Minnesota's New Deer Hunting Regulations: managing CWD, shotgun zone updates, and a new license system

One key change is that this year carcasses are allowed to leave the CWD management zone, provided a few things happen.

"Either when they're done processing a deer, that carcass goes into a sanitary landfill or in their trash bin, if you will," Dave Trauba with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says. "At the end of your driveway, or you're taking that deer to a meat processor."

Hunters are also encouraged to purchase a permit early through a modernized electronic licensing system.

"I don't want hunters to wait the day before the deer season when we have a high volume of traffic and demand, a few hundred thousand people into the system, right? So if they experience any kind of technical difficulties, they have plenty of time to work through that," adds Trauba.

The new regulations go into effect this Saturday, including the elimination of the state’s shotgun zone, with some county-enacted exceptions.

As of today, 13 counties have ordinances to remain in that zone, while others will now allow rifles to be used. Established in 1942, the original zone restricted southern and western farmland hunters to shotguns, muzzleloaders, and handguns to manage low deer numbers.

But Trauba says deer populations are not a concern.

"What I tell our hunters is, even though rifles are allowed to be used, you can still use your shotgun," says Trauba. "You don't have to go out and buy a rifle if you will. And from a deer population standpoint, we are not concerned with the health of our deer herd with this law change."

You can see the new Minnesota hunting and trapping booklet here.