CWD found in Minnesota deer

[mnmaverick]

Herd-thinning could begin this week after case of CWD

By DENNIS ANDERSON, Star Tribune

Last update: January 29, 2011 - 11:50 PM

Killing hundreds of deer in southeast Minnesota near the town of Pine Island will be a challenge, the Department of Natural Resources is learning.

The herd-thinning -- which could begin as early as Wednesday -- is being planned after the confirmation last week that a deer killed Nov. 28 by an archer was infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The disease is highly contagious and is always fatal to deer, elk and moose -- though no moose have ever carried CWD in Minnesota, according to the DNR.

The disease is not believed to be a threat to humans.

CWD was first discovered in captive elk in Minnesota near Aitkin in 2002. But the infected hunter-killed deer is the first wild animal in Minnesota known to have carried the disease, and a special zone has been established stretching 10 miles in all directions from where it was felled about three miles from Pine Island.

A DNR aerial deer-population survey planned last week in the area was only half-completed due to weather. "We did that survey with fixed-wing aircraft and counted 1,000 deer," said DNR big-game coordinator Lou Cornicelli.

A more detailed helicopter survey will follow, beginning sometime this week, again dependent on weather. "I would guess there are about 3,000 deer total in the area," Cornicelli said.

Almost all of the land is private, and wildlife officials hope to persuade landowners either to begin shooting deer themselves, or allow volunteers or DNR sharpshooters onto their property.

The DNR plans to kill enough deer to draw reasonable inferences about how many -- if any -- deer might be infected. A similar situation some years ago in New York produced only a lone deer with CWD, with no others turning up sick. But in southern Wisconsin, because CWD there probably was discovered after many animals were affected, the disease remains in the herd.

Cornicelli said his agency has only until mid-March to kill a sample of deer in the CWD-established zone. By then, with spring arriving, the deer "will begin moving across the landscape," Cornicelli said.

Among issues to be resolved is what will happen to carcasses of killed deer. Test results take time, and deer that come back negative for CWD will provide usable food, Cornicelli said. What becomes of the carcasses between the time deer are killed and tests are returned is among issues the DNR will discuss in a strategy meeting Monday morning.

"Do we [the DNR] hold carcasses until the tests come back," Cornicelli said, "or do the people who shoot them keep them?

Interested landowners or their representatives will be given the first opportunity to kill deer, Cornicelli said. An area landowner meeting is planned in about two weeks.

A deer-killing permit system for landowners or their representatives is yet to be worked out.

"The logistics are fairly complicated," Cornicelli said.

[dewey]

If anyone hears if the MN DNR is going to allow the public down there to help thin the herd please post it here as I would not mind taking a day off and going down there to help the DNR with the deer thinning process.

Dewey

[mnmaverick]

I will post it if I see anything. I would check the MN DNR website, as well as the local papers for information.

In a totally unrelated topic, if any of you are turkey hunters, the DNR has the winning lottery applications posted on their website now. I got the 1st season, and can't wait!!!

[dewey]

ORIGINAL: mnmaverick

In a totally unrelated topic, if any of you are turkey hunters, the DNR has the winning lottery applications posted on their website now. I got the 1st season, and can't wait!!!

What zone are you in? I wasn't drawn for 239C and I am now trying to figure out plan B and possibly plan C.[:D] How long have you been turkey hunting? I have been hunting turkeys for 3 previous years and I LOVE it.

Good luck this spring.

Dewey

[mnmaverick]

Thanks Dewey! I applied for 345A with a group of 3 other guys. We didn't get drawn last year, but got extra tags for the D season. This will be my fourth year hunting. I absolutely love it too, maybe not quite as much as deer, but it's hard to beat! Last year I got a nice tom on the last day of my season in 30 degree temps, sleet and snow. It was pretty miserable spending 4 days in that weather, but so worth it when I called in a tom to 10 yards. Good luck to you when you decide what you are going to do this season!

And to answer your question about helping the CWD culling, this was in the Star Trib tonight:

Deer hunters near Pine Island to help Minn. DNR determine extent of chronic-wasting outbreak

Last update: February 1, 2011 - 7:48 PM

PINE ISLAND, Minn. - Deer hunters in southeastern Minnesota's will be used to help the Department of Natural Resources determine the extent of an outbreak of chronic-wasting disease.

Starting Wednesday, the DNR will begin contacting landowners near Pine Island where a CWD-positive deer was shot last fall. Hunting is expected to begin Thursday or Friday.

DNR big-game coordinator Lou Cornicelli (korn-ih-SEL'-lee) tells the Post-Bulletin the goal right now is not to eradicate the deer herd, but instead to test a representative sample. He expects the number of deer killed probably will be more than 300 and less than 1,000.

Chronic wasting is a fatal brain disease that affects deer, elk and moose. There is no evidence CWD can spread to humans, but experts recommend against eating meat from infected animals.

[gunther89]

If I was a landowner in that area, I would tell the DNR to take a hike and not come back.  They are going to over-react to CWD just like Wisconsin did and all it did was piss off just about every hunter inside the CWD zone.

[mnmaverick]

From the DNR today:

Landowner permits, deer feeding ban part of DNR’s CWD strategy (Released February 4, 2011)



The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking the next steps in implementing its Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) incident response plan. They include inviting landowners to participate in a deer sampling process, and putting in place a deer feeding ban.


Landowners who obtain shooting permits from the DNR will be authorized to take deer in a portion of southeastern Minnesota within roughly 10 miles of where a CWD positive wild deer was found, as part of the agency’s efforts to sample wild deer in the Pine Island area for CWD.


Landowners who accept shooting permits will be allowed to authorize additional shooters. All harvested deer will be tested for CWD.


“Rather than having a traditional special hunt, we are working through local landowners to issue permits so they can assist with the sampling effort,” said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator and CWD incident commander. “All the land in the surveillance area is private land that cannot be hunted without permission.”


Carcasses of deer taken can be retained by the landowner or designated shooters, or surrendered to DNR for donation to individuals. CWD test results are expected to be available within three business days so that people holding carcasses can make decisions on processing and consumption. This approach will provide for more landowner control of shooters on their property and will also allow for better control of movement of carcasses prior to testing results being available. Prions can be spread through portions of carcasses, particularly brain and spinal column. If any CWD positive deer are identified, the carcasses will be taken to the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for disposal.


DNR staff began contacting landowners in the CWD surveillance area on Thursday. Landowner contacts are prioritized based on deer numbers and proximity to the location where the infected deer was harvested.
The deer population estimate based on the aerial survey has been completed and DNR estimates there are 6,500 deer within a 10-mile radius around the positive deer. Of those 6,500 deer, 1,900 were seen within the core area, which is roughly a 5-mile radius around the positive deer. Some of the highest deer numbers were observed in the area the positive deer was taken. Based on these numbers, DNR has calculated a surveillance goal of 900 deer, of which 500 should be taken from the core area.


The possibility of using U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters during the sampling effort also is being considered, but no specific plan is in place.


“Our hope is that we can get the majority of the needed sample with landowner shooting,” Cornicelli said. “There may be cases where a landowner prefers sharpshooters, or we need to increase sample size in certain areas beyond what we can get through landowner permits.


“Our goal is to determine the level of infection in the local deer population and to remove additional potentially infected animals,” he said.


In addition to the upcoming sampling effort, a deer feeding ban covering Dodge, Goodhue, Olmsted and Wabasha counties will be in place later this month. The feeding ban includes a wider area because the potential extent of the CWD infection is not known and one of the most probable mechanisms for CWD spread among deer is over a food source that concentrates animals.


“One simple step that anyone placing food out for wildlife can do to help prevent the spread of disease is to stop feeding deer,” Cornicelli said.


DNR officials will present current CWD information and plans at a public meeting scheduled for Monday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. in the Pine Island High School cafeteria. After the presentation, a panel of experts from DNR, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association will be available to answer questions.


CWD is a fatal brain disease that affects deer, elk and moose, but not cattle or humans. The disease was confirmed in Minnesota’s first wild deer Jan. 25. An archer harvested that deer near Pine Island in November 2010.


The DNR has been actively on the lookout for CWD since 2002, when the disease was first found in a domestic elk farm in central Minnesota. An important management strategy for CWD is early detection.
DNR increased its southeastern Minnesota wild deer CWD surveillance efforts in fall 2009 after tests in January 2009 determined that a captive elk on a farm near Pine Island was infected with CWD. The elk farm was depopulated in fall of 2009 and a total of four CWD positive captive elk were found. Heightened wild deer surveillance efforts continued in 2010, with one CWD-positive deer detected.
Since 2002, the DNR has tested more than 32,000 hunter-harvested or road-killed deer, 60 elk and 90 moose as part of its early CWD detection strategy.

[mnmaverick]

Latest updates on CWD:

43 deer killed so far in SE Minn. for CWD testing Associated Press


Last update: February 8, 2011 - 3:59 PM
[/align]
[/align] PINE ISLAND, Minn. - Those leading the fight against chronic wasting disease in southeastern Minnesota say a plan to kill and test deer is off to a strong start.


The Post-Bulletin of Rochester reports that 43 deer had been killed as of Tuesday.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued permits to 65 landowners to shoot within a CWD zone. The department's goal is to shoot and test 900 deer in all.


Test results on the first batch of deer are expected later this week.


The undertaking comes after a wild deer near Pine Island was found to have the fatal brain disease last fall. While there is no evidence of CWD spreading to humans, eating meat from infected animals is not recommended.

4 counties ban feeding of deer to prevent CWD Last update: February 10, 2011 



[/align] [/align]
[/align] A deer feeding ban will begin in four southeast Minnesota counties Monday, the Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday.


AFFECTED COUNTIES: The ban prohibits wild deer feeding in Dodge, Goodhue, Olmsted and Wabasha counties, and follows the recent finding that a whitetail doe killed by an archer Nov. 28 near Pine Island was infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD).


It will be illegal to place or have food out that is capable of attracting wild deer. People who feed birds or small mammals must find ways to do so without attracting deer, such as keeping the food at least 6 feet above ground.