News

New chronic wasting disease case confirmed at Portage County deer farm

A central Wisconsin deer farm has a newly confirmed case of chronic wasting disease.

The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection does not name the farm, but says it is in Portage County where there are two licensed deer farms.  The positive test came from a three-year-old buck.

DATCP officials say the premises is now quarantined and will stay that way while state and USDA veterinarians and staff conduct an epidemiological investigation.

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD is a fatal neurological disease affecting deer, moose, and elk and is caused by an infectious protein called a prion.  It has not been found in humans or other animals.

Most Wisconsin counties have at least one CWD case.  More than 45 deer farms have had a positive test, and about half of those farms have been depopulated.

The last reported CWD case in Wisconsin was in June of 2025.