Madison, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed the first positive test result for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild deer in Polk County. The deer was taken in the town of Apple River and is located 10 miles from the Barron County line.
This detection will have the following consequences:
- Polk will begin a three-year baiting and feeding ban on December 1, 2023.
- Barron will renew the existing ban.
A deer is a 3-year-old doe that has been shot by a hunter.
The DNR and Polk County Deer Advisory Board will host a public meeting on Thursday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m. Complete information can be found below.
DNR staff will provide information about chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin, local chronic wasting disease testing efforts and disease surveillance options being considered.
State law requires the DNR to impose a three-year baiting and feeding ban in counties where CWD is detected, as well as a two-year ban in neighboring counties within 10 miles of where CWD is detected. If additional CWD cases are detected during the baiting and feeding ban, the ban would be extended for another two or three years.
The DNR also reminds the public that it is illegal to hunt in an area where bait and feed have previously been legally placed until the area has been completely free of bait or feed for 10 consecutive days.
Baiting or feeding deer causes them to congregate unnaturally around a common food source, allowing infected deer to spread chronic wasting disease through direct contact with well deer or by shedding infectious prions in their saliva, blood, feces and urine.
More information on baiting and feeding regulations can be found on the DNR website A website dedicated to baiting and feeding.
Hunters can assist
The DNR is asking Polk County deer hunters to assist identify CWD hotspots on the landscape by testing deer for the disease. CWD sampling is vital to assessing the presence of CWD in the statewide deer population.
In addition to submitting samples for chronic wasting disease testing, hunters are also encouraged to properly dispose of deer carcass waste by finding a designated trash container, transfer station or landfill. Proper carcass disposal helps ponderous the spread of chronic wasting disease by removing potentially infected deer carcasses from the landscape. A map of chronic wasting disease sampling and carcass disposal locations is available from the DNR CWD Sampling Website.
CWD is a fatal, infectious disease of the nervous system in deer, elk, elk, and reindeer/caribou. It belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. The DNR began monitoring the state’s wild deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positive results were found in 2002.
More general information about chronic wasting disease can be found on the DNR website CWD website.
EVENT DETAILS:
What: Public meeting on chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin and local testing efforts for chronic wasting disease
When: November 9th at 5:30 PM
Where: Polk County Government Center
Conference room west (2and floor) 100 Polk County Plaza, Balsam Lake, WI 54810
