Just in from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
CWD suspected in a wild deer harvested along northwestern Minnesota’s border
Area deer hunters asked to submit samples for testing at stations in Climax, Neilsville
The first suspected case of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer along Minnesota’s border with North Dakota has prompted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to implement voluntary CWD sampling for all deer harvested in this area during the 2021 firearms season.
Hunters who harvest deer in permit areas 261 and 262, which are located between Moorhead on the south and Oslo on the north, are strongly encouraged to leave samples at self-service stations in Neilsville and Climax. Once exact locations are established for these two stations, details and instructions will be available on the DNR website, alongside information about sampling stations in CWD surveillance, management and control zones.
Preliminary test results from a deer harvested southwest of Climax strongly indicate a CWD infection. Confirmation of the initial result is expected next week.
No cases of CWD had been reported in wild or captive deer in nearby areas, and no CWD sampling requirements were in place. The hunter voluntarily collected the sample and paid for a private test. When preliminary results came back positive, the hunter contacted the DNR.
“Thanks to this hunter’s early discovery, we have the chance to act quickly and be proactive,” said Seth Goreham, acting wildlife research manager for the DNR. “We’re asking hunters to submit samples so we can determine the extent of CWD in the area and take steps to help control the spread.”
Testing is free for deer harvested in permit areas 261 and 262 as well as any other deer permit area designated a CWD surveillance, management or control zone. Hunters outside a CWD zone can collect lymph node samples and pay a small fee for a CWD test. Complete video instructions on how to properly collect a lymph node sample and laboratory information is available on the DNR website.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects cervids, including white-tailed deer. It is found globally and in about half of the states in the U.S. CWD remains relatively rare in Minnesota, but is a concern as there is no known cure.
The DNR continues to take aggressive steps to combat CWD and its spread. So far 118 cases of CWD have been documented in Minnesota’s wild deer herd, most of them in the southeastern part of the state. The disease is also being actively and aggressively managed near Bemidji, the Brainerd Lakes area and in the south metropolitan area.
Complete information about CWD is available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/cwd.
Forum News Service outdoors reporter Brad Dokken has more in CWD suspected in wild deer shot southwest of Climax, Minnesota, DNR says:
A North Dakota man who was supervising his daughter during Minnesota’s recent youth deer season voluntarily had the deer she shot southwest of Climax tested, paying for the private test as a routine matter of course. When preliminary results came back positive, he contacted the DNR.
Chronic wasting disease is suspected in a wild deer that was shot southwest of Climax, in Polk County, marking the first case of its kind along Minnesota’s border with North Dakota, the Department of Natural Resources reported Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Dave Olfelt, director of the DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, confirmed the suspected positive case Wednesday, calling it a “CWD setback.”
“We just found out (Tuesday),” Olfelt said. “We’re scrambling to get the news out, scrambling to get some surveillance going ahead of the season, and we’re scrambling to connect” with wildlife staff from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
Climax is near the Red River on U.S. Highway 75 about 20 miles southwest of Crookston. . . .
No cases of CWD had been reported in wild or captive deer in nearby areas, and no CWD sampling requirements were in place. When preliminary results of the private test came back positive, the man contacted the DNR.
“He’s an avid outdoorsman and he has been getting all of his deer tested,” Goreham said. “As far as hunters go, this guy did everything by the book. It was awesome.”
. . . In North Dakota, CWD has been confirmed in 44 wild deer since 2009, when the disease first was detected in hunting unit 3F2 in southwest North Dakota. CWD hasn’t been found in any North Dakota hunting units along the Red River.
With the suspected case of CWD near Climax, Goreham said he recommends hunters in the area take precautions when disposing of deer carcasses.
“I’m not wanting to raise an alarm or anything, but I would say if you can dispose of the spinal column and the carcass in a Dumpster, that’s probably the best way to go,” he said. “If you want to get your deer tested, please do, we’ll have test sites available, and work on disposal of the carcasses. If we can avoid having anything disposed of on the landscape, it would be better.”
Map: The suspected case of CWD was harvested southwest of Climax, Minnesota.
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- Watch MNHouse Environment Committee hearing on CWD, EAB & local government water grants
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- CWD: Outdoors writer bags skinny doe, responds to American Cervid Alliance guy's letter
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- South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks: CWD detected in mule deer in new area, Perkins County
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- Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund plan from U of M for CWD diagnostic test
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