Deer season in Tennessee is about to be in full swing. The temperature is dropping and we are beginning to see more deer movement in the county. Young Sportsman season (ages 6-16) opens this Saturday, the 30th. Many parents take this weekend as an opportunity to get in the woods with their children and possibly land them a deer.

Many people are wondering how CWD will affect this deer season and the upcoming seasons. As of September 2021, there are 15 counties in Tennessee that are either positive CWD counties or High-Risk counties. CWD has been found in wild white-tailed deer in nine Positive Counties: Chester, Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Henry, Lauderdale, Madison, Shelby, and Tipton. In these counties, you have to go through special guidelines after you harvest a deer to make sure that the CWD is not getting transmitted to other deer.

People are hoping we will have a colder winter this year than we did last year. Last year’s winter was a very mild, warm winter with not much deer movement. This year is supposed to be colder but we will have to find out when it is here. More deer movement this year will help TWRA in making sure we limit the transmission of CWD to other deer and do more research to help stop the disease.