Natural Resources Board Gets CWD Update

Saturday, May 27th, 2023 -- 10:30 AM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) -The number of deer that tested positive for chronic wasting disease grew by roughly 12 percent last year from 2021.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released the sampling results as part of an update on the deadly deer disease at a Wednesday meeting of the Natural Resources Board. CWD attacks the brains of deer and other animals, causing drastic weight loss and death over time. In 2022, the agency sampled 17,187 deer for chronic wasting disease, which was first detected in the state near Mt. Horeb in 2002. The results showed 1,492 deer tested positive for the disease. Prior to last year, the agency found 1,327 deer tested positive for CWD out of 17,147 deer sampled in 2021. "In southwest Wisconsin, we've seen significant growth in prevalence and distribution of the disease since it was first detected," said DNR Wildlife Health Section Supervisor Jasmine Batten. The vast majority of deer that tested positive for the disease were sampled in southern Wisconsin, including in Richland, Iowa, Sauk and Dane counties. Sampling last year in those counties shows a higher prevalence of the disease with roughly anywhere from 20 to 28 percent of deer testing positive for CWD. The DNR has said a number of factors can affect the number and distribution of CWD samples, including its surveillance plan and hunter interest. The response time to receive results improved from an average of 19 days in 2021 due to staffing issues and the COVID-19 pandemic to almost 17 days last year.

Wisconsin now has at least 60 counties that the DNR considers CWD-affected. In the last year, the agency said it’s seen eight new detections in wild deer and two new detections in farm-raised deer in Dodge and Lincoln counties. The disease has raised concerns among hunters, tribes, lawmakers and deer farm owners about the health of the state’s wild deer herd and captive deer. Hunting contributes about $2.5 billion to the state’s economy with the vast majority of that stemming from big game animals like deer. The disease can spread through contact with saliva, urine or feces of an infected deer. It can also be spread by movement of the disease's misfolded protein or infected deer from one location to another. Last year, the state saw more self-service kiosks to submit deer heads for testing and more dumpsters to dispose of deer to help slow the spread of CWD. The state and partners provided 160 sites for deer carcass disposal.

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