A Reminder About Baiting And Feeding Deer
Help keep the Wisconsin deer herd healthy by following all baiting and feeding bans.
Baiting and feeding can unnaturally concentrate deer, alter deer behavior and increase the risk of disease transfer between deer. To mitigate these risks and slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), state law directs the DNR to impose baiting and feeding bans within any county with a confirmed CWD-positive wild or captive deer or any county within 10 miles of the location of the positive deer.
Counties fall under a three-year baiting and feeding ban when a wild or farm-raised deer tests positive for CWD in the county. If the CWD-positive deer is found within 10 miles of a county line, the adjoining county will fall under a two-year ban. If additional CWD cases are found during the lifetime of a baiting and feeding ban, the ban will be reset for an additional two to three years. Therefore, the date when a baiting and feeding ban would be lifted on a given county may change due to new farm-raised and wild CWD positive detections.
Bait piles are not the only way CWD spreads from deer to deer, but they increase the risk of transmission. That’s why Wisconsin state law requires the DNR to implement a temporary baiting and feeding ban in any county where a CWD-positive deer is identified.
It is important to help control the spread of CWD to counties where it has not historically been found. Find more information on baiting and feeding regulations and a map of counties with active bans on the DNR’s Baiting and Feeding Regulations webpage. |
