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WAUSAU – The state Department of Natural Resources is again enlisting the help of deer hunters in Adams, Juneau, Portage and Marathon counties to assist in chronic wasting disease surveillance in the deer herd this fall.

“In the fall of 2012 CWD was discovered for the first time in three wild white-tailed deer in Adams, Juneau and Portage Counties” said DNR Wildlife Biologist Josh Karow. “To better define the geographic extend of CWD, we began focusing additional surveillance during the 2013 fall deer seasons within a 10-mile radius of where we found the three positive animals in 2012.”

As a result, an additional five CWD-positive wild deer were discovered in Central Wisconsin, three in Portage County and two in Adams County.

The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection reported the discovery of a CWD positive deer harvested from a captive cervid facility in Marathon County in December of 2013.

DNR continues to expand CWD surveillance in this area. Hunters can assist with surveillance efforts by having any adult deer harvested within the 10-mile focus areas in Central Wisconsin tested for CWD.

Hunters can examine these focus areas by going to the DNR website and enter “cwd sampling” in the key word search.  A map of the Central Wisconsin CWD Surveillance Areas can be found on that web page.

The archery and crossbow deer hunting seasons open Saturday.

Hunters may notice that deer registered in Adams, Juneau and Portage counties will be tagged with red metal registration tags this fall. 

These red tags will help meat processors identify that the deer was harvested within a CWD-affected county and will ensure these deer are tested for CWD before the meat is distributed through the deer donation program.  Information on the deer donation program can be found on the DNR website by entering “deer donation” in the key word search.

During the 2014 deer seasons DNR staff will work with local taxidermists and cooperators to provide collection points near or within the surveillance areas for hunters to drop off deer heads or have lymph samples removed from the deer.  The current list of Central Wisconsin cooperators is listed below.  Call ahead to ensure the cooperator will be available to sample your deer.

 

 

Hunters that harvest adult deer in the surveillance areas during the archery season can also remove the deer head with at least 3 inches of neck attached, freeze the deer head and then contact DNR staff by telephone at the numbers below and arrange to drop off their deer head at one of the three area DNR offices:

The CWD tests are free to hunters and anyone submitting a head for testing will receive their test results within 3-4 weeks.  Anyone interested in learning more about the disease can visit the DNR web page at dnr.wi.gov and type “CWD” into the search box.  Information regarding collection stations will also be made available throughout the season via the DNR website.

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