Fillmore County, MN (KROC AM News) - A deer taken during the opening weekend of archery season in southeast Minnesota’s disease management zone tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The Department of Natural Resources is reporting that a hunter harvested the adult male deer about 1 mile east of Preston in the center of the CWD management zone, bringing the number 18 deer that have tested positive for CWD in that zone since 2016.

“This discovery highlights the importance and necessity of our disease surveillance efforts, and we’re appreciative of hunters’ willingness to help us combat CWD by complying with mandatory sampling regulations and carcass movement restrictions,” said Lou Cornicelli, wildlife research manager for the DNR.

Complete CWD test results are available on the DNR website, and any additional deer harvested during the current and upcoming 2018 deer season that test positive for CWD will be posted on the CWD results page.

The DNR has also partnered with Bluffland Whitetails Association to provide a tent in Preston where hunters can quarter their deer and properly dispose of remains. Hunters who properly quarter deer can take whole quarters with the main leg bone in it or boned-out meat from a harvested deer out of the CWD management zone immediately, as long as the head or spinal column is not attached prior to receiving test results.

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