Hunters and landowners have become TWRA's greatest partners in the fight against CWD since its discovery. The following programs were developed to encourage continued hunter participation and increase deer harvest to help reduce deer densities within CWD-positive counties and prevent the spread of disease.
Hunters can exceed the statewide bag limit of two antlered deer by meeting specified criteria or by harvesting CWD positive deer. Removing the Unit CWD designation expands hunter opportunities to benefit from these programs and allows for quick adaptability if CWD is detected in a new county.
Hunters in all deer management units throughout the state can access the Fight CWD Incentive Program and the Replacement Buck Program. The Earn-a-Buck Program applies only in CWD positive counties and will automatically activate if a county becomes CWD positive during the hunting season, along with carcass transport and wildlife feeding restrictions. Deer Managment Unit harvest regulations, including methods of take, deer season dates, and bag limits, otherwise apply regardless of county CWD status.
Fight CWD Incentive Program
TWRA has developed the Fight CWD Incentive Program (FCIP) which contains hunting incentives to support TWRA’s CWD management efforts.
Program Details
1. Voucher Incentive:
- Hunters who receive a CWD-positive test result for a harvested deer will receive a voucher redeemable for $75 of processing fees at participating processors.
- Voucher is not redeemable for cash.
- Voucher may be gifted to another individual.
- Voucher may be redeemed during the 2024-2025 or the 2025-2026 deer season.
- Vouchers will be emailed and must be printed in order to be redeemed. Please ensure that your TWRA account has an up to date email address (Go to GoOutdoorsTennessee.com and login to update your information).
- Contact your local processor and ask if they are participating in this program.
- Thanks to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation for partnering with TWRA to make this program possible.
2. License Incentive:
- Any resident hunter who harvests two or more CWD-positive deer will be given an Annual Sportsman license for the 2025-2026 hunting season.
- If a hunter has an Auto-Renewal Annual Sportsman’s License, the earned license may be gifted to another TN resident.
- If a hunter has a lifetime license, the earned license may be gifted to another TN resident.
- Thanks to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation for vital support of this program.
Earn-a-Buck Program
Hunters in CWD positive counties can earn additional bucks by harvesting antlerless deer and submitting them for CWD testing, regardless of the test results. This helps to increase the number of deer that are harvested and submitted for CWD testing.
CWD positive counties include Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lauderdale, Lewis, Madison, McNairy, Shelby, Tipton, and Weakley.
- Tennessee’s statewide antlered deer bag limit is 2.
- Hunters in CWD postive counties may earn an unlimited number of antlered deer for harvest in addition to the statewide bag limit.
- An additional antlered deer is earned for each antlerless deer harvested in a CWD positive county and submitted for CWD testing, regardless of CWD test result.
- Earned antlered deer must be harvested in CWD positive counties.
- Valid only for the 2024-2025 hunting season.
- The earned antlered deer is available immediately upon check-in and submission for CWD Testing.
Replacement Buck Program
To assist CWD management efforts, replacement bucks will encourage hunters to continue hunting and harvesting. The Replacement Buck Program is an added incentive for hunters to have their deer tested for CWD.
- Hunters will receive a replacement buck if they harvest an antlered deer with an official test result of positive.
- There is no limit on the number of replacement antlered deer.
- Replacement bucks must be harvested in a CWD positive county or in the county where the CWD positive antlered deer was harvested.
- Replacement bucks must be harvested in the current deer season or during the following year's deer season. The next antlered deer harvested counts as the replacement buck.
Landowner Programs
TWRA has developed two landowner programs as tools to manage CWD and stop the spread. These programs act on the principle “Fewer Deer = Fewer CWD-Positive Deer = Less CWD Transfer".
1. Targeted Removal
Targeted removal of deer is one of the most promising tools for managing CWD in a recently affected area. The idea is to remove infected deer at the leading edge of an area affected by CWD and curtail the spread into unaffected areas. TWRA is contacting landowners with land that lies within a 3-mile radius of CWD-positive deer on the outskirts of the CWD distribution in Hardin, Henry, Hickman, Lewis, and Madison counties to recruit them as partners to help fight CWD.
TWRA is partnering with USDA Wildlife Services to remove deer in these areas after hunting seasons through the end of March. With landowner permission, this additional take will occur on properties where the greatest potential exists to stop the spread of CWD. The goal is not to eliminate all deer from the area, but to remove as many deer as necessary to decrease the rate of infection and stop the spread.
Evidence shows that Targeted Removal can be beneficial to CWD management, as demonstrated in Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Missouri. No removal will occur without the written consent of the landowners. All deer will be tested for CWD, and if CWD is not detected, the meat will be available to the landowner or donated to charity.
Please visit the National Deer Association webpage to learn more about what targeted removal is and how it can be used to manage CWD. If you own land in Hardin, Henry, Hickman, Lewis, and/or Madison counties and are interested in this program, please contact the Region 1 TWRA office at 731-423-5725 or TWRA.ASKRegion1@tn.gov.
2. Landowner CWD Management Permits
These permits are issued by County Wildlife Officers directly to landowners or their designated agents to allow the removal of deer on their property outside of deer season for the purpose of CWD management. This program is available only in Fayette and Hardeman counties OR on properties that are within a 3-mile radius of a TWRA-confirmed CWD-positive location.
If the property lies within a county other than Fayette or Hardeman county, the property owner must submit all deer harvested on the property to TWRA for CWD testing.
If you own land in Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lauderdale, Lewis, Madison, McNairy, Shelby, Tipton, and Weakley county and are interested in Landowner CWD Management permits, please contact your County Wildlife Officer or the Region 1 TWRA office at 731-423-5725 or TWRA.ASKRegion1@tn.gov.
TWRA provides CWD testing services for deer removed as a part of this program in all counties except for Fayette and Hardeman. If desired, landowners in Fayette and Hardeman counties can work directly with diagnostic laboratories that accept public testing requests.
Labs Providing Public CWD Testing Services:
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Phone Number
Colorado State University 970-297-4168
University of Pennsylvania 717-787-8808 ext. 200
University of Wisconsin 608-262-5432 or 608-574-0432
University of Missouri 573-884-9280
Michigan State University 517-353-1683
Kansas State University 785-532-5650
Texas A&M University 979-845-3414
Utah State University 435-797-1895
Bronson Animal (Florida) 321-697-1400