Tips for proper disposal of deer carcasses and parts to minimize spread of chronic wasting disease
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EmailProperly disposing of carcasses will help slow the spread of diseases like chronic wasting disease.
Understanding chronic wasting disease
Chronic wasting disease is neurological disease that affects members of the cervid family, such as deer, elk, and moose. CWD is caused by a prion, or misfolded protein. Prions are primarily found in the brain and spinal fluid, but can also be detected in saliva, urine, and feces of deer.
Cervids that contract CWD may take months or even years before they show symptoms of having the disease. Symptoms can include extreme weight loss, lack of coordination, drooping head and/or ears, excessive drooling, excessive drinking, and excessive urination. CWD is always fatal to infected cervids.
CWD spreads by both direct contact between animals and indirect contact with saliva, urine, feces, blood, carcass parts of an infected animal, and contaminated soil or plants. Once prions are deposited on the landscape, they can remain infectious for years. Unlike viruses, bacteria or fungus, there is no antidote or cure for a prion disease.
CWD is not known to affect humans, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend not eating infected cervid meat. Beyond the potential human health risks, CWD poses a threat to deer population health and management.
Deer hunting is an important wildlife management tool and has substantial direct and indirect impacts on Michigan’s economy. A 2019 study of the economic impact of hunting, fishing, and trapping in Michigan found that hunting alone generated over $8.9 billion and created more than 9,000 jobs.
Best practices for hunters
If hunting in Michigan, it is important to know how to properly dispose of a deer carcass. Proper disposal of carcasses from harvested deer will help combat the spread of diseases like CWD. Hunters may opt to remove the whole deer from the field or quarter the deer and pack it out of the woods. Either method is acceptable.
When field dressing your deer, always wear disposable or rubber gloves, have a plastic sheet or tarp on hand to lay under the carcass while field dressing, and have non-porous garbage bags on hand. These steps will prevent direct contact with the soil, which avoids soil contamination, and ultimately, disease spread. After the viscera have been removed, place them in a non-porous garbage bag and pack them out of the woods. You may dispose of them in a landfill.
Burying the viscera where your deer was harvested is also an acceptable method of disposal. To do this, dig a hole at least two feet beneath the natural surface of the ground, and in accordance with local ordinances. Burying the viscera discourages scavengers.
If quartering the deer in the field, be sure to avoid cutting through the spine and the brain tissue; these are the areas that have been found to contain the largest amount of prion material. Carefully remove meat quarters from the bone and place them into the bag of your choice to pack out.
When leaving the carcass behind, the best practice is to bury the remaining bones and body parts at least two feet beneath the natural surface of the ground, and in accordance with local ordinances. Place the carcass and all remains, including the viscera, into the ground.
Any harvested deer parts such as bone or meat trimmings should be double bagged in a non-porous garbage bag and disposed of in a landfill.
Chronic wasting disease testing
Identifying deer with CWD is not possible by visual observation alone. For a positive identification, the deer’s lymph nodes must be tested in a lab. Common signs that may indicate a deer is sick include poor body condition with rib, hip and/or back bones showing, and lack of alertness or reaction to sounds around them. Deer with CWD may also have lost their fear of humans.
However, it is also important to note that deer can be in poor body condition but not be sick if they have recently been lactating or are in an environment with limited access to feed. Or deer may be suffering from a different illness.
CWD testing is recommended but not required. In 2025, deer heads for testing are being requested from Baraga, Chippewa, Dickinson, Houghton, Iosco, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Ogemaw, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft counties. Deer heads from these counties can be submitted at any disease sample submission sites.
Free self-sample shipping kits are available for hunters in all other counties. The kits are available at various sites throughout the state.
Hunters play a very important role in reducing the spread of CWD by human behaviors. Some strategies hunters can use to reduce their risk of spreading CWD are by following proper field dressing procedures and using best practices for carcass handling and disposal. Hunters can also help in disease surveillance by submitting their harvested deer’s lymph nodes for testing if harvesting deer in an area where CWD has been detected.
Movement restrictions apply to animals harvested in Montcalm County in its entirety along with Otisco, Orleans, Ronald or North Plains townships in Ionia County. Harvested animals in Nelson, Spencer, Courtland, Oakfield, Grattan or Cannon townships in Kent County cannot be possessed or transported outside of those listed areas, unless:
- The harvested deer is deboned meat, quarters or other parts that do not have any part of the spinal column or head attached: antlers; antlers attached to a skull or skull cap cleaned of all brain and muscle tissue; hides; upper canine teeth; or a finished taxidermist mount.
- OR the deer carcass is taken directly to a registered processor.
- AND/OR the intact deer head detached from the carcass is taken directly to a licensed taxidermist.
Although it is highly unlikely that you will see a free ranging deer that has CWD, it is important to know the signs of sick deer. If you do encounter one, contact the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453, or the afterhours Report All Poaching (RAP) line that is available 24/7 at 1-800-292-7800. Reports of sick deer can also be submitted online.
Report your harvest
Don’t forget that deer hunters are required to report a successful harvest within 72 hours or before transferring possession of the deer to another person, processor, or taxidermist.
Harvest reporting allows the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to obtain real-time data on the number of deer harvested which helps the department make decisions about deer herd management, better assess hunter activity, and helps determine disease prevalence rates. Information that is collected from the harvest survey is not public and is only utilized when specifically required by law.
Hunters can receive technical assistance to report their harvest over the phone by identifying their closest DNR customer service center location and calling the phone number listed for that location or by calling the main Wildlife Division line at 517-284-WILD (9453) during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information about chronic wasting disease, tips and tools for hunters and venison consumers, and other deer related topics, visit Michigan State University Extension’s chronic wasting disease website.
