Hunters can participate in two special deer hunts to help limit the spread of chronic wasting disease in wild deer in southeastern Minnesota.
Residents and nonresidents can participate in the hunts from Friday, Dec. 21 to Sunday, Dec. 23 and Friday, Dec. 28 to Sunday, Dec. 30 in deer permit areas 603, 347 and 348, and portions of deer permit areas 343 and 345 that are south of Interstate 90.
The hunts are one step the DNR is taking to act quickly in an effort to contain CWD while it is relatively concentrated in a geographic area. Reducing deer numbers in this area helps lower densities and remove CWD-positive animals. Because the disease is spread through direct contact with an infected deer’s saliva, urine, blood, feces, antler velvet or carcass, reductions in deer numbers is part of a multi-pronged approach to limit disease spread.
CWD is an always-fatal neurological disease that affects the cervid family, which includes deer, elk and moose.
Find more information about the CWD hunts here.
(Photo source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)