Additional Deer Hunting Dates In CWD Surveillance Area

(From the Ohio Division of Wildlife)

Hunters in Ohio have additional dates this season to pursue white-tailed deer in Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance areas, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. For the 2024-25 season, the disease surveillance area includes all of Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties as well as Auglaize and Jackson townships in Allen County.

The Division of Wildlife established earlier hunting seasons within the disease surveillance area to slow the spread of CWD by reducing deer numbers before the breeding season. Archery hunting season begins Saturday, Sept. 14. An early gun hunting season is open from Saturday, Oct. 12 to Monday, Oct. 14.

Since the fall of 2020, 50 wild deer in Ohio have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), all in Allen, Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties (one in Allen, one in Hardin, 10 in Marion, 38 in Wyandot). Allen County’s first case of CWD was confirmed in November 2023. Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal brain disease that impacts members of the deer family including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose and caribou. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.