The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) has issued a reminder to hunters about the 2026-2027 Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zones ahead of the upcoming deer season.
The agency outlined three zones: North Mississippi, Issaquena, and Harrison. The North Mississippi zone includes all of Alcorn, Benton, DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Prentiss, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, and Union counties, along with parts of Coahoma, Quitman, Pontotoc, and Tunica counties. The zone now also covers areas north of Highway 278 in Pontotoc County.
The Issaquena zone encompasses parts of Issaquena County and all of Warren and Claiborne counties. The Harrison zone includes parts of Harrison and Hancock counties.
MDWFP emphasizes that whole carcasses cannot be transported outside of a CWD Management Zone. Only specific parts, such as deboned meat, antlers, cleaned skulls, teeth, finished taxidermy, hides, and portions of white-tailed deer from outside the zones, are permitted to leave the zones.
Deer heads may only be transported outside of a zone to a permitted taxidermist participating in the CWD collection program. For detailed boundary maps and additional information, hunters are encouraged to visit the MDWFP website.
More details on carcass transportation regulations are available at the MDWFP website.
