CWD detected in Washburn County

Chronic wasting disease has made the leap to northwestern Wisconsin.

The Department of Natural Resources announced Monday that CWD was detected in a wild adult doe found on private property just west of Shell Lake in Washburn County.

Tissue samples have been confirmed as CWD-positive at both the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, and USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. The DNR received final test results late Friday.

To find out if the disease is present in other wild deer in the area, the DNR will begin a focused disease surveillance effort this fall within a 10-mile radius of the positive location.

“The fall archery and gun deer hunting seasons provide an excellent, cost-effective method to collect valuable samples,” said Kurt Thiede, DNR land administrator.

This is the first wild CWD-positive deer to be found in northern Wisconsin and within the Ceded Territory where the Ojibwe Tribes maintain harvest and gathering rights.

“No changes are anticipated this fall in the broad framework of the hunting seasons,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. “We are reviewing today’s news with our wildlife experts and are reaching out to notify the DNR Board, tribal representatives, the DATCP and the MN DNR. In addition, we have relayed this information to Dr. Kroll.”

Under state statute, the DNR is required to enact a ban on the feeding and baiting of deer in any county within 10 miles of any captive or free-roaming deer that tests positive for either CWD or bovine tuberculosis. Feeding and baiting of deer will be banned in Washburn County and possibly Barron, Burnett and Polk counties. The ban will take effect this fall.

“The location of this deer was more than 100 miles from the nearest known cases of the disease in either wild or captive deer,” Thiede said. “Our field staff will be working with local citizens, registration stations, processors and taxidermists to collect tissue samples to learn if any other sick deer exist near this case.”

In addition, the DNR will begin to implement other steps, such as collecting adult road kill deer to gather additional samples.

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