Minnesota restricts movement of farmed deer to curb disease

State officials are asking deer farmers to not transport the animals to and from their properties for a month while investigators trace a new case of chronic wasting disease on a farm in western Minnesota.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the Board of Animal Health last Wednesday asked the state’s 330 deer farms to voluntarily stop moving deer until Jan. 15. Tim Spreck, a lobbyist for the the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association, said a mandatory lockdown would have threatened breeding operations.

Democratic Farmer Labor Party member Rep. Rick Hansen said the board’s decision could present a threat to wildlife.

(Associated Press)