The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) funding to help the captive cervid herd in Alabama become less susceptible to chronic wasting disease (CWD) by furthering USDA research related to genomically estimated breeding value (GEBV) of deer. To date, research has shown that deer with a GEBV value below -0.056 may be less susceptible to CWD than deer with higher values, and USDA encourages herd management actions to breed towards animals with GEBV values below -0.056. While this award is a renewal, the award for 2026 only allows ADAI to pay for testing of up to ~500 captive deer at a cost of $75 per sample to collect GEBV data that can assist game breeders in herd management plans and collect more data for GEBV research and development. This testing will be performed by the North American Deer Registry (NADR). Approved participants will submit samples to NADR following NADR guidelines, and ADAI will remit payment to NADR for each approved sample ($75/sample). If interested in participating, please complete the information packet (below) and submit to the State Veterinarian’s Office at the email listed on the application.
ADAI will only pay for pre-approved samples. Game breeders wishing to participate must complete the “Request for Captive Game Breeder Whitetail Deer Genetic Testing Assistance” below. Do not send samples to NADR until you receive an approval notification from ADAI.
Request for Captive Game Breeder Whitetail Deer Genetic Testing Assistance
- Please complete and return to ADAI for approval no later than February 16, 2026.
- 2026 CWD Testing Application
USDA’s “Genomically Estimated Breeding Value Predictive Genetics and Chronic Wasting Disease” Information Sheet
North American Deer Registry: When submitting samples to NADR, please follow all NADR sampling guidelines (https://nadeerregistry.com/). All samples should be submitted in tissue tubes and stored at ambient temperature. NADR also recommends shipping samples with a package tracking number and to avoid the use of letter mailing of samples.
Important Dates:
- February 16, 2026: Deadline to submit application to ADAI
- March 1, 2026: ADAI will begin notifying applicants
- July 31, 2026: Deadline to submit samples to NADR