Wisconsin CWD Information
CWD regulations in Wisconsin
Due to the regular amending of regulations in Wisconsin, it is recommended that before hunting you check these CWD regulations, as well as those of any other states or provinces in which you will be hunting or traveling through while transporting cervid carcasses. The contact information for Wisconsin can be seen below:
Click a section to expand:
Agency & Contacts
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection registers and regulates captive deer farms and regulates importation of all farmed cervids. Contact at DATCP Dr. Amy Horn-Delzer, Amy.HornDelzer@wisconsin.gov (608) 224-4886. The Department of Natural Resources certifies and monitors fencing for farmed white tailed deer. Contact Peter Dunn, DNR at 608-317-8417
Standard Regulations
Current CVI and import permit is required. Contact (608) 224-4886 or visit DATCP for detailed information.
CWD Regulations for Captive Cervids and Wildlife
Captive cervids are only permitted in herds registered with DATCP.
1) Imports only from herds with 5 years of CWD monitoring status under a state/federally approved CWD certification program.
2) Movement intrastate only from herds enrolled in state monitoring program with at least 5 years of monitoring status.
3) Herds enrolled in the state CWD monitoring program have census and inventory requirements.
4) Mandatory testing on all dead/harvested farm-raised deer 12 months or over for herds enrolled in CWD Herd Status Program. Surveillance testing required for herds not enrolled in state monitoring program for dead/harvested deer 16 months or over.
5) Owners must report escapes within 24 hours.
6) Owners must report signs of CWD within 24 hours to a veterinarian.
7) Hunting Ranches must be registered and have at least 80 acres within the fenced area .
8) All deer being imported and those moving intrastate must have 2 ID's, one being official and the other being either official or unique to the herd. All deer going into a hunting ranch (not naturally born there) must have 2 IDs -- one visible ear tag and the other may be an ear tag or an implanted chip.
1) Imports only from herds with 5 years of CWD monitoring status under a state/federally approved CWD certification program.
2) Movement intrastate only from herds enrolled in state monitoring program with at least 5 years of monitoring status.
3) Herds enrolled in the state CWD monitoring program have census and inventory requirements.
4) Mandatory testing on all dead/harvested farm-raised deer 12 months or over for herds enrolled in CWD Herd Status Program. Surveillance testing required for herds not enrolled in state monitoring program for dead/harvested deer 16 months or over.
5) Owners must report escapes within 24 hours.
6) Owners must report signs of CWD within 24 hours to a veterinarian.
7) Hunting Ranches must be registered and have at least 80 acres within the fenced area .
8) All deer being imported and those moving intrastate must have 2 ID's, one being official and the other being either official or unique to the herd. All deer going into a hunting ranch (not naturally born there) must have 2 IDs -- one visible ear tag and the other may be an ear tag or an implanted chip.
New CWD Regulations in Development
Oct 1, 2016 - 1) Additional record keeping requirements for farm-raised deer keepers. 2) Deer escaped from a captive facility into a area that is not a wild deer disease control area may be returned to the herd within 120 hours without affecting the CWD, TB or Brucellosis status of the herd. 3) Microchip identification for farm-raised deer in a hunting ranch is no longer required, but the deer must have 2 individual identification, one official and one unique to herd, one must be visible. 4) Testing requirements reduced: for enrolled herd with at least 5 years status now needs to test 25% of deer going to a slaughter facility. Hunting ranches are now required to test only 50% of intentional kills.
CWD Testing Program For Captive Cervids
Enrolled herds must meet all Federal HCP requirements as of Dec 10, 2012. Mandatory 100 % testing of all deaths over 12 months of age that die for any reason. Herds enrolled in the CWD monitoring program must have 2 forms of ID (one being official and the other can either be official or unique to the individual in the
herd) in each deer by 12 months of age. Every years a physical inventory completed by the herd veterinarian needs to be submitted. Unenrolled herds must test all deer that are killed intentionally or die in the farm, 50% of deer that are hunted on a preserve, and 25% of deer sent to slaughter.
herd) in each deer by 12 months of age. Every years a physical inventory completed by the herd veterinarian needs to be submitted. Unenrolled herds must test all deer that are killed intentionally or die in the farm, 50% of deer that are hunted on a preserve, and 25% of deer sent to slaughter.
CWD Testing Program For Wildlife
There is no charge to hunters for testing their deer, but testing is not available in all parts of the state every year. Over 209,500 wild deer have been tested statewide since 1999, with over 4,100 testing positive, all but 26 of which were found in the Southern Farmland Zone in the southern part of the State. From April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018, Wisconsin sampled 9,767 deer, with 596 of those testing postive.
Baiting Banned?
Baiting regulation is under the direction of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Under state statute 29.336, Wis. Stats, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is required to enact a ban on the baiting and feeding of deer in any county within 10 miles of a captive or free-roaming deer that tests positive for either CWD or Bovine Tuberculosis (Tb). In August 2017, an Act signed into law to amend current state statute did the following: remove deer baiting and feeding prohibitions in counties where 36 months have passed since any confirmed positive test for chronic wasting disease or bovine tuberculosis (Tb) within the county; and remove deer baiting and feeding prohibitions in adjacent counties where 24 months have passed since any confirmed positive test for chronic wasting disease or bovine tuberculosis (Tb) within a 10-mile radius of the county. The 24/36-month period would start over again with each new positive test result as they are confirmed. Please check the WI DNR baiting and feeding webpage frequently for updates, as new baiting and feeding bans may be enacted. Where baiting is not prohibited, it is restricited such that individulal hunters may place only 2 gallons of bait per 40 acres of land and no bait site may be within 100 yards of another established bait site.
Feeding Banned?
Cervid feeding regulation is under the direction of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Under state statute 29.336, Wis. Stats, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is required to enact a ban on the baiting and feeding of deer in any county within 10 miles of a captive or free-roaming deer that tests positive for either CWD or Bovine Tuberculosis (Tb). In August 2017, an Act signed into law to amend current state statute did the following: remove deer baiting and feeding prohibitions in counties where 36 months have passed since any confirmed positive test for chronic wasting disease or bovine tuberculosis (Tb) within the county; and remove deer baiting and feeding prohibitions in adjacent counties where 24 months have passed since any confirmed positive test for chronic wasting disease or bovine tuberculosis (Tb) within a 10-mile radius of the county. The 24/36-month period would start over again with each new positive test result as they are confirmed. Please check the WI DNR baiting and feeding webpage frequently for updates, as new baiting and feeding bans may be enacted.
Where feeding is not prohibited, it is restrcited such that individual hunters may place only 2 gallons of bait per 40 acres of land and no bait site may be within 100 yards of another established bait site.
Where feeding is not prohibited, it is restrcited such that individual hunters may place only 2 gallons of bait per 40 acres of land and no bait site may be within 100 yards of another established bait site.
Ban On Movement of Animal Parts?
Carcass movement reguation is under the direction of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. See the complete outline of carcass movement restrictions. The movement of both whole wild deer carcasses and certain parts of those carcasses from a CWD-affected county (a county with either a wild or captive animal that has been confirmed to be positive for CWD in the county or portion of the county is within a 10-mile radius of a wild or captive animal that has been confirmed to be positive for CWD) is restricted. Carcasses can only be moved within these counties and the adjacent counties. However, hunters are allowed to take whole cervid carcasses or any parts of carcasses harvested in the CWD-affected counties or in any state or province where CWD has been found, into any part of Wisconsin, provided the carcass (or nonexempt parts) are taken to a licensed taxidermist or meat processor within 72 hours of registering a Wisconsin deer, or within 72 hours of entering Wisconsin from another state. Only the following parts of wild cervids are exempt from these regulations:
- Meat that is cut and wrapped (either commercially or privately)
- Quarters or other portions of meat to which no part of the spinal column is attached
- Meat that has been deboned
- Hides with no heads attached
- Finished taxidermy heads
- Antlers with no tissue attached
- Clean skull plates with no lymphoid or brain tissue attached
- Clean skulls with no lymphoid or brain tissue attached
- Upper canine teeth (also known as buglers, whistlers, or ivories)
CWD Found in Captive Cervids?
CWD has been diagnosed in 19 Wisconsin cervid farms. The first was confirmed in 2002, the latest in 2018. Eleven farms that have had a positive CWD cervid have been depopulated as of March, 2018. One CWD infected exhibition farm and 5 hunting ranches currently are allowed to continue to operate as no live deer leave the premises. Two of the most recently diagnosed CWD positive facilities are currently under investigation.
CWD Found In Free Ranging Cervids?
Yes - 4,179 positive free-ranging white-tailed deer have been identified in Wisconsin since 2001. Of the 72 counties, 23 currently have CWD detected in the wild deer herd.
FOR NATIONAL REGULATIONS GO HERE
Testing Laboratories in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
6101 Mineral Point Rd. Madison WI 53705-4494
608-262-5432 or 800-608-8387
http://www.wvdl.wisc.edu/
Locations Where CWD Was Found
Counties (accurate as of March 2018)
Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Lafayette, Lincoln, Milwaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Vernon
