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Chronic wasting disease reaches endemic threshold in part of southeastern Minnesota

On Jan. 9, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources declared chronic wasting disease endemic in southeast Minnesota after prevalence in permit zones 646, 647 and 648 rose to 5.95%.
Researchers say the rise reflects prions persisting on the landscape for 10 or more years, and landowners in the three affected permit zones participated at about 10%, far below the 50% needed, reducing culling effectiveness.
State testing showed Minnesota recorded 121 positives from nearly 14,000 samples during the 2025 deer seasons, supported by nearly 3,700 partner samples and more than 1,000 hunter mail-ins.
State officials said they must determine new management approaches for Minnesota hunters while highlighting Deer Permit Area 604's five-year record of zero positives, and stakeholders noted Wisconsin's different strategies.
Regionally, the highest prevalence stretches from Madison in central Wisconsin to southeast Minnesota, with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reporting 2,011 positives in 2025; experts stress CWD is always fatal and caused by persistent prions.

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Chronic wasting disease reaches endemic threshold in part of southeastern Minnesota

BROOKLYN CENTER — Chronic wasting disease has reached the endemic stage in the southeast corner of Minnesota. It means that targeted culling no longer works in three of the deer permit zones at the center of its spread. Minnesota received 121 positive results from nearly 14,000 samples analyzed from across the state during the 2025 deer seasons, a 26% increase in positives from the previous year, according to Seth Goreham, a wildlife researcher …

3 days ago·Cherokee County, United States

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