CWD sampling opportunities for Barron, Burnett, Polk and Washburn counties for 2018 deer hunting seasons
DATE: September 12, 2018
CONTACT: Nancy Christel, DNR wildlife biologist, 715-635-4091
SPOONER, Wis. - Hunter service request sampling is available for adult deer within Barron, Burnett, Polk and Washburn counties in 2018. Hunter service requests allow hunters anywhere in the state to have an adult deer sampled for CWD.
"Department of Natural Resources staff would like to thank the hunters and local businesses that made collecting samples for chronic wasting disease surveillance within these four counties such a great success over the past several years," said Nancy Christel, DNR wildlife biologist.
No targeted surveillance will occur in this four-county surveillance area surrounding the Washburn County CWD positive area. Since 2012, over 2,500 samples have been collected - no additional CWD positive deer have been detected, which strongly indicates that CWD was detected early in its infection of the deer herd of northwest Wisconsin. Department staff will not offer landowners within the Shell Lake two-mile sampling area CWD surveillance permits in 2018.
Hunter service request testing is available at the following locations:
- DNR Service Center, 810 W. Maple St., Spooner (east of building entrance);
- Polk County Land and Water Resources, 100 Polk County Plaza, Balsam Lake (East side of the building); and
- DNR Service Center, 1341 Second Ave., Cumberland (west side of building, use the alley).
CWD self-sample testing kits are also available at the Spooner DNR Service Center. These kits include all supplies and instruction necessary for hunters to collect CWD samples from harvested deer, and kits also include a prepaid envelope for mailing samples to the DNR CWD Processing Center for submission for testing. These kits are free and are distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last at select DNR service centers.
Hunters can search for CWD test results individually or view a summary. Hunters will need a customer ID or CWD sample barcode to search for individual results. The average turnaround time from when the deer is brought to a sampling station to when the results are available is typically two weeks or less. For information regarding CWD test results, search keywords "CWD results".
If test results come back positive for CWD, hunters should follow advice from the Center for Disease Control [EXIT DNR], Wisconsin Department of Health Services and World Health Organization [EXIT DNR] to not consume venison from that deer.
Sick deer reports
The department would like to be notified if you see a sick or dead deer. Sick deer reporting is the most efficient way to monitor disease and remove disease agents from the landscape. Contact the local biologist in your county if you see a sick or dead deer. If it is after hours, or a biologist isn't available please contact the department's hotline at 1-800-847-9367. Staff will relay the information to the conservation warden who is currently working in the area. Everyone is encouraged to keep an eye out for deer that appear sick or are otherwise acting abnormally so biologists can assess if symptoms are consistent with CWD infection.