CWD suspected in a wild deer harvested along northwestern Minnesota’s border

The Minnesota DNR has heard of its first suspected case of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer along Minnesota’s border with North Dakota. As a result, the DNR is implementing voluntary CWD sampling for all deer harvested in this area during the 2021 firearms season.

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.

So far 118 cases of CWD have been documented in Minnesota’s wild deer herd, most of them in the southeastern part of the state. The disease is also being actively and aggressively managed near Bemidji, the Brainerd Lakes area and in the south metropolitan area.