Favorable weather and a large deer population helped Minnesota hunters bag 9% more whitetails last season than they did in 2024, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
The agency’s state report wasn’t all upbeat: It said chronic wasting disease (CWD) was detected in 117 deer during mandatory testing of nearly 14,000, the highest number of cases yet in Minnesota. Test results could reveal new cases, the DNR added. Deer permit area 646, located near Winona and under CWD management, had the most positives with 44.
Most of the brain disease cases were in the southeast, where they’ve been concentrated since CWD first was reported in 2002.
Erik Hildebrand, the DNR’s wildlife health supervisor, told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an email that he anticipates more cases in future years, “especially in deer permits areas that are in our endemic phase.”
The DNR report added that a buck taken in deer permit area 285 between Glencoe and Hutchinson tested positive. The area is near metro-area CWD management zones (deer permit areas 601 and 605).
Overall, hunters took 186,203 deer, with roughly half over the first two weekends of firearms season in November. In 2024, the total harvest was 170,679 deer, a slight increase from 2023.
“We had a great deer harvest in most areas of the state this year,” said David Trauba, DNR wildlife section manager, in a news release.
A 14% increase in deer harvested in northeast Minnesota compared with 2024 was the largest of all the regions, the agency said, adding that back-to-back mild winters boosted the herd and success rate.
