Minnesota wildlife biologists believe chronic wasting disease doesn’t exist in Minnesota’s wild deer population. Extensive CWD testing of hunter-killed deer supports this belief. Advertisement
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Minnesotans would like to keep their state’s white-tailed deer free of deadly prions that cause CWD, a fatal deer and elk brain disease that has been known to exist in Wisconsin’s deer herd since at least 2001. However, CWD has been found in two Minnesota game farm elk.
Concern that CWD might be brought into the state as part of a deer carcass from one of eight states with the disease was reason enough to implement carcass import restrictions last year.
“We modified our rules from last year,” said Lou Cornicelli, Department of Natural Resources big game biologist. “Last year we had restrictions on hunters moving deer, elk and moose carcasses through Minnesota by hunters coming from western states and heading east.”
Cornicelli said Minnesota had enough complaints from hunters that their hunt was being ruined when they were required to quarter their elk and deer and remove the spinal column and head before passing through Minnesota. So, changes were made.
“Now, non-residents traveling through Minnesota are exempt from this restriction,” Cornicelli said.
There are still restrictions on Minnesota residents bringing deer, elk or moose into Minnesota from states where CWD is known to exist, including Illinois and Wisconsin.
“No one can import deer, elk or moose carcasses into Minnesota from parts of Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin or Wyoming known to have CWD unless certain restrictions are met,” Cornicelli said.
Minnesota’s DNR Web site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) shows a U.S. map with counties of concern shaded in red in eight states. The map includes 20 Wisconsin counties, including Crawford, Richland, Juneau and Vernon.
“There are buffer counties around counties that have had positive test results, so that doesn’t mean all those counties have CWD, but the buffer counties are still on the list,” Cornicelli said.
Eleven counties in Illinois are shaded, too, most falling along the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
“Since this is a moving target, I’d recommend hunters bringing deer, elk or moose into Minnesota check the map before they hunt out-of-state,” Cornicelli said. “Changes are made in the map from time to time.”
Any hunter wanting to import big game animals into Minnesota from an area with CWD can do so, but not as a whole carcass. The restrictions are:
Meat must be cut and wrapped, either commercially or by individuals.
Quarters or other portions of meat must not contain any part of the spinal column or head.
Antlers, finished taxidermy mounts, hides and teeth can be imported.
Antlers with attached skull caps must be cleaned of all brain tissue.
About 14,000 Minnesota residents bought Wisconsin gun-deer licenses last year, so it seems restrictions, which have been in place for about two years, have not deterred many Minnesotans from heading across the Mississippi to hunt.
One can only wonder if Wisconsin’s wild deer would be free of CWD had Wisconsin had similar restrictions in place five or 10 years ago.
Jerry Davis can be reached at (608) 924-1112 or at [email protected]
