For the Gazette
From the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

MADISON – Based on test results from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) confirms that a white-tailed deer harvested from a 220-acre Portage County hunt ranch has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). The hunt ranch had purchased the three-year-old buck from a Portage County breeding farm. DATCP has quarantined both the breeding farm and the hunt ranch. A quarantine means no animals may move in or out of the farm and further restricts movement of carcasses.

According to the most recent owner registration, the 11-acre breeding farm has 42 whitetail deer, is double-fenced, and is enrolled in the CWD Herd Status Program. More information about CWD testing requirements for farms enrolled in this program can be found on the DATCP website. DATCP’s Division of Animal Health will investigate the animal’s history and trace movements of deer onto and off the breeding farm to determine whether other herds may have been exposed to the CWD-positive deer.

The hunt ranch has 156 deer and elk and will have additional testing requirements to better monitor and analyze the spread of the disease.

CWD is a fatal, neurological disease of deer, elk, and moose caused by an infectious protein called a prion that affects the animal’s brain. Testing for CWD can only be performed after the deer’s death. For more information about CWD visit DATCP’s website. DATCP regulates deer farms for registration, recordkeeping, disease testing, movement, and permit requirements. To learn more about deer farm regulations in Wisconsin, visit DATCP’s farm-raised deer program. The Department of Natural Resources also provides resources for CWD and monitors the state’s wild white-tailed deer for CWD.