COOKED BOVINE TB DEER MEAT IS SAFE

DNR Wildlife Program Coordinator Lou Cornicelli said bovine tuberculosis is a bacteria like e-coli and "if you cook the animal, you have very low risk of getting sick," and very few people have gotten sick from eating the tainted meat. The DNR has authorized another deer hunt in Northwestern Minnesota, an area where three deer carcasses were found with the disease this fall. The season begin in late December and hunters can use any 2007 license. Cornicelli said the danger to humans occurs whtn it travels to dairy herds because the disease can be transmitted in unpasteurized milk. Eight cattle herds in Rosseau and Beltrami Counties have been identified as infected.