This department took several very drastic steps to attempt to control the spread of CWD outside of the southwestern corner of Wisconsin.
The first measure that the Department of Natural Resources took was to establish a 411 square mile area designated as the "CWD Intensive Harvest Zone" located where the first deer were identified. Their intentions were to fully eradicate all deer that were found in this area and to keep this area completely "deer-less" for 5 years. Their theory was that if the herd size of the deer was reduced, there would be much less animal to animal interaction between the deer. No limits were in place: all fawns, does, and bucks were to be killed on sight.
The execution plan for this measure was to put a big restriction on hunters. Now, every hunter must kill a doe before killing an antlered buck. Also, hunters could have up to a 4-deer hunting day within the designated zones, and all tags and permits for deer hunting were free inside the zone. Previously, only bow hunters could hunt doe. All firearms hunters can only hunt for bucks. Also, the previous limit on the number of deer you could kill per day was one, and the permit or tag for each deer cost around $40 in Wisconsin.
The Department of Natural Resources also opened up free testing of deer killed from around the state in 2002. Their main intention was to see if CWD had spread outside the "Intensive Harvest Zone," but also they in part wanted to lower the hunters" anxiety over the disease. The belief for years around fresh venison was that it was safer and fresher than any store bought meet. Now for hunters, this is not true, and no one wants to put this meat on the table for their wife and children despite the scientific claims that it cannot spread to humans. The Department of Natural Resources recommends that deer meat acquired by hunting throughout that region of the United States be held frozen until test results for CWD are returned.
