DNR to continue bovine TB surveillance in northwestern Minnesota

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DNR to continue bovine TB surveillance in northwestern Minnesota
(Released October 27, 2010)


Hunters who harvest deer in northwestern Minnesota in and near the bovine tuberculosis (TB) management zone should register their deer at an area station to help the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) meet its sampling goals for disease surveillance.

“Registering a deer at one of 18 area stations allows us to take tissue samples for bovine TB testing,” said Michelle Carstensen, the DNR’s Wildlife Health Program coordinator. “We expanded the number of check stations and hours of operation to better serve hunters. If hunters can provide us with the necessary samples from the disease surveillance area, late winter sharpshooting won’t be necessary.”

Electronic registration via telephone and Internet is not possible for any deer taken in deer permit area 101, 105, 111, 203, 208, 267 or 268.

“We would not be able to achieve the surveillance goals if we allowed hunters to register deer online,” said Lou Cornicelli, DNR Big Game Program coordinator. “We need them to bring the deer to the stations for sampling.”

Hunters who register their deer at a station where tissue samples are collected will receive an embroidered Deer Research Cooperator patch and be entered into a gun raffle sponsored and conducted by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA). In addition, the MDHA’s Roseau River Chapter will sponsor and conduct a raffle for two guns and a lifetime deer hunting license for hunters who register a deer taken from within the TB management zone or core area.

To maximize the opportunities for hunters to participate in the bovine TB surveillance program, staff will be available to sample deer during the entire regular firearms season or until sampling goals are reached.

Unless the hours of the business differ, staff will be available to take tissue samples from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following registration stations:

Olson’s Skime Store, 6945 Highway 89, Skime
D&G Pro Station, 47903 County Road 4, Hayes Lake
Wannaska Forestry Station, 16945 Highway 89, Wannaska
Grygla Sporting Goods, 102 Main Ave. N., Grygla
Fourtown Store, 63063 Fourtown Road, Fourtown
Denny’s Outdoor Sports,1002 3rd St. N.E., Roseau
Cenex C-Store, highways 11 & 89, Roseau
DJ’s Salol Store, 32598 482nd Ave., Salol
Streiff’s Sporting Goods, 34480 550th Ave., Warroad
Riverside Bait & Tackle, 102 Lake St. N.E., Warroad
Holiday Station, 203 N. State St., Warroad
Knutson’s Grocery, Main Street, Roosevelt
Roseau County Co-op, 111 Highway 11 S., Badger
Paradise Mall, Highway 32, Strathcona
River’s Edge Bait & Convenience, 120 Highway 11 East, Greenbush
Young’s General Store, 155 Hill Ave. S., Middle River
Roseau River Wildlife Management Area, 27952 400th St., Roseau
Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area, 42280 240th Ave. N.E., Middle River.
Surveillance for bovine TB is part of the DNR’s effort to eradicate the disease. During 2009, only one deer of the nearly 2,000 deer tested returned positive results.

“It’s a good sign that fewer deer are testing positive, but surveillance will continue until no deer test positive for five consecutive years,” Carstensen said. “DNR remains committed to working with the Board of Animal Health and the United States Department of Agriculture to eradicate bovine TB in both cattle and deer.”

The overall goal is to collect 1,000 samples in the entire surveillance area, with particular emphasis on obtaining samples from within the bovine TB management zone and core area. Within the surveillance area, at least 500 samples must come from the TB management zone, including at least 200 from the TB core area where all 27 TB positive deer have been previously found. The 2010 sampling goal is down from the 1,800 sampling goal established in 2009.

All tissue samples from yearling and adult deer collected through the hunting season this fall will count toward the surveillance goal. Fawns are excluded from testing because bovine TB is rarely detected in animals that young.

Late winter sharpshooting has been conducted in the area since 2007 but DNR hopes to avoid additional sharpshooting in 2011. Sharpshooting would only occur in two situations:

If the hunter harvest sampling goals are not met, sharpshooting would be used in the core area this coming winter to make up the deficiency.
If more bovine TB infected animals are discovered this fall, sharpshooting would occur to determine if more infected deer are present in the immediate area of the positive animals and reduce the risk of deer-to-deer transmission of the disease.