In an effort to complete its three-year statewide surveillance for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Minnesota’s wild deer population, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering incentives and streamlining its collection process for hunters who bring their deer in for testing. The DNR aims to collect 11,000 lymph node samples from wild deer this year and will enter hunters into statewide and local drawings for approximately 30 firearms and bows if they submit their animal for testing. Participating hunters will also receive a cooperator patch for participating in the testing program.

The drawings will take place after CWD testing is complete, and the samples are entered into a database. The guns and bows are being provided by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Gander Mountain, Cabela’s, Austin-Halleck muzzleloaders, Sportsman’s Warehouse, the Minnesota State Archery Association and Minnesota Bowhunters, Inc.

Lymph node collections will occur at more than 130 big game registration stations in 60 permit areas located in parts of the northwest, north-central, east-central and southwest portions of the state. A map detailing the permit areas can be found at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/testingstations.html.

Registration stations throughout the state will be open starting at 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 6-7. Most stations in the southwest will be open Nov. 13-14 as well. Hunters should check with their local DNR wildlife office to confirm the station’s operating hours and days, as some stations in the state will be open additional hours and days. A list of registration stations that will be staffed by DNR personnel is available at: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural_resources/animals/mammals/deer/cwd/testingstations2004.pdf (PDF).

The DNR has made several refinements to the sampling protocol that should make the process more efficient this year.

“We no longer need to remove the deer’s head,” said Lou Cornicelli, big game program coordinator for the DNR. “Instead, the lymph nodes will be removed right at the registration station, a process that should take just a few minutes. The hunter will be able to leave the check station with the deer intact.” The DNR will not sample lymph nodes from fawns, as research has shown that CWD can’t be detected reliably at that age. “Of course, weather and hunter success will still play a large role in the efficiency of our collection process,” said Cornicelli.

Hunters who harvest deer outside the CWD sampling areas and are interested in getting their deer tested can submit a sample through a local veterinarian. The list of participating veterinarians is available at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/vetclinics.html.

So far, CWD has been found only in two farmed elk in Minnesota. One elk tested positive for CWD after it died on an Aitkin County farm in August 2002. A second elk, which was part of a herd where the Aitkin elk originated, tested positive after it was quarantined and killed for testing on a Stearns County farm in January 2003.

While CWD has not been found in Minnesota’s wild deer population, hunters should follow these precautions:

• Do not shoot an animal that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick; contact the local DNR conservation officer or DNR wildlife office immediately so an attempt can be made to find and dispatch the animal for testing.

• Wear durable rubber gloves when field dressing carcasses and wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing.

• Bone out the meat from the animal; don’t saw through bone and avoid cutting through the brain or backbone.

• Do not consume brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph nodes. The normal process of boning meat will remove most, if not all of these tissues.

This is the third and final year of DNR testing for CWD in Minnesota’s wild deer population. During the 2002 and 2003 deer hunting seasons, the DNR collected and tested 14,450 deer, none of which tested positive for CWD. Testing results for deer harvested in the 2004 season will be available at the DNR Web site at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us as results for each permit area are completed.

As part of previously announced plans to continue testing of wild deer for chronic wasting disease (CWD) during this fall’s hunting seasons, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be collecting samples from archery deer hunters in designated surveillance areas.

While the majority of effort will take place during the firearms deer season, the DNR is especially encouraging archery deer hunters who take deer in the metro permit areas (228, 337) to submit samples, due to the fact that roughly 1/2 of the deer harvested in these permit areas are from archery hunting. Archers who take a deer in one of the metro surveillance permit areas are encouraged to call their local DNR wildlife office (listed below) to arrange dropping off their deer head. When the deer head is collected, the hunter will be asked a few questions pertaining to where the animal was harvested.

No positive results were found last year in tests on about 10,000 deer. This fall, the goal is to test an additional 13,000 hunter-harvested deer for CWD to complete testing of wild deer throughout the state over the past three years.

All hunters who turn in a sample will receive a cooperator patch and will be automatically entered in a drawing to win one of several firearms and bows that are being provided as an incentive from Gander Mountain, Cabela’s, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Minnesota State Archery Association, and Austin-Halleck muzzleloaders.

While CWD has not been found in Minnesota’s wild deer, hunters should follow these precautions:

• do not shoot an animal that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick; contact the local DNR conservation officer or DNR wildlife office immediately so an attempt can be made to find and dispatch the animal for testing

• wear durable rubber gloves when field dressing carcasses and wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing

• bone out the meat from the animal; don’t saw through bone and avoid cutting through the brain or backbone

• do not consume brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph nodes. The normal process of boning meat will remove most, if not all of these tissues.

Testing results will be available at the DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us once the sampling for the permit area is completed.

To arrange to drop-off a deer head taken from metro permit blocks, please call one of the numbers below:

North Metro Area Wildlife Office (Forest Lake): 651-296-3450 or 651-296-3779

South Metro Area Wildlife Office (Jordan): 952-492-5464.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking people to refrain from picking up fawns that appear to be abandoned this spring.

Because of the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the DNR is imposing a two-year moratorium on raising and releasing deer back into the wild. All fawns picked up and turned in will be euthanized to prevent the spread of CWD.

“In the past, we’ve always recommended that people leave wild animals — especially deer — alone. It’s especially important this year,” said Mike DonCarlos, DNR wildlife research manager. “In nearly all cases, whitetail does have intentionally left the fawns alone to avoid attracting attention of predators.”

The possibility of spreading CWD prompted the DNR to amend licenses that allowed wildlife rehabilitators to raise wild whitetail deer. These deer were often fawns thought to be abandoned and picked up by well-meaning people.

Under the moratorium, wildlife rehabilitators licensed to possess live deer will be required to transfer deer to the DNR within 48 hours. Deer that are transferred to the DNR will be euthanized and tested for CWD.

Each year, about 80 deer are turned over to rehabilitators. About half of those deer are euthanized immediately for humane reasons. Deer that are successfully rehabilitated are often moved to rehabilitation facilities and eventually released far from their birth site.

There are about 70 wildlife rehabilitators who are licensed to possess live deer for 48 hours.

In recent surveillance testing for CWD in Wisconsin, six fawns, ages 5 to 12 months, tested positive for the disease. All of the fawns came from the core areas of CWD eradication within Wisconsin, where the highest number of CWD positive deer have been identified.

The moratorium on white tailed deer rehabilitation will be reviewed in two years, when the major portion of the state’s CWD surveillance program is complete.

Testing results for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) are now complete on nearly 10,000 lymph node samples taken from wild deer harvested during the 2003 deer season. No CWD was found, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today. “Minnesota has one of the more aggressive CWD sampling programs in the United States,” said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator. “It is encouraging that we have not yet found this disease in wild deer.” Cornicelli noted, however, that 45 percent of the state’s permit areas still have not been tested. The DNR intends to complete sampling in those areas during the 2004 deer season. In addition, the DNR is continuing the year-round effort to collect samples from “suspect” deer that are found sick or displaying symptoms consistent with CWD. CWD is a fatal disease that attacks the brain tissues in deer and elk causing lethargy, disorientation and emaciation. Since 2001, the DNR has tested nearly 15,000 wild deer for the disease. CWD was detected in two farmed elk in Aitkin and Stearns counties in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The 2003 CWD sampling effort involved more than 400 people from the DNR, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Minnesota Conservation Corps, Vermillion Community College, Fond du Lac and 1854 Authorities, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bluffland Whitetails Association, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, and other universities and volunteers. The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota conducted all the tests. Hunters who volunteered a sample this year received a DNR cooperator patch and were placed in a drawing to win one of several firearms and bows that were offered by Gander Mountain, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Bluffland Whitetails Association, the Minnesota State Archery Association, and Austin-Halleck muzzleloaders. The Deer Hunters Association has completed the drawing and the winners have been notified. “The DNR extends its appreciation to all of the organizations for their generous donations, the hunters for donating the samples, the other agencies who assisted, and the many volunteers who stepped up to help,” Cornicelli said. Testing results and information are online at www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/testingresults.html

No positives were found in tests of 1,160 lymph node samples taken from wild deer harvested during the 2003 firearms season, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today.

Today’s results are the first from 10,000 samples that were taken from wild deer harvested by hunters. Samples were collected at 132 big game registration stations located in the northwest, northeast, southeast, east-central, and west-central portions of the state.

Samples tested were from deer harvested in permit areas 248, 411, 413, and 414. Results are posted at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/testingresults2003.html. Additional permit areas will be posted online as they are completed. Lou Cornicelli, big game program coordinator said he was encouraged by the initial round of results and was hopeful the remaining samples would be negative as well.

The 2003 CWD effort involved more than 400 people from DNR, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Minnesota Conservation Corps, Vermillion Community College, Fond du Lac and 1854 Authorities, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bluffland Whitetails Association (BWA), Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA), and other Universities and volunteers. The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota is conducting all the tests.

Hunters who volunteered a sample this year received a DNR cooperator patch and were placed in a drawing to win one of several firearms and bows being offered by Gander Mountain, MDHA, BWA, the Minnesota State Archery Association, and Austin-Halleck muzzleloaders. Cornicelli noted that the drawing will be conducted after all the samples have been entered into the database and proofed for accuracy. MDHA will ultimately conduct the drawing probably in early February.

So far, CWD in Minnesota has been found only in farmed elk. One elk tested positive for CWD after it died on an Aitkin County farm in August 2002. A second elk, which was part of a herd where the Aitkin elk originated, tested positive after it was quarantined and killed for testing on a Stearns County farm in January 2003.