DNR: About 10% of deer tested positive for CWD in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. – Every hunting season, the state asks hunters for samples of the deer they’ve shot so those deer can be tested for chronic wasting disease, or CWD. This year was no exception, with almost 20,000 deer submitted to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Of those 17,399 deer, officials said about 10 percent – 1,786 – had CWD. The fatal neurological disease affects deer, elk and moose. It's caused by prions, which are misfolded proteins that damage the brain. The disease is always fatal, and there's no known treatment or vaccine.

“Although we have detected CWD in new areas of the state in recent years, many of these areas are at a low prevalence rate, and opportunities still remain to slow the spread and growth of the disease statewide,” said Erin Larson, DNR deer herd health specialist, in a news release.

While there are no known cases of the infection in people, health officials say to not eat meat from deer that test positive for CWD and to consider testing deer prior to consumption, especially in areas prevalent with CWD.

In Wood County, the DNR reports that just two deer have tested positive for the disease since 2020, with no new cases this year. However, they did find cases in Adams, Juneau, Marathon and Portage counties.

Of the deer that tested positive in 2024, about 89 percent were in the Southern Farmland Zone.

CWD was first detected near Mount Horeb in 2002. Areas of Richland, Sauk and Iowa counties have seen the highest prevalence of CWD with up to 50 percent of adult bucks infected with the disease, according to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).