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MANDATORY CWD TESTING – NOVEMBER 14TH, 2026
BLAND, GRAYSON, PATRICK, SHENANDOAH, SMYTH, TAZEWELL, AND WYTHE COUNTIES
- DWR will be conducting mandatory CWD testing on November 14th, 2026 in Bland, Grayson, Patrick, Shenandoah, Smyth, Tazewell, and Wythe counties.
- Hunters who successfully harvest deer on November 14th in these counties must visit a CWD sampling station to have their deer sampled and tested for CWD.
- Hunters may visit either a staffed station or a self-service freezer.
- For sampling at staffed stations, bring the whole deer carcass or the head (with 3-4 inches of neck). These stations are open from 8am-8pm on 11/14/26 only.
- For sampling at self-service freezers, leave the head (with 3-4 inches of neck) in a bag in the freezer and fill out a data card. Bags and data cards are provided at the station. These stations are open 24/7.
- For deer going to a taxidermist for a shoulder mount: please stop by a staffed station before going to the taxidermist. You will be sent with information for your taxidermist.
- There will be no mandatory CWD testing in any other counties not listed above in 2026, although voluntary testing remains available statewide.
CWD Mandatory Sampling Stations:
| County | Station Location | Station Type |
| Bland | Bland County Fairgrounds
127 Fairground St Bland, VA 24315 |
Staffed station: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only open on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm. |
| Bland Rescue Fire Station
67 Orchard View Ln Bland, VA 24315 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Grayson | Elk Creek Rescue Squad
9109 Elk Creek Pkwy Elk Creek, VA 24326 |
Staffed station: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only open on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm. |
| Grayson Highlands State Park Shop
67 Camille Ln Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Patrick | Howell’s Grocery
139 Woolwine Hwy Stuart, VA 24171 |
Staffed station: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only open on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm. |
| Dominion Valley Park
415 Dominion Valley Ln Stuart, VA 24171 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Fairystone Farms WMA
262 Fairystone Farm Ln Stuart, VA 24171 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Meadows of Dan Community Building – behind building
2858 Jeb Stuart Hwy Meadows of Dan, VA 24120 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Shenandoah | Larkin’s Grocery
19004 Senedo Rd Edinburg, VA 22824 |
Staffed station: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only open on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm. |
| Virginia Dept of Forestry
265 Lakeview Dr Woodstock, VA 22664 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Smyth | Atkins Volunteer Fire Dept
5758 Lee Hwy Atkins, VA 24311 |
Staffed station & self-service freezer: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only staffed on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm but self-service freezer is open 24/7. |
| Buller Fish Hatchery
1724 Buller Hatchery Rd Marion, VA 24354 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Tazewell | Tazewell County Fairgrounds – outside Fuller Peery Hall
135 Fieldcrest Circle Tazewell, VA 24651 |
Staffed station & self-service freezer: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only staffed on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm but self-service freezer is open 24/7. |
| Richlands Farmers Market
1851 Cranwell Dr Richlands, VA 24641 |
Staffed station: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only open on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm. | |
| Wythe | Wytheville Community College – parking lot F
1000 East Main St Wytheville, VA 24382 |
Staffed station: bring whole deer carcass or head and 3-4 inches of neck. Only open on 11/14/26 from 8am-8pm. |
| Rural Retreat Town Hall
307 S Main St Rural Retreat, VA 24368 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. | |
| Wytheville Fish Hatchery
1260 Red Hollow Rd Max Meadows, VA 24360 |
Self-service freezer: bring head and 3-4 inches of neck. Open 24/7. |
CWD in Virginia
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological disease of deer, elk, and moose. The disease is caused by an abnormal infectious protein called a prion. Prions are transmitted to uninfected deer directly through saliva, feces, and urine shed by infected deer and indirectly as a result of soil contaminated with prions. The potential impacts of CWD to the white-tailed deer populations of Virginia are a serious concern, though the disease has not been shown to pose a health risk to humans or domestic animals at this point. The DWR leads Virginia’s CWD surveillance and management efforts and relies on assistance from hunters, taxidermists, processors, other agencies, and diverse constituent groups to implement surveillance and management strategies. One important management strategy is to prevent artificially concentrating deer at point sources like feeding sites. As such, it is illegal to feed deer in Virginia for any reason year-round in all counties within 25 miles of a known CWD-positive deer.
Regionally, CWD was first detected in West Virginia in 2005, Virginia in 2009, Maryland in 2010, and Pennsylvania in 2012. In Virginia, CWD has been confirmed in Carroll, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Floyd, Frederick, Loudoun, Madison, Montgomery, Page, Prince William, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Shenandoah, Tazewell, and Warren counties. A summary of the DWR’s 2025-2026 deer hunting season CWD surveillance in the Disease Management Areas (DMAs) can be found below (as of April 2026). In total, over 7,800 deer were tested and 126 CWD positive detections were found. No detections were made outside of a DMA.
| DMA | Counties in DMA 2025-2026 | Total Deer Tested for CWD | CWD Detections | Location of Detections |
| 1 | Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren | 562 | 83 | Clarke (10)
Frederick (60) Shenandoah (9) Warren (4) |
| 2 | Arlington, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Rockingham | 2883 | 32 | Culpeper (3)
Fairfax (2) Fauquier (7) Loudoun (11) Madison (4) Page* (1) Rappahannock (4) |
| 3 | Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Roanoke, Wythe | 2158 | 11 | Floyd (7)
Montgomery (2) Pulaski (1) Roanoke (1) |
| 4 | Bland, Smyth, Tazewell | 231 | 0 | |
| Non-DMA Statewide | 2001 | 0 |
* Denotes first positive detection in the county
