CWD found in Portage, Vilas counties
Chronic wasting disease made more headlines last week in Wisconsin with the announcements of the first finding of the fatal deer disease in a wild whitetail in Vilas County and, on the captive side, at yet another large deer farm, this one in Portage County.
The Department of Natural Resources on Friday confirmed a deer killed this season by a hunter in the Town of Lincoln near Eagle River was CWD-positive.
It's the first finding of a wild deer with the disease in Vilas County, but CWD was first documented in that part of northern Wisconsin in 2015 at nearby Three Lakes Trophy Ranch LLC, a shooting preserve in Three Lakes.
And in September the disease was also detected at a Vilas County deer farm holding 250 whitetails on 600 acres, according to state agriculture officials.
CWD is fatal to deer but has not been found to cause illness in livestock or humans. Health officials do not recommend humans consume meat from a CWD-positive animal.
As required by state law, the CWD finding near Eagle River renews a threeyear baiting and feeding ban in Vilas County as well as a two-year ban in Forest County, as the deer was harvested within 10 miles of the border between the counties.
Oneida County is also within 10 miles of the Vilas positive location but is already under a longer three-year baiting and feeding ban due to a positive CWD detection at a deer farm in that county earlier this year.
In a statement, the DNR asked deer hunters in Vilas, Forest and Oneida counties to assist with CWD surveillance efforts and have deer they kill tested for the disease.
The agency also said it will work with Vilas County Deer Advisory Council to schedule a meeting in January to discuss response actions to the disease finding. Members of the public will be invited to attend this meeting and will have the opportunity to provide input.
Also on Friday the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced CWD was detected in a 4-year-old buck and a 9-year-old doe at Wilderness Preserve, a shooting ranch in Rosholt.
As a result of the findings, DATCP has put the Portage County facility under quarantine while an epidemiological investigation is conducted by DATCP and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarians and staff.
Wilderness Preserve has about 370 deer on its 200-acre property, according to DATCP.
It's the seventh captive deer facility in Wisconsin to be quarantined this year for a new CWD detection. The others were in Eau Claire, Langlade, Outagamie, Sauk, Taylor and Vilas counties.
Wisconsin has 301 registered deer farms and 35 are CWD-positive, according to state data. Nineteen have been depopulated and indemnity paid to the owners.
In Wisconsin DATCP regulates deer farms for registration, record keeping, disease testing, movement, and permit requirements, while the DNR monitors the fences around deer farms as well as enforces regulations pertaining to wild deer in the rest of the state.
CWD bill advances
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Research Act on a bipartisan 393 to 33 vote Dec. 8.
Authored by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and Glenn Thompson, R-Penn., the legislation would invest $70 million annually from 2022-28 in the fight to contain the fatal deer disease.
The bill would allocate $35 million of annual spending on research and $35 million on management.
Focus areas would include improved testing methods on live and dead deer, genetic resistance to CWD and sustainable harvest management practices to reduce disease occurrence.
The Senate must now introduce and pass a companion bill as well as the president sign the measure before the legislation could be enacted.