The Crow Wing County Landfill will be open on select Saturdays and Sundays in November to give hunters during Deer Firearm Season more options to dispose of their deer carcasses in an effort to reduce the chances of Chronic Wasting Disease spreading in Crow Wing County.

Disposing of deer carcasses at Crow Wing County Landfill is free of charge. The landfill will open during these select hours for the disposal of deer carcass only:

• Saturday, November 9th and Sunday, November 10th
• Saturday, November 16th and Sunday, November 17th
• Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th

“The more carcasses that are brought into the Landfill and disposed of in a responsible manner, the less likely that CWD is further spread across the landscape”, said Environmental Services Supervisor Ryan Simonson.

“Deer carcasses may be incinerated or placed in strategic locations within the Landfill to minimize disposal risk, so it is very important
that carcasses are brought in separately from other garbage,” said Simonson.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease affecting the cervid family – deer, elk, moose, reindeer, and caribou. It causes characteristic spongy degeneration in the brain of an infected animal, which culminates in their death. It is spread when a cervid comes into contact with prions (defective proteins) from an infected animal. Prions from an infected animal are spread on the landscape through deposits of saliva or other bodily fluids; and, they are known to survive in the soils for multiple years waiting to infect another cervid.

Citizens are encouraged to contact the Environmental Services Solid Waste Office at (218) 824-1290 or for more information on Chronic Wasting Disease, please visit the Crow Wing County’s Web site at http://crowwing.us/1566/Chronic-Wasting-Disease.

By — Chaz Mootz