A fatal disease that affects deer, elk, and moose has been confirmed on a Sheboygan County deer farm by the Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The agency did not identify the farm under scrutiny, but said that the presence of Chronic Wasting Disease was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. The positive result for CWD came from a 5-year-old buck. The premises will remain under quarantine while the US Department of Agriculture and DATCP veterinarians and staff conduct the epidemiological investigation. The DATCP regulates deer farms for registration, record keeping, disease testing, movement, and permit requirements.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease caused by an infectious protein called prion that affects the animal’s brain. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that to date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people, however the Wisconsin Department of Health Services recommends that people only consume venison from healthy-appearing deer with test results indicating that CWD was not detected.
Wisconsin state law requires enactment of a 3-year baiting and feeding ban in counties where CWD has been detected, as well as a 2-year ban in neighboring counties within 10 miles of a CWD detection. Areas beyond Sheboygan County that would be affected were not yet named.
