Madison, Wis. – A second wild white-tailed deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Rock County. The female deer was harvested by a hunter five miles north of the county’s 25-square mile disease eradication zone (DEZ).
“Finding a CWD-positive deer outside of the Rock County DEZ is not unexpected,” said Tom Hauge, Director of Wildlife Management for the Department of Natural Resources. “We established the Rock County DEZ based upon the proximity of CWD-positive deer in Illinois. Our intensive sampling effort within Rock County this fall was established to give a better picture of extent of the disease in this area.”
“We are very grateful to the hunters and landowners from Rock County that are helping us get the deer tissue samples we need in order to look for this disease. We would not have found these sick deer without their help,” Hauge said.
So far this season 424 deer have been collected from Rock County. Out of that total, 201 have been analyzed, with two testing positive. The first positive was reported on Nov. 21.
The DNR will continue intensive surveillance during the winter months in the portion of Rock County around this latest positive and portions of neighboring Walworth County to determine the distribution and severity of CWD in the areas.
“I want to remind hunters that we’ve got a lot of great deer hunting left. We hope hunters will take advantage of the holidays to head back out to the woods with friends and family,” said Doug Fendry, Rock County Area Wildlife Supervisor. “If you want to get your deer tested for CWD, we would like to test adult deer from Rock, Jefferson, Walworth and Waukesha Counties.”
Hunters from these counties can bring their deer to one of the following locations for CWD testing:
- Authentic Taxidermy Studio, 1849 Yates Ave, Beloit, 362-8323
- Chad’s Taxidermy, Clinton (call 608-921-5666 to make an appointment).
- Smoke House, 403 Front Street, Clinton, 676-2251
- Jim’s Fins&Fur&Feathers, 518 E Fulton, Edgerton, 884-4837
- Footville Meat Market, 280 N. Gilbert, Footville, 876-6323
- Nature’s Touch Taxidermy, 2117 Stonefield Lane, Janesville, 754-9401
- Trophies Unlimited, 840 Rockshire Rd, Janesville, 758-9308
- Swiss Family Smokehouse, 104 N. Madison, Evansville, 882-4030
- Wegner’s Taxidermy Service, 2214 E. Manogue, Milton, 868-4022
Hunters will receive a postcard from the DNR if the deer they harvested tested negative for CWD. The DNR will contact hunters and landowners by phone if the deer tested positive. Additionally, hunters can access test results at www.dnr.state.wi.us , under “CWD Testing Results.” The online results database will be updated automatically as test results are returned from the lab and hunters who harvested positive deer are properly notified. It is currently taking about a month for test results to be returned from the lab.
For more information on CWD, please visit the DNR’s Web site www.dnr.state.wi.us, and click on “Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin.”