New Chronic Wasting Disease Case Reported In Wisconsin

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, infectious neurological disease affecting deer, moose, elk, and reindeer/caribou. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also referred to as prion diseases.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources began monitoring the state's wild white-tailed deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positives were found in 2002.

Hunters in Wisconsin are encouraged to test deer for CWD. The disease significantly reduces deer survival rates, especially for infected females and males, leading to population declines. Infected deer show loss of fear, coordination, drooling, and emaciation, which makes them vulnerable.

If it is found in a Wisconsin county, the DNR imposes immediate restrictions, including a ban on feeding and baiting deer in that county, along with shorter bans in adjacent counties, to stop the spread.

Unfortunately, a new case of CWD has been reported in a county that already had restrictions in place, so a new ban will be implemented.

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Chronic Wasting Disease Reported In Southwestern Wisconsin

La Crosse County, located in the Driftless Region of southwestern Wisconsin, was currently under a two-year deer feeding ban because chronic wasting disease had been discovered in nearby Vernon County.

Now, the Wisconsin DNR has confirmed the first positive test result for the disease in a wild deer within La Crosse County. The deer was a hunter-harvested adult buck and was harvested within 10 miles of both the Monroe and Vernon County borders.

What Happens Next In Lacrosse And Nearby Counties?

Wisconsin state law requires that the DNR enact a 3-year baiting and feeding ban in counties where CWD has been detected, as well as a two-year ban in adjoining counties within 10 miles of a CWD detection.

If additional CWD cases are found during the lifetime of a baiting and feeding ban, the ban will renew for an additional two or three years. Therefore, this new detection will cause the following:

• La Crosse County was under a 2-year baiting and feeding ban before this detection. That ban will be extended for another three years, and it will reset following any future detections, as required by state law.
• Monroe and Vernon counties currently have 3-year baiting and feeding bans in place for positive detections within each respective county. This detection will not impact those counties.

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The DNR notes that baiting or feeding deer encourages them to congregate unnaturally around a shared food source, where infected deer can spread CWD through direct contact with healthy deer or indirectly by leaving behind infectious prions in their saliva, blood, feces, and urine. You can find additional information regarding baiting and feeding regulations on the DNR’s Baiting and Feeding webpage.