regulations Amended Due to the Detection of CWD in Colbert County
Click the links below to view the amended regulations.
- 220-2-.01 2024-2025 Hunting Seasons
- 220-2-.167 Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone Rule (Filed Dec. 23, 2024)
Posted: October 31, 2024
Mandatory CWD Testing Dates Announced for Lauderdale and Colbert Counties
Under Alabama’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone Regulation (220-2-.167), all deer harvested in the High-Risk Zone and the Buffer Zone of the state’s CWD Management Zone (CMZ) must be submitted for CWD testing during specific weekends of the 2024-2025 white-tailed deer season.
The mandatory sampling weekends in the High-Risk Zone of the CMZ are November 23-24 and December 7-8, 2024. The mandatory sampling weekends in the Buffer Zone of the CMZ are November 23-24, 2024, and January 11-12, 2025. The mandatory CWD sampling weekends apply to all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties in northwest Alabama.
*UPDATE — As of Dec. 12, 2024, two additional cases of CWD were confirmed in Lauderdale County. The two additional cases bring Alabama's total number of confirmed cases to seven. The two positive detections of CWD were from hunter-harvested deer submitted for sampling during the first mandatory CWD testing weekend in the High-Risk Zone of the CMZ on November 23-24. (See map below)
Posted: December 15, 2023
Two Additional Cases of CWD Confirmed in Northern Lauderdale County
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) announces that two additional cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in hunter harvested, white-tailed deer have been confirmed in northern Lauderdale County in northwest Alabama. The two additional deer bring Alabama’s total number of confirmed CWD cases to five.
So far during the 2023-2024 hunting season, samples have been collected from more than 1,700 white-tailed deer harvested statewide with 420 of those samples collected within the CMZ. One of the positive samples was submitted during the second CMZ mandatory sampling weekend (December 2-3). The other positive sample was voluntarily submitted at a drop-off sampling location by a hunter as part of ADCNR's ongoing CWD monitoring efforts. The next mandatory sampling weekend in the buffer zone of the CMZ is January 6-7, 2024.
Posted: November 8, 2023
Mandatory CWD Testing Dates Announced for Lauderdale and Colbert Counties
Under Alabama’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone Regulation (220-2-.167), all deer harvested in the High-Risk Zone and the Buffer Zone of the state’s CWD Management Zone (CMZ) must be submitted for CWD testing during specific weekends of the 2023-2024 white-tailed deer season.
The mandatory sampling weekends in the High-Risk Zone of the CMZ are November 18-19 and December 2-3, 2023. The mandatory sampling weekends in the Buffer Zone of the CMZ are November 18-19, 2023, and January 6-7, 2024. The mandatory CWD sampling weekends apply to all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties in northwest Alabama.
Posted: June 15, 2023
Road-killed Deer in Florida Panhandle Positive for CWD
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) will be increasing chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling surveillance efforts in southeast Alabama after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced the confirmation of a positive CWD test sample from a road-killed deer in Holmes County, Florida.
Due to the detection of CWD in Holmes County, Florida, ADCNR’s Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division will deploy additional self-service, drop-off CWD sampling freezer locations throughout southeast Alabama and increase CWD surveillance efforts, as outlined in Alabama’s CWD Surveillance and Response Plan. For more information about CWD sampling and a map of self-service, drop-off CWD sampling locations statewide, click here.
Posted: February 16, 2023
Third Case of CWD Confirmed in Lauderdale County
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) announces that a third case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a hunter harvested, white-tailed deer has been confirmed in Lauderdale County in northwest, Alabama. The first two cases of CWD in Alabama’s deer herd were detected in Lauderdale County in early 2022.
Samples were collected from more than 3,500 white-tailed deer harvested statewide with over 1,100 of those samples collected within the CMZ during the 2022-2023 hunting season. More than 98% of all samples collected within the CMZ have been tested by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the results have been received by ADCNR. Currently, only one positive has been detected this season. The positive sample was voluntarily submitted by a hunter as part of ADCNR's ongoing CWD monitoring efforts.
Posted: November 17, 2022
Mandatory CWD Testing Weekends for Lauderdale and Colbert Counties
Under Alabama’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone Regulation (220-2-.167), all deer harvested in the High-Risk Zone and the Buffer Zone of the state’s CWD Management Zone (CMZ) must be submitted for CWD testing during specific weekends of the 2022-2023 white-tailed deer season.
The mandatory sampling weekends in the High-Risk Zone are November 19-20 and December 3-4, 2022. The mandatory sampling weekends in the Buffer Zone are November 19-20, 2022, and January 7-8, 2023. The mandatory CWD sampling weekends apply to all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties in northwest Alabama.
Posted: August 24, 2022
New Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone (CMZ) Regulation includes:
- Mandatory CWD Sampling of hunter harvested deer on specified days within CMZ
- No transport of whole deer or deer (cervid) body parts outside of CMZ unless completely deboned
- No baiting or supplemental feeding of wildlife within CMZ
Posted: March 8, 2022
Suspension of Supplemental Feeding and Baiting Privileges within the CMZ
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is suspending the use of supplemental wildlife feeding and baiting privileges within the CWD Management Zone (CMZ) which is all of Colbert and Lauderdale Counties. The suspension of supplemental feeding will not apply to bird feeders within 100 feet of a building or occupied dwelling or feed inside an active feral hog trap. Supplemental feeding and baiting privileges will still be allowed outside of the CMZ.
Posted: March 8, 2022
Second Case of CWD Confirmed in Northwest Alabama
A second case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a hunter harvested, white-tailed deer has been confirmed in Lauderdale County. The first case of CWD in Alabama’s deer herd was detected in Lauderdale County in January 2022.
Samples were collected from 966 white-tailed deer harvested within the CMZ during the 2021-2022 hunting season. All samples collected within the CMZ have been tested by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the results have been received by ADCNR. Only one additional positive was detected.
Posted: January 27, 2022
Chronic Wasting Disease Public Meeting Video
Posted: January 11, 2022
Chronic Wasting Disease Public Meeting
Dates: January 13, 2022 6:00 pm Until January 13, 2022 9:00 pm
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 13, 2022, to discuss the recent detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a hunter harvested, white-tailed deer in Lauderdale County. The meeting will take place at the University of North Alabama’s Norton Auditorium, located at 550 N. Pine Street, in Florence, Alabama. Hunters are encouraged to attend.
Posted: January 11, 2022
Florence Frozen Meats considered within the HRZ
Florence Frozen Meats shall be considered an establishment in the High-Risk Zone for those persons who are transporting, by the most direct route, the cervid parts prohibited by Regulation 220-2-.116.228ER for Lauderdale and Colbert counties. This applies to the 2021-2022 deer season in Lauderdale County for the sole purpose of CWD sampling, processing, and disposal.
Florence Frozen Meats is located at 1050 S Court Street, in Florence, Alabama.
Posted: January 11, 2022
Boat Ramp Access to Seven-Mile Island Wildlife Management Area
All Carcass Movement and Transport Rules in the CWD Management Zone (CMZ) apply for hunters who access Seven-Mile Island Wildlife Management Area in Lauderdale County from any boat ramp located in Colbert County. Carcasses and other parts from deer harvested within the High-Risk Zone (HRZ) must remain in the HRZ. The HRZ is designated as the area west of U.S. Highway 43 in Lauderdale County to the Mississippi and Tennessee state lines and south to the Tennessee River. Seven-Mile Island Wildlife Management Area is included in the HRZ.
Posted: January 7, 2022
Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Lauderdale County, Alabama
A sample recently collected from a hunter harvested, white-tailed deer in west-central Lauderdale County has been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This is the first case of CWD detected in Alabama’s deer herd.
The sample from the CWD-positive deer was submitted as part of the state’s ongoing CWD surveillance and volunteer testing program. Preliminary tests performed at the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries discovered the non-negative case, which was then confirmed positive by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zones
Due to CWD detection in Lauderdale County, ADCNR has enacted a new regulation for Lauderdale and Colbert counties, as outlined in Alabama’s CWD Surveillance and Response Plan. All of Lauderdale and Colbert counties are designated as a CWD Management Zone (CMZ). The area west of U.S. Highway 43 in Lauderdale County to the Mississippi and Tennessee state lines and south to the Tennessee River is designated a High-Risk Zone (HRZ). The remainder of the Lauderdale County and all of Colbert County are designated as the Buffer Zone.
Within the CMZ, there will be no seasonal or daily bag limit restrictions (antlered and unantlered), and no antler restrictions for deer harvested on privately-owned or open-permit public lands in Lauderdale or Colbert counties through the remainder of the 2021-2022 deer season. This also includes the following Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and Community Hunting Area (CHA), Lauderdale WMA, Freedom Hills WMA, Riverton CHA, and Seven-Mile Island WMA. On those Areas, hunters will be allowed unlimited harvest of deer of either sex daily through February 10, 2022. These changes do not apply to any other WMA or CHA in the state.
Hunters are required to submit heads for CWD testing from all deer harvested within the HRZ in Lauderdale County at drop-off freezer locations or at scheduled ADCNR mobile sampling stations. Hunters who harvest deer within the Buffer Zone are highly encouraged to submit heads for sampling at drop-off freezer locations within the Buffer Zone. Carcasses and other deer parts harvested within the HRZ must remain within the HRZ. Carcasses and other deer parts harvested within the Buffer Zone must remain within the CMZ. Carcasses or other deer parts cannot be moved outside the HRZ or CMZ.
CWD Zone Map Updated January 10, 2022
CWD Public Meeting and Mandatory CWD Sampling Weekend Rescheduled
Due to inclement weather in north Alabama, the CWD public meeting scheduled for this Thursday, January 9, has been rescheduled to Thursday, January 16. The meeting will take place at the Phil Campbell Campus of the Northwest Shoals Community College at 6 p.m. The Phil Campbell Campus is located at 2080 College Road in Phil Campbell, AL. Hunters are encouraged to attend.
The next mandatory CWD sampling weekend for all of Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties has also been rescheduled to January 18-19, 2025. Reminder: Hunters have the opportunity to receive a CWD Sampling Permit to harvest an additional antlered deer within the CMZ when they submit a deer harvested from within the CMZ for CWD sampling during the mandatory weekend. The mandatory sampling weekends apply to all of Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties. For more info, visit https://www.outdooralabama.com/cwd/cwd-sampling.
