Authorities Eliminate Farm Deer and Close Farms for Chronic Wasting

A herd of deer on a Minnesota farm infected with chronic debilitating disease (CDD) was euthanized by the authorities.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced Wednesday that Trophy Woods Ranch deer at Merrifield have been "depopulated".

The 112-acre farm deer, infected by the MDC since at least 2016, have been wiped out by snipers, reported Star Tribune.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health will work with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to collect samples from the deer to test the presence of CWD.

"We plan to receive the results of the pet dog screening tests from the USDA National Veterinary Services laboratory in the coming weeks," said Dr. Linda Glaser, Deputy Director of the Animal Health Council.

"We have already developed a herd plan with the owner on how to manage the property now that the deer have disappeared. At this stage, the positive results of CWD do not alter our response to the disease, as we already know that the site contains positive deer for CWD and treat them as such. "

MDC is a deadly disease that affects the deer family (including moose and elk) and causes brain damage, weight loss, behavioral difficulties, abnormal behavior and possibly death.

The contagious disease has no treatment or vaccine and would be transmitted through stool, urine or saliva, but there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to humans.

The Crow Wing County deer herd was the only positive CWD farm in the state operating on a herd plan with live animals.

Kevin Schmidt, the farm's owner, who has agreed to have more than 100 deer euthanized on the farm, has received compensation from the USDA as part of his larger disease control efforts.