Positive CWD Deer Found SE Minnesota

A deer harvested during the opening weekend of firearms season near Wabasha in southeastern Minnesota has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The hunter harvested the adult male deer in deer permit area (DPA) 342, within the southeastern Minnesota CWD surveillance zone where hunters were required to have their deer tested for CWD during the opening weekend of firearms season.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had added DPA 342 to the CWD surveillance zone this year in response to detections of CWD in wild deer in bordering Buffalo County, Wisconsin in 2022.

With the new discovery, the DNR’s current CWD response plan calls for three years of mandatory testing to help determine the potential prevalence of the disease in DPA 342 and surrounding DPAs.

Much of southeastern Minnesota includes areas where CWD has been found in wild deer, or areas that are considered at risk for disease transmission.

Statewide, the Minnesota DNR has tested more than 130,000 deer since 2002. As of Nov. 27, 236 have tested positive. Most of those cases occurred in southeastern Minnesota.

These data indicate the disease remains relatively rare in Minnesota.