MARINETTE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Opening weekend of Deer Hunt 2019 is in the books, and an effort designed to help manage a deadly disease is getting results.
By throwing animal carcasses into selected metal dumpsters, the Department of Natural Resources hopes to slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.
Just off Highway 64 at the G3 Up Nort Convenience Store in Marinette County, Jerry Gwidt tells FOX 11 he’s checking his dumpster for dead deer.
“I see about maybe 10 carcasses.”
The big metal bin is part of a program where hunters drop off deer carcasses after the harvest.
“We put it close to the road. We have a sign up in front, that we are offering a dumpsite. The dumpster is here by the road, so it’s easy to access.”
The “Adopt-a-Dumpster” program is part of a DNR effort to manage the spread of CWD. The deadly affliction affects the nervous systems of deer, elk, and moose.
Dave Halfmann, DNR Wildlife Biologist, tells FOX 11 CWD is highly contagious and can linger in the soil, or other infected deer.
“You don’t want that accumulating on the landscape, because it’s a risk of disease spread, just being there. Not only CWD but other diseases as well.”
Halfmann says the program started last year with about a dozen dumpsters across the state. Heading into Deer Hunt 2019, that number swelled to 86. Many dumpsters are sponsored by groups, like the Oconto County Sportsmen’s Club Alliance.
At the Oconto Falls Ranger Station, there were about 20 carcasses in the dumpster from opening weekend.
“It will be interesting to see the results. How much waste is generated, and exciting to get that waste where it belongs, in a certified landfill,” said Halfmann.
