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Earlier this week it was announced that Minnesota has halted deer importation and movement in the state.

The decision was made after it was discovered that a Wisconsin deer farm sold nearly 400 deer to 40 farms across seven states, including Minnesota, in the past five years.

This is a serious situation for Minnesota, which has introduced mandatory testing of deer taken from the hunt on the opening weekend in several zones throughout the state, including Mower County. Opening weekend is Nov. 6 in most of the state, with the opening weekend of the late season in southeastern Minnesota beginning Nov. 28.

It is a troubling situation because deer hunting is a big draw in the state, bringing in much needed revenue to local economics throughout Minnesota.

There is no cure for CWD and it is always fatal to the deer and elk. What makes it even more troubling is the approach Wisconsin takes to CWD, which is to track the spread rather than actively trying to stop it.

In our minds that doesn’t make sense because if steps aren’t taken to stop it, then all that the monitoring Wisconsin shows is only how harmful it is.

We support Minnesota’s steps in an effort to stop further spread of CWD, as so far it has affected our part of the state the most.

An Associated Press article on Monday noted that nearly all of the state’s confirmed cases among wild deer have been in southeastern Minnesota.

We hope Minnesota continues to take active steps to try and halt the spread of CWD in the state. It helps hunters and the environment at the same time.