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CWD Update in Northern US

For the first time in nearly four years, a deer inflected with chronic wasting disease has been found on a Wisconsin hunting preserve.

According to State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt, a whitetail deer from the Alligator Creek Whitetails LLC hunting preserve near Junction City, Wis., tested positive for CWD — the first new case of CWD on a Wisconsin farm since January 2005. As a result, the 150-head herd at the preserve was immediately placed under quarantine.

The quarantine halts all movement of live deer on or off the 119-acre preserve without written consent by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The department explains that the preserve can still conduct hunts on the preserve through Jan. 15 because dead animals leaving the property do not pose a risk when handled properly. However, the preserve is required to notify sportsmen hunting on the property about the quarantine.

The infected deer was a seven-year-old doe that was killed on Sept. 20, 2008. The animal’s history is being investigated by the health division of DATCP history as well as its movements onto and off of the preserve to determine if other herds could have been exposed to CWD. According to officials, deer herds on Wisconsin preserves are not monitored for CWD, but state rules require that any farm-raised deer and elk 16 months old or older must be tested for CWD when they go to slaughter, die or are killed.

The Wisconsin case comes on the heels of a single CWD case found in Michigan two months ago. The Michigan departments of Agriculture (MDA) and Natural Resources (DNR) moved quickly to contain the state’s first-ever case of CWD at a privately owned deer breeding facility in Kent County.

Michigan authorities immediately quarantined some of the state's 559 deer breeding farms and enacted a thorough testing program for wild and farm-raised deer.

As of Oct 7, 2008, Michigan DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff said no new cases of the disease had been discovered in Michigan. Statewide, 1,095 deer have been tested, with 964 testing clean and 131 awaiting results. In Kent County, along with 305 that tested negative, 89 are awaiting results. Plus, in the ‘hot zone’ in northern Kent County, 224 deer have tested negative with results pending on 67 more.

Presently, Michigan DNR plans to test 8,000 deer this year to ensure the disease is not spreading in the wild. Deer being tested are brought in by hunters as well as harvested with special permits in the hot zone area.