(KNSI) – Deer hunters in Minnesota’s 13 chronic wasting disease management zones won’t be able to move their kill without deboning it first unless the animal gets a clean bill of health.
The restrictions are mainly in the southeastern part of the state near Rochester, Winona, and the host site of the governor’s opener in Lanesboro. In north-central Minnesota, it includes the area around Brainerd, Grand Rapids, and Bemidji. The south metro zones are around Farmington, Faribault, Northfield, Hastings, and Prior Lake.
Hunters can’t take a dead deer outside a CWD zone until test results show the animal isn’t infected. The restrictions apply to fawns as well.
If hunters don’t want to submit their kill for sampling or want to take it outside a CWD zone before the results are in, then they must debone or quarter the animals. Meat and quarters with the main leg bone can leave the zone immediately.
Afterward, the head and spinal cord must be properly disposed of inside the zone. The DNR provides dumpsters for hunters to dispose of the remains.
The restrictions are in place in Deer Permit Areas 604, 605, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649, 655, 661, 679, and 684. Hunters are allowed to move a whole carcass in between connected management zones.
Minnesota’s firearms deer hunting season starts at sunrise on Saturday.
For more information, click here.
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