Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources confirmed the first positive test for chronic wasting disease in a wild deer in Marinette County near Peshtigo, extending feeding and baiting restrictions in the county.
The infected deer was a 3-year-old adult buck that was humanely dispatched due to signs of illness. The detection will extend the existing feeding and baiting ban in Marinette County for three additional years. The ban's expiration will be extended further with any additional detections in the county. Existing baiting and feeding bans in adjacent counties are not affected.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal, infectious disease of the nervous system in deer, moose, elk and reindeer. It belongs to the family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or prion diseases. Wisconsin has been monitoring wild white-tailed deer for the disease since 1999 and found the first positive cases in 2002.
State law requires the Department of Natural Resources to impose a three-year baiting and feeding ban in counties where chronic wasting disease is detected. If additional cases are found during the lifetime of a ban, the restrictions renew for an additional two or three years with each new positive test result.
Baiting or feeding deer encourages them to congregate unnaturally around a shared food source where infected deer can spread the disease through direct contact with healthy deer or by leaving behind infectious prions in their saliva, blood, feces and urine.