Mississippi’s 2026 Velvet Season opens with mandatory harvest reporting

Mississippi’s 2026 Velvet Season is open, and hunters must report their harvest through the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’ Game Check system.

Hunters can submit Game Check through the new MDWFP HuntFish App, the MDWFP website or by calling 1-800-BE-SMART. The submission must be completed before 10 p.m. on the day the harvest occurs.

All harvested bucks must also be submitted for chronic wasting disease sampling at an MDWFP CWD drop-off freezer or through a participating taxidermist. MDWFP provided a video explaining how to pull a CWD sample.

Source: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.