The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will discontinue targeted culling in the southeastern corner of the state — including parts of Winona and Fillmore counties — where chronic wasting disease has reached “endemic stage.”
The DNR made the announcement on Wednesday. It applies to deer permit areas 646, 647 and 648.
“Chronic wasting disease, commonly referred to as CWD, is a fatal neurological disease that affects cervids, including white-tailed deer. It is found globally and in about half of the states in the U.S. CWD remains relatively rare in Minnesota but is a concern as there is no known cure,” the DNR website states.
When CWD prevalence reaches 5% or more, the disease has reached “endemic stage,” or a threshold where research shows culling is not effective at reducing disease prevalence or controlling the spread.
The DNR says its management strategy will shift emphasis “toward other CWD management tools within the endemic zone while working to prevent the spread of the disease beyond these areas.” This follows the DNR’s CWD surveillance and management plan developed in 2019 and most recently updated in July 2024.
“While it is disappointing that CWD prevalence has been increasing in these areas, it still remains relatively low compared to neighboring states, and we have not given up efforts to minimize its impact,” Wildlife Health Program Supervisor Michelle Carstensen said in a statement.
Although DNR is not pursuing targeted culling as a management tool in these areas, local landowners and hunters can still help manage chronic wasting disease in these areas by actively participating in opportunities to increase antlerless deer harvest, abiding by carcass movement restrictions, obeying feeding and attractant bans and participating in additional hunting opportunities, the release said
Outside of the areas where chronic wasting disease is now endemic, the DNR says it will continue to focus on early detection of new cases through sampling efforts and “employing aggressive actions to contain the spread, including culling where targeted operations are needed and effective.”
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