Don’t forget to bring your deer head to a DNR deer check station or drop box to be tested for bovine tuberculosis, especially if you hunt in Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Otsego, Oscoda, Presque Isle or Roscommon counties. We need samples from these counties to meet surveillance goals, which will help biologists understand the scale of infection in the local deer herd.
Sixty percent of deer that test positive for bovine tuberculosis show no signs of the disease, so testing is important.
DNR deer check stations are accepting heads for testing. For added convenience, several self-service drop boxes throughout the region are available 24 hours a day for deer head drop-off. The use of a smartphone is required to use the drop boxes. See check station and drop box locations at Michigan.gov/DeerCheck.
