The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will open a late-season deer hunt Dec. 19 through 21 in several permit areas to help manage chronic wasting disease. To find deer permit areas covered by the hunt, visit the DNR website..

The DNR says CWD testing is voluntary this year because enough samples were collected during the regular firearms season. Hunters who want their deer tested can use self-service stations, partner sampling locations, mail-in kits, or make an appointment at a DNR office. There will be no staffed check stations during the management hunt.

Carcass movement restrictions remain in place. Hunters must quarter their deer before taking meat out of the CWD zone, and whole carcasses can’t leave the area until a “not detected” test result is confirmed. Heads may still go directly to licensed taxidermists outside the zone.

To encourage participation, the DNR is allowing flexible license use. Disease-management permits may be used on both antlered and antlerless deer, and the bag limit is five. Most hunters in last year’s late-season CWD hunt harvested one or two deer.More information, including testing details and CWD results, is available at mndnr.gov/cwd.