Managing Bovine Tuberculosis in Minnesota’s Wild Deer
Updates:
History
Since 2005, bovine tuberculosis (TB) – a progressive and chronic bacterial disease that primarily affects cattle, but also wildlife – has been found in 12 cattle operations and 26 free-ranging deer in northwestern Minnesota.
To date, all infected deer have been animals born during or before 2005 and taken within five miles of a cluster of four bovine TB-infected cattle farms. The disease is a serious concern, not only because of the obvious harmful effects on animal health, but also due to the negative impacts to livestock producers, landowners, residents, hunters and businesses.
Hunters: We Need Your HelpYour participation in the DNR's sampling program in Deer Permit Area 101 is vitally important. Let us take a few minutes to remove samples from deer harvested there. It's a quick process and provides valuable information about the status of this disease and distribution in local deer populations. Take your deer to the Riverfront Store in Wannaska or another deer registration station within permit area 101. You'll receive a DNR Cooperator patch and be entered into a firearms raffle sponsored by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. Your assistance during deer season helps reduce the number of deer that USDA ground sharpshooters will take this winter. |
Bovine TB has already cost the state and industry millions of dollars. If not eradicated, the disease could become endemic, increasing the associated costs exponentially.
Disease Surveillance & Eradication
There are currently no effective vaccines or medications for bovine TB in animals. The most effective method of disease control is eradication of infected animals. For this reason, all infected cattle herds have been depopulated.
In the case of wildlife, it is unrealistic to try to eliminate every wild deer or prevent deer from repopulating the affected area. Instead, the goal is to temporarily reduce the deer population in the area, thereby decreasing the likelihood of deer-to-deer contact and disease transmission, and eliminating infected deer in the process.
Deer: Disease surveillance in deer is ongoing and has been conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) since 2005. The DNR also has employed a number of deer reduction strategies in and around the TB Management Zone, including liberalized and special hunting seasons, landowner/tenant deer shooting permits and contracted sharpshooting.
Elk: The DNR also has surveyed and tested elk from the herd that is in the vicinity of the TB Management Zone, as well as the herd in Kittson County. To date, no elk have been found with the disease.
Progress & Success
Minnesota has taken aggressive action to eradicate bovine TB from the state's livestock and wildlife. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of state and federal agencies, cattle producers, hunters and landowners, the prevalence of bovine TB remains low and is confined to a relatively small geographical area. Test results for the 2008 fall surveillance shown that none of the hunter-harvested deer tested positive for TB. However, deer removal efforts in the TB Core during February-April 2009 did detect two new cases of TB. Both deer were 7 years old.
The DNR will continue to put pressure on the deer herd. Future deer management will be based upon ongoing assessments until bovine TB is eliminated. Based on a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the State of Minnesota, the DNR is committed to conducting surveillance for bovine TB in free-ranging deer in northwest Minnesota for the next five years. If no positive deer are found in that time, TB will be considered to have reached an undetectable level in the state.
DNR Plans for 2009-2010
- Fall 2009: Sample collection during early anterless and regular firearms seasons. DNR is staffing 23 registration stations in northwestern Minnesota to collect samples during the regular firearms season.
- January 2010: A special hunt likely will be implemented. A final decision will be made after outcome of fall surveillance efforts have been determined.
- February 2010: Aerial survey of the Bovine TB core area will be conducted. Ground sharpshooting by USDA WIldlife Services will occur, the level of which depends on the outcome of fall surveillance efforts.
- Fall 2010: Sample collection will occur during hunting seasons.
