DNR Hosts Public Meeting For Sheboygan County CWD Response Plan Feb. 5 In Plymouth

Contact(s): Josh Jackl, DNR wildlife biologist, 920-893-8540, [email protected]
Ed Harvey, Chair, Sheboygan County Deer, Advisory Council, 920-528-7071, [email protected]

January 23, 2020 at 8:09:11 am

PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff and the Sheboygan County Deer Advisory Council will host a public meeting in February regarding the status of chronic wasting disease (CWD) and a response plan for sampling wild deer in the county. The meeting will take place Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sheboygan County Highway Department located at W5741 County Road J in Plymouth.

In late 2019, a three-year-old wild doe tested positive for CWD in Plymouth Township. In order to better understand the prevalence and distribution of the disease in Sheboygan County, DNR will be sampling additional deer in the area. In partnership with County Deer Advisory Council members, DNR staff will discuss recommendations for disease surveillance options in response to the detection of chronic wasting disease in Sheboygan County.

DNR staff will be in attendance to provide information about the results of local CWD testing efforts and discuss future sampling recommendations. A public comment period will allow time during the meeting for citizens who wish to provide comments to the DNR and CDAC.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal, infectious nervous system disease of deer, moose, elk and reindeer/caribou. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. CWD occurs only in members of the cervid or deer family – both wild and captive. The Wisconsin DNR began monitoring the state’s wild white-tailed deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positives were found in 2002.