Wild deer in northwest Wisconsin tests positive for CWD

MADISON (AP) — State wildlife officials say a wild deer in northwestern Wisconsin has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

Department of Natural Resources lands division administrator Kurt Thiede said Monday the deer was discovered just outside Shell Lake in far northwestern Wisconsin in November. Test results from the National Veterinary Services lab in Ames, Iowa, received Friday confirmed the deer was infected.

The fatal brain disease was first discovered in Wisconsin near Mount Horeb in 2002, marking the first time the disease had been found east of the Mississippi River. The DNR had managed to contain it to a zone around there by adopting a contentious policy calling for hunters to kill as many deer as possible in the area.