Minn. deer hunters to help determine extent of CWD
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 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.
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Information from: Post-Bulletin
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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