UPDATE: Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee chair Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St. Paul, tweeted his response:
We need a permanent “captive farmed” 🦌movement ban into Mn ASAP to protect the public 🦌herd
— Rep. Rick Hansen (@reprickhansen) December 2, 2021
[End of update]
Back on October 11, we posted DNR temporarily bans farmed deer movement into & within MN to protect wild white-tailed deer.
Now, another Minnesota Department of Natural Resources press release has arrived, announcing the end of the temporary restriction:
DNR to rescind rule temporarily banning farmed deer movement into and within Minnesota
An emergency rule temporarily prohibiting the importation and movement of farmed white-tailed deer into and within Minnesota will be rescinded on Monday, Dec. 6. The temporary rule, which has been in effect since Oct. 11, is one tool the Department of Natural Resources has used to reduce further spread of chronic wasting disease and protect the health of Minnesota’s wild deer.
The Oct. 11 rule was in response to the discovery that a CWD-positive farm in Wisconsin shipped 387 farmed white-tailed deer to farms in seven states, including Minnesota. In enacting the rule, the Minnesota DNR sought time for it, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, and other state and federal agencies to track the movement of deer from the infected farm and understand the potential risk to other herds.
The DNR worked to obtain all available information from agencies outside Minnesota that are involved in the regulation of farmed deer, but has concluded that learning more won’t be possible due to loss of records, variability in the ways other jurisdictions monitor CWD in deer farms and in wild deer, and the lack of testing in some other states. As a result, the DNR cannot fully determine the risk these deer pose to Minnesota’s wild and farmed deer populations, but believes it has done all it can to understand the risks posed by the Taylor County, Wisconsin farm.
“This temporary ban gave the DNR time to do our due diligence and attempt to gather relevant information. It’s deeply disappointing that there are gaps in data and that more information isn’t available to help us better understand the movement of deer from the CWD-infected farm in Wisconsin,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said. “However, we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to reduce the spread of CWD and protect our wild white-tailed deer, which are vitally important to Minnesota.”
The DNR built on its CWD-surveillance efforts during this year’s deer season by managing 87 sampling stations in the state’s mandatory and voluntary sampling areas. More than 7,000 samples were collected, which will provide invaluable additional insight regarding the geography and presence of CWD in Minnesota. In addition to its ongoing CWD-surveillance efforts, the DNR will work in cooperation with the BAH to strengthen permanent rules pertaining to interstate and intrastate movement of farmed cervids. People can find out more about the DNR’s efforts to monitor and manage CWD on its website.
We can only hope the DNR and Board of Animal Health approve use of the MN-QuIC test soon.
Related posts:
- MN DNR: December CWD hunts offer deer hunters additional harvest opportunities
- CWD update: MN Center for Prion Research & Outreach's MN-QuIC field-deployment paper
- Minnesota CWD update: Changes for deer hunters in southern Red River Valley
- MN DNR: CWD suspected in a wild deer harvested along northwestern MN border
- Minnesota Chronic Wasting Disease news digest: upcoming firearms hunt spurs coverage
- Watch MNHouse Environment Committee hearing on CWD, EAB & local government water grants
- DNR: Chronic wasting disease testing is mandatory for MN deer opener in CWD zones
- CWD: Outdoors writer bags skinny doe, responds to American Cervid Alliance guy's letter
- State rep Tim Miller: MN state public officials beholden to radical anti-livestock enviro groups
- MN Deer Farmers Association sends House environmental committee chair a letter
- DNR temporarily bans farmed deer movement into & within MN to protect wild white-tailed deer
- CWD update: DNR Commissioner's letter to BAH Director on regulation to protect state's wild deer
- Bemidji Pioneer: Must-read article on illegal dumped CWD deer remains in Beltrami County
- Statement: Minnesota DNR learns of 2 deer farms that received deer from CWD+ farm in Wisconsin
- Hunters, tribes, conservation groups and St. Louis County call on state to get rid of deer farms
- Tune in to House Enviro Committee hearing tomorrow morning for latest CWD information
- MN DNR press release: Return to mandatory testing in chronic wasting disease zones this season
- South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks: CWD detected in mule deer in new area, Perkins County
- UMN MNPRO’s latest research detects CWD prions in cervid muscles using RT-QuIC
- MNReformer Radio podcast interviews Jamie Becker-Finn on Chronic Wasting Disease politics
- Listen to MN House environment committee chair Rep. Rick Hansen talk CWD on Matt McNeil Show
- Special Board of Animal Health meeting to review farmed Cervidae rulemaking postponed
- Bad news from the North: CWD sweeps through Alberta & Saskatchewan deer & elk herds
- Forum News Service: MN Deerhunters Association wants to end deer farming
- Just in: House DFL Lawmakers urge resignation of Minnesota Board of Animal Health President
- Star Tribune: Deer farming and "CWD-infested dump site on public land" in Beltrami County
- Are deer farmers posing against MN DNR rule pausing movement of captive whitetails?
- MN DNR temporarily bans movement of farmed whitetails in state to protect wild deer health
- 5 more MN deer farm herds exposed to CWD; Beltrami carcass dump site inquiry continues
- News release: U of M testing finds presence of CWD prions at Beltrami Co. carcass dump site
- BAH: Southern Minnesota CWD investigation identifies new infection in Beltrami County
- Concerned about CWD in MN deer? Learn about new research from MNPRO's Peter Larsen
- Some of the science at the center of Update on Chronic Wasting Disease Efforts hearing
- VIDEO: MNHouse passes bill for process to extend funding for ENRTF projects for one year
- Session Daily: Experts want to study how CWD flows in state's waterways
- Sen. Andrew Lang seems behind the curve on current funding & progress of CWD test research
- VIDEO: University of Minnesota scientists share CWD research, search for test with lawmakers
- Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund plan from U of M for CWD diagnostic test
- Peter Larsen slideshow: Development of Advanced Diagnostic Tests for CWD by U of M
Photo: A wild white tail buck.
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