Make CWD Testing Part Of Your Hunt Plan This Year
Category: article
Sep 14th, 2020 by Keith Worrall
Modified Sep 14th, 2020 at 9:36 AM
Before you head into the field, make CWD testing a part of your deer hunt plan. Wherever you hunt in Wisconsin, you can find convenient testing and proper carcass disposal locations near you. / Photo Credit: iStock/jsturgeon
This fall in particular, chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing in northwestern and northeastern Wisconsin will be crucial in our effort to understand where CWD occurs in our state. Every sample counts, so if you’re hunting in one of the highlighted counties, make sure to visit us online to find the most convenient sampling location near you.
More Samples Needed Around Recent Positives
Recent CWD positive cases in the Chippewa Valley area have spurred the need for increased sampling from deer harvested in Buffalo, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin and Trempealeau counties. Hunters who harvest deer in Marathon, Lincoln and Oneida counties are also encouraged to have their deer tested to monitor for CWD around recent positives there. Find a map of where samples are most needed on the DNR website.
New Convenience With Online Form
New this year, when you take your deer to one of the hundreds of self-service or in-person sampling locations around the state, you can enter your harvest information from your phone rather than filling in the form by hand.
Find your unique link to the online form in your harvest registration confirmation email or in your Go Wild harvest history.
The form automatically fills in your contact information, harvest authorization number and confirmation number. All that’s left for you to do is to tell us about your deer and harvest location. Click confirm, drop off your sample and you’re done!
Proper Carcass Disposal
Hunters are encouraged to dispose of deer carcass waste in a licensed landfill that accepts this waste or in a dumpster designated for deer carcass waste. If a municipality allows deer disposal curbside or at a transfer station, the carcass should be double bagged. If these options are not available and the deer was harvested on private land, burying the deer carcass waste or returning it to the location of the harvest are the next best options. Please note: It is illegal to dispose of deer carcass waste on any public lands.
Hunters can find a map with the CWD sampling locations and deer carcass disposal locations on the DNR website as well as in the Hunt Wild app.
Planning For The Unexpected
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be unforeseen disruptions to CWD sampling at the local level and to test result turn-around time. Please check the sampling location page frequently for updates to sampling locations throughout the deer season.
When visiting a CWD sampling location, please make sure to follow any applicable local ordinances pertaining to COVID-19 precautions. Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time.