01/01/2025
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.
There will be a public CWD meeting on Thursday, January 9, 2025, to discuss the updated CMZ and CMZ zone rule. The meeting will take place at the Northwest Shoals Community College, Phil Campbell Campus, 2080 College Rd., Phil Campbell, AL 35581, at 6 p.m. Hunters are encouraged to attend.
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 11-12, 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 www.outdooralabama.com/cwd/latest-cwd-information.