Missouri Woods & Water - Hunting and Fishing Podcast

MDC & CWD - Part 2 Ep 337

Episode Summary

This episode continues the Missouri Woods and Water Podcast’s listener Q&A with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), picking up mid-conversation from part one. We focus on questions from listeners and friends about CWD management, deer herd health, and the tradeoffs behind regulations hunters are navigating.

Episode Notes

Key topics

A listener asks whether feed supplements or formulations could help infected deer or slow CWD. MDC says there’s no known supplement or feed additive proven to prevent or meaningfully alter CWD.
The discussion explains that CWD is a prion disease and that a vaccine or feed-based solution is not currently available.
MDC explains why targeted removal and increased harvest in core areas are intended to keep infection rates low before CWD causes larger-scale population declines.
The conversation addresses concerns that CWD management is being used to reduce deer numbers. MDC says its goal is disease control and herd health, not population reduction for its own sake.
MDC discusses earn-a-buck-style regulations, saying it has considered related approaches but views a straightforward system as too aggressive for most Missouri counties.
The hosts and guest discuss why the extended CWD season was removed: MDC says it delivered limited harvest benefit and that additional season segments made regulations harder to follow.
A question about feeding and mineral use near homes leads to a discussion of risk management and the difference between limited backyard exceptions and broad use across rural landscapes.
The episode addresses claims that CWD management is about money. MDC rejects that claim, discusses federal reimbursement through Pittman-Robertson, and says the agency still absorbs part of the cost.
MDC describes CWD management as a budget drain rather than a profit center, and says its motivation is protecting wildlife and deer hunting in Missouri.
The conversation returns to research and vaccines. MDC is hopeful that a cure or vaccine may eventually be possible but says waiting for one would be a mistake.
MDC says Missouri has not seen the level of CWD mortality found in high-prevalence areas, while pointing to West Virginia and parts of Wisconsin as examples of how severe the disease can become.
Asked whether the feeding ban might be lifted outside deer season, MDC says there are no current plans to do so and describes the ban as a key part of its strategy in affected counties and surrounding areas.
The discussion turns to nonresident hunting pressure. MDC says nonresident numbers have grown substantially, permit pricing has changed, and further steps for public-land hunters are under consideration.
On the possibility of moving firearm season out of the rut, MDC says hunters strongly prefer the current timing, although later seasons could improve age structure.
The final listener question concerns managed-hunt drawings. MDC explains that the process uses weighted random draws rather than a traditional preference-point system.

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