Field & Stream published an online article on April 18, 2024: Study Suggests Possible Link Between CWD and Fatal Human Disease --- But with Many Open Questions. 

 

The article examines a study published April 9, 2024 in the journal Neurology: Two Hunters from the Same Lodge Afflicted with Sporadic CJD: Is Chronic Wasting Disease to Blame? 

 

The study does not disclose the location where the two hunters hunted, but the Field & Stream article mentions that, "Some counties in southern Wisconsin have CWD prevalence rates as high as 28% in tested deer, but the rate is much lower than that elsewhere ..."

 

The CDC reports that as of March 2024, Wisconsin is tied with Nebraska for the second highest number of counties with reported CWD in free-ranging cervids. Kansas has 49 infected counties, and Wisconsin and Nebraska both have 43 infected counties. The CDC's map of CWD-infected counties in the US should be of particular interest to anyone and everyone who hunts deer in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Legislature should find it of interest as well.

 

 

CWD infects deer, elk and moose. CWD can be highly transmissible within deer and elk populations. The mode of transmission is not fully understood, but evidence supports the possibility that CWD is spread through direct animal-to-animal contact or as a result of indirect exposure to prions in the environment, e.g. contaminated feed and water sources.

 

Read about the Southwest Wisconsin CWD, Deer, and Predator Study which began in the fall of 2016 here. 

 

"Identifying Animals at Risk from CWD". A raccoon family feeds on a deer carcass staked out by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, in a study aimed at determining which species could be at risk of contracting CWD. University of Wisconsin-Madison.  (Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Wisconsin-Madison.)

Most Wisconsinites know that deer hunting in Wisconsin is big business, but far fewer are aware of the captive cervid industry in Wisconsin.

 

These facilities are commonly known as “deer farms”. Wisconsin has 231 registered deer farms (the list is updated annually during the license renewal process) 52 of which are hunting ranches. The deer are used for two purposes, breeding and hunting.

 

You can read the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) 8/27/24  list of "Registered Deer Farms" here and the 8/27/24 list of "Registered Hunting Preserves" here.

 

According to the DATCP website, as of January 2025 there are 15 hunting ranches currently infected with CWD in operation and eight deer farms currently infected with CWD in operation.

 

DATCP's website lists the CWD positives in farm-raised deer since 2002 by county as of January 15, 2025. Read the list here.

  

According to the DATCP website, as of September 24, 2024, the number of farms with a positive CWD test since 2001 is 46 and the number of herds “depopulated” (killed) since 2001 as a result of a CWD positive deer is 24.

 

2020: CWD positives were found in captive cervid facilities in the following counties: Marathon, Oneida, Iowa, Oconto, Shawano, Marinette, Forest, Trempealeau, and Burnett.

 

2021:

 

January 2021: CWD positive samples were found in farm-raised deer in Oconto and Shawano counties. 

August 11, 2021:  DATCP issued a press release confirming that deer farms in Sauk and Taylor counties tested positive for CWD.

September 1, 2021: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a deer farm in Langlade County tested positive for CWD.

September 2, 2021: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a deer farm in Outagamie County tested positive for CWD.

September 29, 2021: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a deer farm in Vilas County tested positive for CWD. The DATCP has quarantined the approximately 250 white-tailed deer at the 600-acre farm.

November 9, 2021: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a white-tailed deer from an Eau Claire County hunting ranch tested positive for CWD. The hunting ranch was confirmed to have received the deer from a Waukesha County deer farm which has also been placed under quarantine.

December 17, 2021: DATCP issued a press release confirming that two white-tailed deer at a Portage County hunting ranch have tested positive for CWD. The 200-acre hunting ranch and its herd of approximately 370 deer are under quarantine.

 

2022: 

 

February 10, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that two white-tailed deer at a Waukesha County deer farm tested have positive for CWD.

May 18, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a white-tailed deer at a Walworth County hobby farm has tested positive for CWD.

June 17, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a Langlade County deer farm that tested positive for CWD in 2021 has been depopulated. The farm owner will receive a federal indemnity payment.

August 16, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that the Waukesha County deer farm that tested positive for CWD in February 2022 (see above) has been depopulated. The farm owner will receive a federal indemnity payment. 

August 25, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that the Taylor County deer farm that tested positive for CWD in August 2021(see above) has been depopulated. The farm owner will receive a federal indemnity payment.

October 5, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a white-tailed buck at a Vernon County deer farm has tested positive for CWD.

November 18, 2022: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a white-tailed buck at a Lincoln County deer farm has tested positive for CWD.  State law requires that the DNR enact a ban on baiting and feeding of deer in counties or portions of counties within a 10-mile radius of a farm-raised or free-roaming domestic or wild animal that tests positive for CWD. This CWD detection creates a three-year feeding and baiting ban in Lincoln County which goes into effect December 12, 2022.

 

2023:

 

February 3, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that the Vernon County deer farm that tested positive for CWD in September 2022 (see above) has been depopulated. Of the 32 deer killed, four tested positive for CWD. The farm owner will receive indemnity payment(s) for the killed deer.

May 12, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a Dodge County deer farm tested positive for CWD. The eight-acre farm has been placed under quarantine. 

May 30, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a Sauk County deer farm tested positive for CWD. The 22-acre farm has been placed under quarantine.

August 31, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a Washburn County deer farm tested positive for CWD. The 150-acre farm has been placed under quarantine. Because this positive result is within 10 miles of the Barron, Rusk, and Sawyer county borders, the law requires that new baiting and feeding bans go into effect in Washburn, Barron, Rusk and Sawyer counties. The bans are effective 10/5/23.

September 21, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a Rock County deer farm tested positive for CWD. The farm has been placed under quarantine.

October 11, 2023: DNR was recently notified by the DATCP that a farm-raised deer on a deer farm in Outagamie County tested positive for CWD. This detection will cause the following: beginning 10/13/23 a two-year feeding and baiting ban in Calumet County, a renewal of the ban in Outagamie County that is already in place. 

November 8, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that an Oneida County deer farm tested positive for CWD. The farm has been placed under quarantine.

December 20, 2023: DATCP issued a press release confirming that the Dodge County deer farm that tested positive for CWD in May, 2023 (see above) has been depopulated. The 172 animals on the eight-acre farm were killed by USDA Wildlife Services. The farm owner will receive a federal indemnity payment for the killed animals.

 

2024:

 

January 25, 2024: DATCP issued a press release confirming that a Sheboygan County deer farm has tested positive for CWD. The farm has been placed under quarantine. This positive result is within 10 miles of the Ozaukee, Washington, and Fon du Lac county borders resulting in a new baiting and feeding ban going into effect in Ozaukee County on February 15, 2024, and Sheboygan, Fon du Lac, and Washington counties renewing the feeding and baiting bans already in place.

 

2025:

 

February 25, 2025: DNR issued a news release that it had been recently notified by DATCP that a farm-raised deer on a deer farm in Eau Claire County tested positive for CWD. This detection will cause a two-year baiting and feeding ban in Clark County to go into effect on March 1, 2025.  

 

All captive deer facilities must be fenced. If whitetail deer are in the registered herd, a fencing certificate must be obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DATCP oversees all other aspects of captive deer facilities.

 

STATE/FEDERAL INDEMNITY PAYMENTS TO CAPTIVE DEER FACILITIES FOR CWD INFECTED DEER

 

Wisconsin law provides that when an infected captive deer facility is depopulated, the facility owner can be reimbursed not more than $1,500 per animal unless the owner disposes of the deer carcass as directed by the DATCP. In that case, the facility owner can be reimbursed more than $1,500 per animal.

 

Note that Wisconsin statutes provide that the maximum wild animal protection surcharge for the unlawful killing, wounding, catching, taking, trapping, or possession of a deer in Wisconsin is $43.75. Yes, that's forty-three dollars and seventy-five cents.

 

DATCP reports that the following state indemnity payments were made to Wisconsin deer farm owners for the years 2002 through 2023:

 

2003: $145,676

2004: $  15,924

2006: $  52,106

2007: $    6,386

2009: $    1,400

2010: $    1,091

2015: $  73,000

2016: $298,770

2018: $136,040

2019: $104,000

2020: $175,483

2021: $ 0

2022: $ 0

2023: $ 0

 

USDA/APHIS reports that the following federal indemnity payments were made to Wisconsin deer farm owners for the fiscal years 2002 through 2024:

 

2003: $288,350*      

2004: $    6,204*

2005: $173,124*

2006: $160,204*

2009: $  50,476*

2015: $  27,611*

2016: $  0*

2017: $  0*

2018: $128,155*

2019: $142,030*

2020: $    7,251*

2021: $  77,250*

2022: $ 367,000

2023: $ 355,320

2024: $0

 

*USDA/APHIS reports that the agency is only required to retain records for five years, and that these "numbers may be incomplete since the records are past their required retention date and some may have been deleted once the retention period expired."

 

 

October 29, 2021: WI DNR confirmed that a wild deer tested positive for CWD in Fon du Lac County. This is the first time a wild deer tested positive for CWD in Fon du Lac County.

 

November 11, 2021: DNR's Wisconsin CWD Fall 2021 Update states that there are currently 60 Wisconsin CWD-affected counties, including 34 counties with at least one CWD positive detection in the wild deer herd. Ozaukee, Winnebago, and Taylor counties were added as new CWD affected counties in 2021.

 

December 17, 2021: DNR confirmed that a wild deer tested positive for CWD in Vilas County. This is the first confirmed wild positive case of CWD in Vilas County. 

 

January 11, 2022: DNR confirmed that two wild deer harvested in Monroe County tested positive for CWD. These are the first confirmed wild positive cases of CWD in Monroe County. Per state law, the DNR will renew a three-year feeding and baiting ban in Monroe County.

 

January 11, 2022: DNR confirmed that a wild deer harvested in Oconto County tested positive for CWD. This is the first confirmed wild positive case of CWD in Oconto County. Per state law, this finding will affect feeding and baiting bans in Oconto and Menominee Counties. Shawano County is already under a feeding and baiting ban due to a positive CWD detection at a captive deer farm earlier this year.

 

December 9, 2022: DNR confirmed that a second wild deer harvested in Shawano County tested positive for CWD. As required by state law, the DNR will renew a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Shawano County and renew two-year baiting and feeding bans in both Waupaca and Marathon counties.

 

December 29, 2022: DNR confirmed that a wild deer harvested in Buffalo County tested positive for CWD. This is the first confirmed wild positive case of CWD in Buffalo County. Deer baiting and feeding have been banned in Buffalo County since 2018 due to CWD detections in adjacent counties. As required by state law, the DNR will renew a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Buffalo County.

 

January 26, 2023: DNR confirmed that a wild deer harvested in Waupaca County tested positive for CWD. This is the first confirmed wild positive case of CWD in Waupaca County. Deer baiting and feeding have been banned in Waupaca County since 2014 initially due to CWD detections in farm-raised deer in Marathon County within 10 miles of the county border. As required by state law, the DNR will renew a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Waupaca County.

 

February 2, 2023: DNR confirmed that a second wild deer harvested in Sheboygan County tested positive for CWD. This recent CWD positive reinstates a three-year baiting and feeding ban in the county effective February 1, 2023. This recent positive also renews the two-year baiting and feeding ban already in effect in Fon du Lac County.  

 

February 8, 2023: DNR confirmed that a hunter-harvested deer in Langlade County tested positive for CWD. This is the first confirmed wild deer CWD-positive detected in Langlade County. This positive detection will affect baiting and feeding bans in Langlade, Menominee, and Oconto counties, as well as the Menominee Tribe's own baiting ban within the exterior boundaries of  the Reservation. The DNR asks local landowners and hunters to help assess the extent of CWD in southeastern Langlade County by applying for a surveillance permit. Read the press release here.

 

February 15, 2023: DNR confirmed that two hunter-harvested deer in Marathon County tested positive for CWD. The first CWD-positive wild deer was detected in Marathon County in 2019. As required by state law, the DNR renewed a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Marathon County.

 

April 17, 2023: DNR confirmed that a wild deer tested positive for CWD in Winnebago County. This is the first confirmed wild deer CWD-positive detected in Winnebago County. This recent detection of CWD will renew a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Winnebago County, as well as renew two-year baiting and feeding bans in Waushara, Green, and Fon du Lac counties.

 

May 15, 2023: DNR confirmed that a second wild deer tested positive for CWD in Wood County. The three-year-old doe was reported sick and "dispatched" by local DNR staff. This CWD positive is within 10 miles of the Portage County border. As required by state law, this positive finding will renew a three-year feeding and baiting ban in Wood County. Portage County is already under a longer three-year baiting and feeding ban due to positive detections of CWD within the county.

 

November 1, 2023: DNR confirmed that a hunter-harvested wild deer in Trempealeau County tested positive for CWD. This is the first confirmed wild deer CWD-positive detected in Trempealeau County. This detection will cause the renewal of the baiting and feeding bans already in place in Trempealeau and Jackson counties. Read how hunters in Trempealeau, Jackson, and Eau Claire counties can help here.

 

November 1, 2023: DNR confirmed that a hunter-harvested wild deer in Polk County tested positive for CWD. This is the first confirmed wild deer CWD-positive detected in Polk County. Because of this detection Polk County will begin a three-year baiting and feeding ban on 12/1/23 and Barron County will renew the ban already in place. 

 

November 30, 2023: DNR confirmed the first positive CWD test result in a wild deer harvested in Jackson County. The detection will cause a renewal of the baiting and feeding ban in Jackson County already in place. In December, a second deer tested positive for CWD in Jackson County.

 

April 11, 2024: DNR confirmed the first positive CWD test result in a wild deer in Waushara County. The

three-year-old buck was found dead in early February in the town of Wautoma. The detection will cause the renewal of the baiting and feeding ban already in place in Waushara County. 

 

April 30, 2024: DNR confirmed the first positive CWD test result in a wild deer in Pierce County. The 4-5 year old doe was sick and was "humanely dispatched" in the town of Spring Lake. The detection will cause Pierce County to begin a three-year baiting and feeding ban on May 15, 2024, a two-year baiting and feeding ban in St. Croix County to begin May 15, 2024, and a renewal of the ban in Dunn County already in place.

 

December 20, 2024: DNR confirmed the first positive CWD test result in a wild deer in Menominee County. The deer was a hunter-harvested 2-year-old buck. The detection will cause the existing ban on baiting and feeding in Menominee County to start over and last three years. Menominee County's boundaries are the same as the boundaries of the Menominee Indian Reservation. Current tribal regulations ban the baiting of deer on the reservation and the Tribe has indicated that the ban will remain in effect.

 

January 8, 2025: DNR confirmed the first positive CWD test result in a wild deer in Chippewa County. The deer was a one-year-old hunter-harvested buck. The detection will renew a 3-year baiting and feeding ban already in place in Chippewa County and will renew a 2-year baiting and feeding ban already place in Barron County. The DNR and the Chippewa County Deer Advisory Council are hosting a public meeting on 2/6/25 at 6:30 PM. At the meeting, DNR staff will provide information about CWD in Wisconsin and local testing efforts within Chippewa County.

 

January 14, 2025: DNR confirmed the first positive CWD test result in a wild deer in Manitowoc County. The deer was a one-year-old hunter-harvested buck. The detection will cause Manitowoc County to have a new state-authorized three-year baiting and feeding ban that will go into effect February 1, 2025. (Manitowoc County has a longstanding local ordinance in place prohibiting the feeding of deer.) Calumet County will renew a two-year baiting and feeding ban already in place. The DNR and Manitowoc County Deer Advisory Council are hosting a public meeting on CWD in Wisconsin and Manitowoc County testing efforts on February 4, 2025 at 6PM at the Woodland Dunes Nature Center in Two Rivers.

 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, certain experimental studies on the possibility of transmission of CWD to non-human primates raise the concern that CWD may pose a risk to people, and suggest that it is important to prevent human exposure to CWD. 

 

“Additional studies are underway to identify if any prion diseases could be occurring at a higher rate in people who are at increased risk for contact with potentially CWD-infected deer or elk meat. Because of the long time it takes before any symptoms of disease appear, scientists expect the study to take many years before they will determine what the risk, if any, of CWD is to people.” 

 

The only conclusive diagnosis of CWD involves an examination of the brain, tonsils, or lymph nodes of the animal performed after death. In areas where CWD is known to be present, the CDC recommends that hunters strongly consider having those animals tested before eating the meat (as well as recommendations for decreasing their potential risk of exposure to CWD when hunting in areas where CWD is present). The Wisconsin DNR encourages hunters who take deer in counties affected by CWD (approximately three quarters of Wisconsin's 72 counties) to have the animal tested for CWD and only consume venison from deer in which CWD is not detected.

 

 

 

 

  

April 2020: the Wisconsin Legislature failed to pass all bills listed below:

 

AB534 and SB474 required the DNR to provide self-service CWD testing kiosks where hunters may drop off deer carcass samples for testing. The bill provides $200,000 in the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium for the kiosks.

 

SB910 required the DATCP to create a financial assistance program for persons who keep farm-raised deer and who are required to erect a double fence or a solid barrier around captive deer because of CWD found in wild deer in the vicinity of captive deer.

 

AB6 and SB6 address the DNR's authority regarding the handling of deer carcasses in the field and the transport of deer carcasses.

 

AB348 and SB325 require the DNR to establish a program to award grants (of up to $5,400 per council per fiscal year) to county deer management councils for the disposal of deer carcasses.

 

AB533 and SB473 provide that the DNR may research CWD in any species of deer or elk that is present in the wild and that is not a farm-raised deer, in addition to managing and providing funding to conduct testing for CWD, which the DNR is authorized to do under current law. The bill also appropriates one million dollars annually for research and management of CWD. Current law appropriates NO money for this purpose.

 

AB535 and SB477 require the DNR to provide large metal containers where hunters may dispose of deer carcasses to be placed in locations throughout the state as determined by the DNR. The bill provides two million dollars in the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium for the carcass disposal sites. The bill also provides $100,000 for the DNR to provide education to hunters about CWD and the importance of proper carcass disposal.

 

AB39 and SB36 give judges the discretion to impose a surcharge not less than $43.75 and not more than $5,000 for the unlawful killing, wounding, catching, taking, trapping or possession of a deer in Wisconsin.