Poll: Most Wisconsin Voters Believe CWD Isn’t Increasing

A new poll shows most Wisconsin voters think chronic wasting disease isn’t spreading.

The Marquette University Law School Poll shows 46 percent believe CWD has stayed the same, 27 percent believe it’s increasing and 7 percent believe it’s decreasing.

According to state wildlife officials, the number of counties with at least one positive test has increased from five in 2002, the year the disease was discovered in Wisconsin, to 21 last year. The number of counties with a positive jumped from 13 in 2016 to 20 in 2017 and 21 in 2018.

The poll found only 38 percent said someone in their household hunts deer; 62 percent said no one in their household is a deer hunter.

The poll surveyed 799 registered voters last week. The margin of error was 4.2 percentage points.