Wild Deer Tests Positive for CWD in Shawano County

Monday, December 12th, 2022 -- 8:00 AM

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirms a wild deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in southwestern Shawano County in the town of Germania.

The deer was a 4-5-year-old hunter-harvested buck taken during the 2022 archery deer season. This is the second confirmed wild deer CWD-positive case in Shawano County.

As required by state law, the DNR enacts 3-year baiting and feeding bans in counties where CWD has been detected and 2-year bans in adjoining counties that lie within 10 miles of a CWD detection.

The recent detection of CWD in Shawano County results in the renewal of the 3-year baiting and feeding ban in Shawano County and the renewal of the 2-year baiting and feeding ban in both Waupaca and Marathon counties.

Baiting or feeding deer encourages them to congregate unnaturally around a shared food source where sick deer can spread CWD through direct contact with healthy deer or by leaving behind infectious prions in their bodily secretions.

The DNR asks deer hunters in Shawano, Waupaca, Marathon and Portage counties to assist with efforts to identify where CWD is present on the landscape. Those harvesting deer within 10 miles of the newly detected positive case are especially encouraged to have their deer tested.

The collection of CWD samples is essential for assessing the presence of CWD in the deer population across the state. In addition to submitting samples for CWD testing, hunters are also encouraged to properly dispose of deer carcass waste by locating a designated dumpster, transfer station or landfill location near you on the DNR website.

Proper carcass disposal helps slow the spread of CWD by removing potentially infected deer carcasses from the landscape. CWD is a fatal, infectious nervous system disease of deer, moose, elk and reindeer/caribou.

It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. The Wisconsin DNR began monitoring the state's wild white-tailed deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positives were found in 2002.

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