The UW-Madison lab that checks deer carcasses for chronic wasting disease says new scientific research shows the importance of testing. Keith Poulsen at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, says it would be a mistake to not get your deer tested for CWD this fall.
“The great news is that the DNR pays for that testing,” he said. Hunters can bring a deer’s head for testing to DNR registration stations listed on the agency website — or to the UW diagnostic labs in Madison and Barron.
While there have been no known instances of humans contracting CWD, preliminary results of studies released earlier this year in Canada found for the first time CWD could be transmitted to primates.
Wisconsin’s archery season for deer opens Saturday, and the firearms season starts November 18.