The Minnesota DNR has confirmed that two adult male deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in two deer permit areas without previous confirmed cases of the disease.
One deer was harvested near Hawley in Clay County and the other was harvested near Greenfield in Hennepin County. Both deer were taken during the firearms deer season, and the hunters voluntarily submitted tissue samples via the DNR’s partner sampling program which consists mostly of taxidermists.
Erik Hildebrand, Wildlife Health Supervisor with the DNR called the finding “…concerning because it indicates possible new areas of CWD prevalence in wild deer where it hasn’t previously been detected.”
He said it also highlights how important disease surveillance efforts are and how critical it is that hunters are able to test deer harvested anywhere in the state if they would like to.
Following the detections in the areas where the deer were taken, the Minnesota DNR will implement measures outlined in its CWD response plan, which calls for three consecutive years of testing to help determine the potential prevalence of the disease near the detections.
