DNR announces 1st case of CWD in wild deer in Waupaca County

WAUPACA COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a wild deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Waupaca County.

This is the first confirmed wild CWD-positive deer in the county. CWD is a fatal disease of the nervous system in deer, moose, elk, and reindeer.

The deer was taken by a hunter in the town of Harrison, about 10 miles from the borders with Shawano County, Marathon County, and Portage County.

The DNR and Waupaca County Deer Advisory Council will host a public meeting on the CWD discovered on Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting will be held at Manawa City Hall, 500 S Bridge Street.

State law requires a three-year baiting and feeding ban in counties where CWD has been detected.

The DNR is required to enact two-year bans in adjoining counties within 10 miles of a CWD detection.

Waupaca County has been under a deer baiting and feeding ban since 2014 due to CWD being confirmed in farm-raised deer in Marathon County.

“The ban has been maintained due to CWD detections in wild and farm-raised deer in adjacent counties within 10 miles, as well as CWD detections in farm-raised deer within the county. Following state law, the DNR will renew a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Waupaca County. Due to CWD-positive detections within Shawano, Marathon, and Portage counties, the current expiration date of the current baiting and feeding bans in those counties is unaffected by this recent detection in Waupaca County,” reads a statement from the DNR.

CLICK HERE for more information on baiting and feeding bans in Wisconsin.