Bayfield County hunting ranch released from CWD quarantine

A Bayfield County hunting ranch has been released from quarantine by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). With no remaining deer on the property and no evidence of disease, there is no cause to continue to hold the property under quarantine.

The hunting ranch was depopulated in 2018 and CWD was not detected in any of those deer. Animal health officials also searched and monitored the property for deer activity for the past year and found no remaining deer.

The hunting ranch was placed under quarantine when a trace investigation showed the animals came from a Wisconsin deer farm that tested positive for CWD — both the quarantine and test results were confirmed in March 2018. In compliance with state regulations, the deer had been moved to the Bayfield hunting ranch in December 2017 and January 2018, prior to the deer farm being confirmed positive for CWD.

CWD is a fatal, neurological disease of deer, elk, and moose caused by an infectious protein called a prion that affects the animal's brain. Testing for CWD can only be performed after the animal's death.