Legislation aimed at Chronic Wasting Disease

With the nine-day gun deer hunt in the rearview mirror, some hunters may still be waiting on test results for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from their late season harvest. Most hunters have heard of this always fatal neurological disease in cervids such as white tail deer, moose and elk. While there has been no documented direct pathway of the disease from cervids to humans, the Centers for Disease Control recommend humans not consume meat from a deer that is sick with any disease, including CWD. Another similar disease, called Creutzfeldt Jakob disease is in the same family as CWD, and there are no known cures for prion diseases in humans. For that reason, meat from sick animals should not be consumed. 

One of the biggest issues with CWD is that an animal could have the disease from months to years before showing clinical signs of sickness. During that time, it could be transmitting the disease to other animals or spreading the disease by way of the environment in which the animal lives. While there is some information on how CWD is transmitted, both through direct and indirect contact, scientists have yet to find a way to contain it.

Healthy Herd, Healthy Hunt

With that in mind, several legislators got together to introduce what is being called the, “Healthy Herd, Healthy Hunt” legislative package. This package contains three bills. They would be aimed at research, testing kiosks and carcass disposal sites.

LRB-0998 would provide $2 million in the 2023-25 biennium to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to expand their efforts in CWD research, testing and management.

LRB-0909 would provide the department with $200,000 to support the testing kiosk program in the 2023-25 fiscal biennium.

LRB-0910 would provide $2 million to the department to provide carcass disposal sites throughout the state. It would also provide an additional $100,000 to the department for hunter education efforts as they relate to proper deer carcass disposal.

The package was introduced last week by Representative Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point), Representative Dave Considine (D-Baraboo), and Senator Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick)

“Hunting is a way of life and it’s a proud tradition in Wisconsin and the health and vitality of our state’s deer herd are paramount,” Shankland said at a recent news conference where Democrats released the legislation. “These bills provide meaningful ways to prevent the spread CWD while ensuring that more funding is dedicated to research and management of CWD.”

Both the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and Wisconsin’s Greenfire have supported this legislation.

Feeding and baiting ban changes sought

In the area of feeding and baiting bans, new legislation has been introduced that would change the way feeding and baiting bans are put into place. Currently, by state statute, any county in which a deer from the wild or a captive deer tests positive for CWD, a feeding and baiting ban is put in place for a period of three years. Any county within a 10-mile radius would have a feeding and baiting ban enacted for a period of two years. That clock effectively “resets” with every subsequent positive test.

State Representative Gae Magnafici (R-Dresser) and State Senator Romaine Quinn (R-Rice Lake) recently introduced legislation that would change how those bans were enacted. It would remove the captive herd testing as a trigger for feeding and baiting bans. 

The Department of Natural Resources does not regulate game farms. They are regulated by the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Since 2011, 44 farms have had positive tests for CWD. Some of those occurred in counties without a positive test in the wild. Proponents of the legislation believe that positive tests within a farm should have no bearing on the wild deer herd. It does not address whether a ban should be enacted when CWD is found in the wild herd.

“I think it's a separate debate whether or not you think there should be any baiting or feeding,” Quinn said at the Assembly hearing. “But we do have it on the books. And I think while we do that, we should clarify the difference between those animals that have CWD that are no longer a threat and were on a game farm versus those that may have been exposed in the wild.”

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].