State
CWD rules in West Virginia
CWD zone status
Agency
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR)
Last verified
June 16, 2026
CWDCrossing provides informational summaries of state CWD carcass-transport regulations. Rules change annually pre-hunting-season; verify with both the origin and destination state wildlife agencies before transport. Failure to comply may result in citations. Not affiliated with the CWD Alliance, the National Deer Association, or any state agency.
Bringing a carcass into West Virginia
West Virginia is the regulating authority for what you can bring in. CWD confirmed in WV (Hampshire, Hardy, Morgan, Berkeley, Mineral, Grant and other eastern panhandle counties). The WVDNR regs PDF returned as binary and did not render the part-level list in fetched excerpts; allowed/banned parts corroborated from a secondary quotation of WV state code, not read directly from the agency page. CAVEAT: confirm exact current part list against the WVDNR 2025-26 Hunting & Trapping Regulations Summary PDF before publishing.
Allowed for import
- Deboned meat
- The cape
- Antlers / antlers attached to a cleaned skull plate (no visible brain or spinal cord tissue)
- Cleaned skull plate
- Upper canine teeth (no soft tissue/root)
- Finished taxidermy mounts
Restricted from import
- Whole carcasses from CWD-positive states/areas
- Head (brain, tonsils, eyes, lymph nodes)
- Spinal cord/backbone
- Spleen
- Skull plate or cape with visible brain/spinal cord tissue
- Unfinished taxidermy mounts
- Brain-tanned hides
Handling + processing
Prohibition applies to carcasses/parts from any state, province, or designated CWD area that has diagnosed CWD, and from captive cervid facilities in any state or province.
Taking a carcass out of West Virginia
When you hunt in West Virginia and bring the carcass to another state, that destination state sets the rule. Because West Virginia has confirmed CWD detections, several destination states apply their stricter "from a CWD-affected state" rule to carcasses originating here — plan to bring back lower-risk parts only.
West Virginia on the CWD map
- CWD confirmed in state
- Under heightened surveillance
- No known CWD detections
Zone status is informational, not a hazard rating. Detections expand over time — confirm current status with each state's wildlife agency.
CWDCrossing provides informational summaries of state CWD carcass-transport regulations. Rules change annually pre-hunting-season; verify with both the origin and destination state wildlife agencies before transport. Failure to comply may result in citations. Not affiliated with the CWD Alliance, the National Deer Association, or any state agency.