Chronic wasting disease found on Minnesota deer farm

ST. PAUL — A 500-deer farm in Ramsey County is under quarantine after chronic wasting disease was detected in a red deer.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health said Friday a 2-year-old female deer tested positive for the disease.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that it's the fifth time a farmed animal in the deer family has tested positive for the fatal brain and nervous system disease in the state. The most recent incident happened near Oronoco in 2009.

The board said the Department of Natural Resources will likely test wild white-tailed deer in the area this fall.

CWD was also found last fall in a wild deer shot in southeastern Minnesota. Earlier this year, the DNR reported that tests on deer taken by hunters over the fall and winter turned up no new cases in Minnesota.

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