Find a participating meat processor in your area. Only counties with participating processors are listed below.
If you want to donate a deer harvested in Adair, Barry, Cedar, Chariton, Christian, Clark, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Hickory, Howell, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Mercer, Oregon, Ozark, Perry, Polk, Putnam, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, or Washington counties, the deer must be tested for CWD, and it can only be donated to an approved processor participating in the Share the Harvest CWD-Testing Program.
Missouri's Share the Harvest program helps deer hunters donate surplus venison to the needy. This program is administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Donating is easy. Simply take your deer to an approved meat processor and let the processor know how much venison you wish to donate.
If you wish to donate a deer that was harvested in a county within the CWD Management Zone, the deer must be tested for CWD, and it can only be donated to an approved processor that is participating in the Share the Harvest CWD-Testing Program.
State-wide sponsors of the cost-reduction program include the Conservation Department, Conservation Federation of Missouri, Missouri Food Banks Association, Shelter Insurance, Missouri Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation, Bass Pro Shops, and Gateway Area Chapter of Safari Club International.
Deer taken within the CWD Management Zone must be donated to approved processors in one of those
counties.
Note: If you harvest a deer within the CWD Management Zone, you don’t have to donate your deer in the county in which it was harvested. You may take the deer to an approved processor in another CWD Management Zone county. For example, a deer harvested in Macon County may be donated to an approved processor in Adair County, because both are within the CWD Management Zone.
Deer harvested from within the CWD Management Zone without proof of CWD sampling or adequate tissue for testing (i.e. the head has been removed) will not be eligible for Share the Harvest.
Processors who are not participating in the Share the Harvest CWD Testing Program cannot accept deer from any CWD Management Zone county.
If you harvested a deer outside of the CWD Management Zone, you may donate your deer to any Share the Harvest processor.
CWD is a disease of deer and elk. Although there have been no identified cases of CWD transmission to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following precautions:
CWD testing requirements have been put in place for the CWD Management Zone to ensure that deer donated to Share the Harvest are tested in accordance with the CDC’s recommendations.