Chronic Wasting Disease
and Wisconsin Deer
Ask Department of Natural Resources Secretary
Scott Hassett … …about Chronic Wasting
Disease in Wisconsin White-tailed Deer
October, 2004
Editor’s Note: this is another of several fall updates in which the
DNR Secretary will try to answer some of the many questions and
concerns related to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in
Wisconsin wild white-tailed deer.
Is the Department again offering landowner
permits in the Disease Eradication Zone (DEZ)?
The DNR is again issuing permits to landowners with five or more
acres of land within a DEZ. Landowner permits are not available in
the Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ). Under the authority of these
permits, landowners can hunt without a license (provided they
meet age and safety requirements), receive one buck tag, and
continue to hunt through March 31, 2005, if they choose. As has
been the case the past two years, landowners can also authorize
hunters to hunt on property they own within a DEZ. Authorized
hunters can hunt on land covered by a landowner permit without a
deer license provided they meet age and safety requirements.
DEZ landowners interested in a permit can get one at any hunting
license outlet or DNR service center for a $2 processing fee.
These permits are not available by phone or through the Internet.
Permits will be valid through March 31, 2005. Hunters wishing to
hunt under the authority of a landowner permit must first pick up a
DEZ hunter permit and landowner authorization form at a hunting
license vendor or DNR service center, also for a $2 processing
fee.
Am I eligible to get a landowner permit if I own less
than five acres in the DEZ?
If you own huntable land less than five acres in size within the
DEZ, you should call our toll free CWD information line
(1-877-WISC-CWD) to make special arrangements to get a
landowner permit.
Will the Department again be offering an incentive
program in the DEZ?
Yes we will. Last year, to encourage participation in herd
reduction and surveillance activities, a pilot CWD Reward Program
was implemented for the 2003-04 hunting season. The Whitetails
Unlimited/DNR cooperative program rewarded $400 for each
CWD-positive deer removed from the landscape. The $400 was
split with $200 going to the landowner on whose property the deer
was taken. The other $200 went to the hunter who shot the deer.
A second component of the program rewarded $20 in a lottery
fashion to hunters who harvested deer within the DEZ that did not
test positive for CWD. Hunters were entered into the drawing for
each deer they harvested. Over 10,600 - $20 checks were
distributed in June, 2004.
The Department is offering the same incentive program again this
fall in cooperation with Whitetails Unlimited.
Will I be able to donate deer harvested in the DEZ
to a food pantry?
This fall, hunters interested in donating deer harvested in the
CWD DEZ can take them to five area meat processors. Hunters
can take their DEZ-harvested deer for donation through March 31,
2005 to:
Black Earth - Black Earth Meats, 1345 Mill St.
Cottage Grove - Stoddard’s Country Grove Meat Market, 205 E.
Cottage Grove Rd.
Juda - Rackow Family Sausage, N1943 Schindler Rd.
Lodi - Lodi Sausage & Meats, 150 S. Main St.
New Glarus - Hoesly Meats, 219 Industrial Dr.
Hunters wishing to donate their DEZ-harvested, field dressed deer
to the DEZ venison food pantry program make take them directly
to Black Earth Meats, Hoesly Meats or Lodi Sausage & Meats.
Deer bound for this food pantry program need not be
pre-registered as these three meat processors will register those
deer as part of the CWD testing program.
Hunters who donate DEZ-harvested deer at either Stoddard’s in
Cottage Grove or Rackow’s in Juda must first register their deer
and have it sampled at one of six DNR staffed
registration/collection stations in the DEZ before transporting it
out of the CWD DEZ zone.
Hunters need to field dress and bring their deer to the meat
processor or DNR registration/collection station as soon as
possible so we can get a quality tissue sample for CWD testing
and provide a quality venison product for the food pantry program.
All deer slated for the Deer Donation Program are tested for CWD
and only deer that test negative for CWD will be distributed to
cooperating pantries. It is important to know that a negative test
does not absolutely guarantee the deer is totally free of CWD
prions, but it is the best means currently available to detect CWD
and is similar to the tests used in Europe to detect mad cow
disease in cattle.
Why did the CWD Zones expand and what are
their boundaries.
The quick answer to this question is that testing results from last
fall required that updated boundaries be used for this year. The
western DEZ has been enlarged to 1352 square miles and
encompasses much of Iowa County, western Dane County,
southern Sauk County and small sections of Columbia, Green
and Richland Counties. The southeast DEZ has also been
expanded to 321 square miles and includes roughly the southeast
quarter of Rock County and the southwest portion of Walworth
County.
The DEZ is a landowner permit zone and extends to the nearest
highway from each CWD positive deer detected. This zone has
the most liberal hunting regulations, including a longer season
and allowing the use of rifles in shotgun areas.
The CWD Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ) covers all or parts of 22
deer management units and 18 counties around the two DEZs.
The season’s aren’t quite as long as in the DEZ and the purpose
of the HRZ is to reduce deer populations low enough to reduce the
chance that CWD will spread and become established outside the
two DEZs.
Where are the DNR staffed registration/collection
stations in the western DEZ?
DNR is operating six deer registration/collection stations in the
western DEZ. These stations will register and collect deer heads
for CWD testing from deer harvested in the DEZ and HRZ until
Jan. 3, 2005 with the following hours: Sept. 18-Oct. 27 from 1:00
p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Oct. 28-Nov. 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
and Nov. 20-Jan. 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The six stations are at:
Arena - Heck’s Farm Market, 7266 STH 14, 608-576-2297
Barneveld - Eagle Mart Stop-N-Go, 8029 STH 151,
608-576-1948
Black Earth - Norslein’s Wood Works, 4738 STH 78,
608-576-1931
Hollandale - Countryside Lanes, 1255 CTH F, 608-576-2096
Lone Rock - Lower Wisconsin State Riverway (Lone Rock
Unit) one mile west of Lone Rock on Hwy. 14, 608-576-1768
Muscoda - STH 80 Public Boat Landing, 608-576-1929
Also, Palan’s Outpost Sport Shop, STH 80 & CTH BH, south of
Highland, will be registering deer from the DEZ and HRZ and
collecting heads for CWD testing under a cooperative agreement
with DNR.
All deer shot in the DEZ must be registered no later than 5:00
p.m. on the day after they are killed. I encourage hunters to
register their deer on the day it is harvested to assure the quality
of tissue samples taken for testing.
Where can I get more general information about
CWD and landowner permits?
If you have Internet access, the DNR Web site is a great source
of information.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/cwd/.
We have also established a toll-free number you can call to get
answers to CWD related questions. General CWD information,
including landowner permit eligibility and hunting seasons, is
provided on our information line 1-877-WISC-CWD
(1-877-947-2293). The phone is staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m., Monday through Friday.
I’ll answer more questions in my next column. Thanks for taking
time to find out more about chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin.