November 23, 2018 at 4:23 p.m.
2018 deer hunt off to a great start
2018 deer hunt off to a great start
Several big bucks made lethal mistakes in both Vilas and Oneida counties over the last several days, to the delight of many hunters, he added.
Infractions by hunters seemed to be few, Walz said, citing baiting as the most common violation.
"Wardens came up on a lot of guys sitting over bait piles," he said, noting that hunters found baiting will be fined.
Before the season opened, Walz said quite a few hunters were calling local DNR service centers to ask about the ban on baiting and feeding. Many thought the ban in Vilas County expired in October of this year, but subsequent CWD-positive findings on a game farm in Three Lakes extended the ban to next year.
Oneida County, too, had its ban extended when a CWD-positive deer was found near the Wisconsin River near the southern portion of Oneida County. CWD surveillance tags were issued and two more Oneida County deer tested positive in March of this year. Those deer were harvested with surveillance tags.
Helpful hints and reminders
Hunters should be sure to register their deer by 5 p.m. the day after it is harvested. There is a list of in-person registration stations on the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov. It can be found by typing "deer hunting" into the search box on any page of the website. Alternatively, deer can be registered by calling 1-844-GAME-REG or online through the "Go Wild" system. Go Wild has proven to be very popular with hunters since its rollout.
Carcass movement rules have not changed since 2017. An emergency rule was passed, but then suspended, that would have changed those rules on Oct. 1, during the archery hunt. Thus, the 2017 rules for carcass movement apply for this year's hunting season. Those rules are as follows:
Both whole wild deer carcasses and certain parts of the carcass from CWD-affected counties can be moved within the affected county or an adjacent county. However, the whole carcass or any parts of that carcass may be taken anywhere in the state if taken to a licensed taxidermist or meat processor within 72 hours of registration. These businesses must follow strict rules regarding disposal of those carcasses and, as such, are excluded from the rule.
Also, deer heads transported for the purposes of being tested for CWD are allowed to be moved throughout the state. However, once the lymph nodes have been removed for sampling, the deer head must be properly disposed of.
Deer parts that may be moved
• Meat that is cut and wrapped (either commercially or privately).
• Quarters or other portions of meat to which no part of the spinal column is attached.
• Meat that has been deboned.
• Hides with no heads attached.
• Finished taxidermy heads.
• Antlers with no tissue attached.
• Clean skull plates with no lymphoid or brain tissue attached.
• Clean skulls with no lymphoid or brain tissue attached.
• Upper canine teeth (also known as buglers, whistlers or ivories).
CWD testing is free and available to all hunters. Self-service kiosks are available for hunters who wish to have their deer tested for the disease. These kiosks are a great 24/7 option for hunters looking to get their deer tested. They simply place the deer head with a hands' width of the neck still attached into the kiosk freezer with the customer data sheet. Antlers, however, will need to be removed from bucks. Heads should be brought in within five days, as long as they have been kept cool. With the weather we are experiencing, leaving the heads outside will keep them cool enough to get a viable sample.
Once the deer has been tested, the hunter will receive notice whether or not the deer has the disease. While there is no evidence the disease can mutate and infect humans, the health department advises not eating meat or organs from an animal known to have CWD, or from any sick animal.
The DNR service center in Rhinelander, the DNR ranger station in Eagle River, TJ's Butcher Block in Minocqua and the Three Lakes Shell station all have self-service kiosks available. A full list of kiosks can be found on the DNR website.
Some areas, such as near the Wisconsin River in Oneida and Lincoln County, will have CWD surveillance tags available hunters on public lands. The tags are weapon-specific and give authorization for the harvest of an either sex adult deer.
One condition of receiving a CWD surveillance permit is that any deer taken with one of those authorizations must be tested for CWD.
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