jmiller

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. This award allows ADAI to pay for testing of up to 2,249 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

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. A copy of your state approval should also be included in the shipment with the samples. NADR also recommends shipping samples with a package tracking number and to avoid the use of letter mailing of samples.

Important Dates:

  • December 1, 2026: Deadline to submit application to ADAI
  • December 15, 2026: ADAI will begin notifying applicants
  • August 15, 2027: Deadline to submit samples to NADR