TOWN OF ELDORADO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — For the first time in Fond du Lac County, a wild deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says a landowner reported finding the deer in early October. The adult doe showed signs of the disease and may have also been hit by a car, the DNR says.
The positive test triggers a three-year extension of the existing baiting and feeding ban in Fond du Lac County. Since the deer was discovered within 10 miles of the Winnebago County line, that county’s baiting and feeding ban will be extended for two years.
Scientists say chronic wasting disease is a fatal condition that affects the nervous systems of deer, elk and moose. They say CWD is highly contagious among deer, and can linger in soil or other infected deer.
Fond du Lac and Winnebago are among 13 Northeast Wisconsin counties where the DNR is making a special effort to track CWD during this fall’s hunting season. The nine-day gun deer season begins Nov. 20, while bowhunting is ongoing.
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