In an unusual move, a special deer hunt will be held this winter in northwestern Minnesota to reduce deer densities there because of bovine tuberculosis.

And after the 16-day hunt, federal sharpshooters will again be brought in to further reduce deer numbers.

The action announced Tuesday comes after three more deer - out of 1,100 deer killed by hunters this fall - tested positive for the disease. That brings the total of infected wild deer to 13 since surveillance began in 2005, when the disease was first discovered there in cattle.

Since then, eight infected cattle herds in Roseau and Beltrami counties have been destroyed.

The special 16-day deer hunt will occur Dec. 29-Jan. 13 in deer Permit Area 101, which is near Skime, Minn.

"To my knowledge, we've never reopened the deer season for this reason," said Lou Cornicelli, Department of Natural Resources big game supervisor.

"The goal is to dramatically lower deer densities in these areas both to protect the wild deer herd and to reduce possible risk to cattle herds," Cornicelli said.

Few deer that will be killed by hunters should be infected, meaning they will be safe to eat, Cornicelli said. Even infected animals would be safe to eat as long as they are cooked to 170 degrees, he said. DNR officials will staff registration stations there on the weekends to examine deer for bovine TB.

Cornicelli said he had no idea how many hunters will participate, but said about 500 hunted there in a special antlerless hunt in October. "It's 350 miles from the Twin Cities, so I don't expect to draw a lot of folks from around the state," he said.

Also, much of the zone includes private land, so hunters will need landowner permission in those areas. Some public lands are in the zone.

Hunters can use any 2007 license or permit from any zone. They can also buy additional disease management permits for $2.50, or deer also can be tagged with any remaining unused tags from the 2007 season.

So far, about 1,400 deer have been killed in the 450-square-mile area this fall.