DNR to end “targeted culling” of deer in some zones to prevent spread of CWD [Video]

ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced Wednesday that it is discontinuing the practice of targeted deer culling in three permit areas in the southeastern corner of the state as it is no longer helping to manage Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) within the herd.

A press release from the department says CWD has reached “endemic stage” in permit areas 646, 647 and 648, and that targeted culling – a management tool used to remove additional CWD-positive animals, focus on social groups that are related to infected individual deer and locally reduce deer densities – is no longer an effective strategy. 

Those zones are located south of Winona and mostly in Filmore County. 

In the release, DNR officials explain that when the presence of CWD …