Wild Deer Near Stillwater Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease

ST. PAUL (WJON News) -- The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has confirmed that a wild deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease near Stillwater.

The DNR says a landowner observed a female deer for several days that was unafraid of people and appeared emaciated. The deer died on July 16th and was retrieved by DNR staff.

The animal was brought to the University of Minnesota's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for a necropsy and CWD testing. The DNR was able to confirm the results of the tests this week, which showed that the animal had tested positive for the disease.

The DNR says the detection area is located near Minnesota's deer permit area 236, which is approximately 30 miles from the closest CWD cases in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Once CWD is detected in a deer hunting zone, officials implement a response plan to help mitigate disease spread. Those measures can include a ban on deer feeding and attractants. The DNR may also enact increased bag limits in CWD zones to help curb the spread of the disease.

New this year is a policy that divides the state of Minnesota into four regional management plan areas. The management plan will rotate among four regions where hunters in a given quadrant will be required to adhere to new rules for CWD testing.

The sampling quadrant for that harvest year will require hunters on opening weekend to submit their carcasses for any deer one year old or older for CWD testing. This year's sampling quadrant of the state is focused on the southwest quadrant of the state.