Walker Announces New Initiatives To Fight Chronic Wasting Disease

Gov. Scott Walker announced plans Friday to update the state’s efforts at combating chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin’s deer herd.

He told a meeting of the Conservation Congress that some aspects will be longer-term, like a comprehensive scientific study of the brain disease in wild and captive deer, and collection of input from Wisconsin’s County Deer Advisory Councils.

In the short term, Walker said hunters will be able to get test results back sooner.

“Right now someone wants some testing to see if the deer they harvested has chronic wasting disease, it can take upwards of two weeks,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is get it closer to two days. We think that will help response-wise and reaction-wise.”

Walker also said fences around deer farms will be inspected more frequently: every two years instead of the current 10.

George Meyer, a former DNR secretary, said the initiatives are “a good step forward.”

Now head of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Meyer said he hopes hunters are consulted on stricter deer farm regulations, saying they spread CWD to wild deer.

“We just had one up in Vilas County, which is 200 miles from the CWD zone,” he said. “There was an outbreak in Marathon County, outside the CWD. Eau Claire County. So these are areas substantially away from where the wild deer herd is affected but we’re having it show up on these captive farms.”

Walker said an updated CWD response plan will be presented to the Department of Natural Resources Board in December.