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What You Need to Know About Hunting in Disease Management Area 2

In 2018, DWR confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a buck legally harvested in Culpeper County. The following hunting season, CWD was detected in a buck harvested in Fauquier County, and Disease Management Area 2 (DMA2) was created in response.  Most recently, a CWD positive buck was harvested in Fairfax County in 2022.  In response, DMA2 has expanded and now includes Arlington, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Madison, Page, Orange, Prince William, and Rappahannock counties.

Whole deer carcasses and carcass parts containing brain and spinal cord tissue from deer killed in DMA2 can be transported only within DMA1 and DMA2. Click here for more details on carcass transport.

Deer heads plus 4 inches of neck from a deer harvested at any time during the season anywhere in DMA2 may be brought to a CWD deer head drop site for free voluntary testing.  Hunting in a DMA does not guarantee that you will harvest a CWD-positive deer but it does make it more likely when compared to hunting elsewhere in Virginia.  The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control recommends that all deer harvested in an area known to be CWD-positive be tested prior to consumption. If you would like to get a deer harvested in DMA2 tested for CWD at any time during the deer hunting season, bring the deer head plus 4 inches of neck to any of the Department CWD deer head drop sites for free CWD testing.  See the following websites for more details:

Hunting season dates, either-sex days, Earn A Buck requirements, and other deer hunting regulations for counties and cities included in DMA2 can be found in the Hunting & Trapping Regulations section of this website.