Wisconsin's gun deer hunting season down slightly following opening weekend

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- We're almost halfway through Wisconsin's gun deer hunting season, and on Tuesday, Nov. 23 we got an update from the DNR on how the season is going so far.

During opening weekend of the hunt, license sales were down slightly from the same time last year, and the deer harvest for the first two days was down about 14%.

Weather conditions may have played a role. It was a good day for hunting Saturday, but a stormy day in parts of the state Sunday.

One of the experts was asked about reports of deer infected with Covid and whether hunters should be concerned about eating the deer meat.

"We have no evidence that people can get Covid-19 from eating food or consuming meat, including wild game meat," said Wisconsin DHS Epidemiologist Rachel Klos. "So I think the thing is just to emphasize many of the same things we always recommend."

Those recommendations include avoiding contamination while processing the deer, keeping the meat cool and cooking the meat thoroughly. 

The DNR's website has additional information. You can find that here.