Hunters must register deer in person in CWD management and surrounding zones

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Hunters must register deer in person in CWD management and surrounding zones
(Released October 28, 2011)

Minnesota deer hunters who harvest a deer in and adjacent to the area’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone must register their deer in person at check stations located throughout the area. Registration is necessary so the DNR can extract a lymph node tissue sample for CWD testing.

Hunters who harvest deer within the CWD Management Zone (deer permit area 602) cannot remove the carcass from the zone until a CWD-negative test result is reported. Testing typically takes three business days to complete and results can be accessed by hunters online.

Some deer parts can be moved outside the deer permit area 602 without a negative CWD test result. These parts include:

Meat that is boned out or that is cut and wrapped, either commercially or privately.
Quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached.
Antlers or clean (no brain tissue attached) skull plates with antlers attached.
Finished taxidermy mounts.
Hunters planning to eventually transport a deer out of the CWD zone should plan ahead and secure a place to store their deer while awaiting test results. Some venison processors may not take deer until a CWD test is completed.

Erdman’s County Market in Kasson has offered to store deer carcasses for hunters awaiting CWD test results, but individuals will need to discuss available space and charges with store management.

Other deer permit areas where in-person registration is required for CWD testing but carcass movement restrictions are not in place are areas 233, 293, 341, 342, 343 and 344. Electronic registration via telephone or Internet is not available in these areas.

Check stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the nine-day firearms season, which begins Saturday, Nov. 5, and concludes Sunday, Nov. 13.

Stations within the CWD zone are located at Greenway Co-op, Pine Island; Archery HQ, Rochester; Gander Mountain, Rochester; Hardware Hank, Kasson; and Neptune Bar & Grill, Zumbro Falls.

Stations outside the CWD zone are located at Mills Fleet Farm, Owatonna; Holiday Station, Faribault; Bohman Venison Processing, Owatonna; Dennison Depot, Dennison; Nerstrand Big Woods State Park; Jerry’s Ace Hardware, Kenyon; Northside Bait & Tackle, Cannon Falls; Althoff Hardware, Cannon Falls; Quality Hardware, Wannamingo; 4 Season Sports, Red Wing; Wise Ace Hardware, Lake City; Big Bear Get N Go, Lake City; Becklund’s Auto Repair, Millville; Prairie Bait, Wabasha; River Valley Outfitters, Wabasha; Eagle View Bar & Grill, Minneiska; Kreofsky’s Building Supply, Planview; Elba Valley Express, Elba; Maurer Brothers Tavern, Elba; Good Sports Tavern, St. Charles; Mills Fleet Farm, Rochester; and MSX Nexgen, Chatfield.

CWD was discovered in one hunter harvested deer near Pine Island last fall. Since then, DNR has taken steps to determine the potential extent of the disease and significantly decrease deer populations in the area to limit the potential spread of CWD.

Complete information about CWD and DNR efforts to manage it is available online.