GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – The executive director of the Minnesota Hunters Association, Craig Engwall, said the looming possibility of Covid infections in Minnesota deer is a “real issue.” It’s already at plague proportions in Iowa herds. Even so, Engwall said, his primary concern at the moment is so-called Deer Zombie Disease, also known as chronic-wasting disease, which already is rampant in southeast Minnesota and also some areas father north. About Covid, he said, trans-species infections probably are an animal issue more than solely a deer issue. For both maladies he encouraged hunters to be careful: “We want people to go out and have fun hunting, be safe while you hun and be safe when you’re hopefully cleaning your deer.”
Engwall. The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has 2,000 members.