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CWD Testing Is Mandatory in Southwest Minnesota on Deer Opener
Every deer a year or older taken November 7 and 8 in the southwest must be sampled, the first year of a statewide four-year rotation.
Hunters in southwest Minnesota will have to get every deer a year or older that they take on the firearms deer opener, Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, sampled for chronic wasting disease, the Minnesota DNR says. Mandatory sampling is new to the southwest this year.
It is the first year of a four-year rotation. The DNR has divided the state into four surveillance blocks, about a quarter of the state each: the southwest in 2026, the northwest in 2027, the northeast in 2028 and the southeast in 2029. Until now the department sampled mostly near known cases, and nearly two-thirds of the state has not had targeted surveillance in more than 20 years. Recent detections outside the existing CWD management zones prompted the change.
Hunters can get deer tested at staffed or self-service sampling stations, among other options listed by the DNR. Check the surveillance block map before the opener to see whether your hunting area is inside it.
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