PHOTO: Courtesy of Wisconsin DNR
MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — For the first time, a wild deer in Manitowoc County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources say the one-year-old buck was killed by a hunter south of Valders.
By state law, the positive test triggers a three-year ban on baiting and feeding deer in Manitowoc County, effective Feb. 1. However, Manitowoc County already has its own longstanding ordinance banning deer feeding.
Because the deer was killed within 10 miles of the Calumet and Sheboygan county lines, those counties will also have baiting and feeding bans. In Calumet County, a ban already in place will be renewed for two years. Sheboygan County already has a three-year ban in place because of other CWD detections, so it will not be affected.
The DNR and the Manitowoc County Deer Advisory Council have called a public meeting to share more information about CWD in the state and testing efforts in Manitowoc County. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at Woodland Dunes Nature Center, 3000 Hawthorne Ave., in Two Rivers.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal, infectious disease that affects the nervous systems of deer, moose, elk and reindeer or caribou. It was first detected in Wisconsin in 2002.
There are no known cases of human infection from contact with deer or venison.
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