A small Sherburne County white-tailed deer farm has been released from quarantine after CWD was not-detected during a Minnesota Board of Animal Health investigation.
The Sherburne County farm received animals from a Taylor County, Wisconsin farm in October 2017. In August 2021, Wisconsin animal health officials notified the Board that an animal from the Taylor County farm tested positive for CWD. The Board immediately conducted an investigation and quarantined any living animals moved to Minnesota that may have been exposed to CWD. The following is a summary of what the Board uncovered during its investigation and actions taken to mitigate the spread of CWD.
- The Sherburne County herd received three does from a breeding herd in Taylor County Wisconsin in October 2017. When the Wisconsin farm tested positive for CWD the does were immediately considered CWD exposed and the Board quarantined the entire herd.
- Only one of the three CWD exposed does from the 2017 import was alive when the Board investigated. The other two does were both harvested on the farm earlier this year and tested not-detected for CWD.
- The owner of the Sherburne County herd requested federal indemnity to have the exposed five-year-old doe CWD tested and it was killed and sampled in October.
- Results were confirmed and reported to the Board by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories on Nov. 3. CWD was not detected.
- The quarantine was released on Nov. 4.
The producer successfully CWD-tested every deer death in the herd over the age of 12 months since March 2016. Annual inspections reflect secure fencing and cooperation to quickly rectify record keeping discrepancies with the Board. There are no documented compliance actions against this herd and no record of escapes.
Categories: Minnesota, General, Livestock, Rural Lifestyle