Bringing a deer head out for CWD testing: Alberta's 2026 submission rules

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease of deer, elk and moose. Alberta's government says CWD occurs throughout much of eastern and central Alberta, and it monitors the disease by testing heads from deer that hunters harvest. In some wildlife management units, submitting the head is required. If you're hunting deer from a quad or side-by-side, the head is one more thing to get out of the bush, so plan for it before you shoot.

Is submission mandatory where you hunt?

For 2026, the Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations makes it mandatory to submit deer harvested in these WMUs:

• 102, 108, 110, 116, 118, 119, 148, 150, 151, 200, 224, 232, 234, 236, 238, 246, 247 and 250
• 300, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320, 322, 324, 332 and 334
• 402, 404, 406, 412 and 414
• 503, 504, 505, 506, 508, 509, 510, 514, 515, 728 and 730

Outside those units, the government's CWD page says submission is voluntary. The guide has a map on page 3. Check the current guide, not last year's list, because the units can change.

The guide also says CWD isn't known to infect humans, but health authorities advise against eating any animal known to have a prion disease. It says Alberta Health recommends testing deer from the mandatory areas.

Preparing the head

From the government's instructions for hunters:

• If possible, don't shoot the deer in the head. That can damage the lymph nodes and brain tissue the lab needs.
• A usable sample is the entire head. Remove the neck just behind the head so it takes less freezer space.
• You can take off the antlers and the antler skull plate without damaging the tissue they test. Heads aren't returned, so if you want the antlers, remove them before you submit.
• Don't remove and submit only the brain.

If you're keeping the skull for a European mount, the government page describes collecting the tissue samples yourself instead: the tissue at the base of the skull with both lymph nodes, and the part of the brainstem where it joins the spinal cord, bagged separately and then together. It links to videos showing how. If you haven't done this before, the whole head is the simpler option.

The green CWD label

Every head needs a green CWD identification label. The freezers have bags and labels, and Fish and Wildlife or Environment and Protected Areas offices may have them too. The government asks you to:

1. Fill out both sides, with as much detail as possible about where the deer was killed (GPS coordinates, section-township-range, or latitude and longitude) as well as the WMU.
2. Give your complete contact information so they can send results.
3. Fasten the label securely to the head.
4. Keep the bottom part of the label. It's your record of the CWD number for that head.

A practical tip: drop a GPS pin or note the coordinates on your phone at the kill site. You need the location for the label, and it's hard to reconstruct after a long day of packing meat.

Packing it out on the machine

The head is extra weight and bulk on top of the meat, and it isn't the only thing you need to keep track of. The big game regulations require evidence of sex, species and class to stay attached to the same part of the animal as the tag until the carcass reaches a residence or a licensed processor. For deer, the guide accepts the testicles, the scrotum or the udder, the completely haired tail, or the head (with antlers if it has them, or with the skin on if it doesn't). If you're submitting the head, plan to keep one of the other forms of evidence on the tagged part. Our post on hauling a partner's animal covers tags and evidence of sex in more detail.

• Bag the head separately from the meat so it's easy to find and hand over.
• Strap it down on the rack or in the box. Don't hang it where it can swing or fall off on a rough trail.
• Count it as cargo weight against your machine's rack or box rating, along with the meat and your gear.

Freezers, offices and timing

Keep the head frozen until you drop it off. During fall rifle seasons, Alberta runs 24-hour freezers where hunters can leave heads. The government publishes a 2026 poster with the freezer locations and a map of the mandatory areas. You may also be able to drop a head at a Fish and Wildlife or Environment and Protected Areas office, but the government asks you to call ahead to confirm freezer space. Office contacts are on page 14 of the 2026 guide.

On timing, the government says:

• The program receives about 2,000 heads a week in November, on average.
• It takes about a month to test 2,500 heads, with slower flow over the holidays.
• Heads received after mid-November are generally tested in January and February.

Results go to the email address in your AlbertaRELM account, so make sure it's current. Negative results are only sent by email. Hunters with a positive result and no email on file are contacted by phone.

The rest of the carcass

The guide asks hunters to dispose of carcasses properly, especially in the CWD risk area. Where possible, debone the meat at the kill site while keeping the required evidence of sex and species, and leave the rest of the carcass there. If the carcass goes elsewhere, remove all the usable meat and then burn, bury or landfill the remains. Deboning at the kill site also means less weight to haul out.

More on racks, trailers and load limits is in our guide to getting game out.

This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. The hunting guide and the CWD program change each season. Check the current guide and the government's CWD page before you go.