MADISON, Wis. –The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) confirms that a Taylor County deer farm that tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been depopulated. Of the 238 animals tested as a result of the depopulation, 61 were positive for the disease.
In 2021, a 6-year-old white-tailed doe tested positive for CWD at the 22-acre farm. DATCP immediately quarantined all animals on the premises, meaning no live animals or whole carcasses were permitted to leave the property.
The farm owner will receive federal indemnity for the depopulated animals. The farm will not be permitted to hold cervids for five years, and during that period it must maintain fences and submit to routine inspections.
CWD is a fatal, neurological disease of deer, elk and moose caused by an infectious protein called a prion that affects the animal’s brain, and testing for CWD is typically only performed after the animal’s death. DATCP regulates deer farms for registration, recordkeeping, disease testing, movement and permit requirements.
More information
- About CWD: https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ChronicWastingDisease.aspx
- About DATCP’s farm-raised deer program: https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/FarmRaisedDeer.aspx
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