The Missouri Department of Conservation plans mandatory inspections of deer killed in 29 counties during the opening weekend of the November firearms season as part of an effort to battle a deadly deer disease.
The department has established a "Chronic Waste Disease Management Zone" in northern and central Missouri for the weekend of Nov. 12-13, the busiest period for deer hunting in Missouri.
It is the state's first-ever mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease, which produces holes in brain tissue and causes the animals to die. There is no cure.
Since 2001, 33 cases of chronic wasting disease have been confirmed — 21 in Macon County, 9 in Adair County, and one each in Cole, Franklin and Linn counties. The zone includes those counties and neighboring areas.
