Which CWD Approach Better - WI Let It Happen or Kill Them To Save Them?

My land in Wisconsin is in a county with a very high CWD infection rate. The township I'm in has an infection rate of about 29%. Despite the harvest dropping the last four years the deer population is not growing in my county. GPS collar studies are showing the decline is because of CWD, not EHD or predators. Once infection rates reach a certain level you can no longer stockpile deer.

The annual survival probability for a healthy buck is 69% while a CWD infected buck is 17%.
 
My land in Wisconsin is in a county with a very high CWD infection rate. The township I'm in has an infection rate of about 29%. Despite the harvest dropping the last four years the deer population is not growing in my county. GPS collar studies are showing the decline is because of CWD, not EHD or predators. Once infection rates reach a certain level you can no longer stockpile deer.

The annual survival probability for a healthy buck is 69% while a CWD infected buck is 17%.
I attended a by-invitation meeting hosted by Driftwood Outdoors, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation in Jefferson City, MO earlier this month. This open discussion included representatives from Drury Outdoors, several popular podcasts, magazine writers and a handful of landowners representing a full range of thoughts and opinions on CWD.

One of the keynote speakers was Doug Duren, who tells of his journey from being on the fringes of CWD to having CWD significantly impact his farm. For those with a true interest in where CWD is going and the best path forward given what we know, this is a great episode.

This was the first time I had met Jason Sumners, our new Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Having heard him and talked to him, I am thankful he is at the helm, as he is passionate about deer, wildlife and habitat improvement.

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Jason made it clear that reduction in density, not elimination, is the goal of culling. The practice is the best tool in the toolbox at this time and is working in areas with high CWD prevalence. Three things the presentation made clear:
1) Culling only takes place on private land with the landowners permission.
2) Landowners can cull on their own, or have the MDC do it for them.
3) Landowners can specify saving older bucks, etc... (this was not always the case).
 
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I attended a by-invitation meeting hosted by Driftwood Outdoors, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation in Jefferson City, MO earlier this month. This open discussion included representatives from Drury Outdoors, several popular podcasts, magazine writers and a handful of landowners representing a full range of thoughts and opinions on CWD.

One of the keynote speakers was Doug Duren, who tells of his journey from being on the fringes of CWD to having CWD significantly impact his farm. For those with a true interest in where CWD is going and the best past forward given what we know, this is a great episode.

This was the first time I had met Jason Sumners, our new Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Having heard him and talked to him, I am thankful he is at the helm, as he is passionate about deer, wildlife and habitat improvement.

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Jason made it clear that reduction in density, not elimination, is the goal of culling. The practice is the best tool in the toolbox at this time and is working in areas with high CWD prevalence. Three things the presentation made clear:
1) Culling only takes place on private land with the landowners permission.
2) Landowners can cull on their own, or have the MDC do it for them.
3) Landowners can specify saving older bucks, etc... (this was not always the case).
Did they ever say what density they wanted to cull down to?
 
Culling will never resolve the CWD issue. There is some work to develop genetics that is CWD resistant, and possibly figure out how to introduce that into the wild population.
 
Culling will never resolve the CWD issue. There is some work to develop genetics that is CWD resistant, and possibly figure out how to introduce that into the wild population.
While there is work on CWD resistance, to date all that has been done allows CWD positive deer to live longer in a high fence environment. In the wild this means CWD deer will live longer, thus have more time to spread the disease. We should all be thankful that research is taking place, but the idea of releasing CWD positive deer that will live longer might not be a wise decision, which is the mistake Oklahoma has taken.

You are correct, culling will not resolve the issue, however, targeted removal--coupled with good deer management (doe harvest and balanced age classes, not just trophy classes) will buy time for more research to develop better solutions.

One big challenge with CWD is that the more it is prevalent, the less people hunt. That puts more pressure on those who do to harvest more deer. Those of us on this forum are passionate about the habitat and wildlife. The average hunter is very different, and believes the zombie deer stories in the newspaper and likely harvests one deer every two or three years.
 
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Did they ever say what density they wanted to cull down to?
The goal in Missouri to keep prevalence in targeted removal areas (via testing) to under 5%. In Missouri, 27,000 deer were culled in the past 10 years (about 1% of the total harvest). This 1% accounted for 35% of the CWD positive deer. Other features of CWD management used by states include:
* Longer/more rifle seasons
* Mandated and/or voluntary testing
* Additional antlerless seasons
* Earn a buck requirements
* More doe tags
* Removal of antler size or point restrictions
* Banning use of attractants (mineral or feeders)
* Expanded management area opportunities

Missouri has added an additional antlerless season, added a week to the November rifle season in CWD areas, removed antler point restrictions in CWD counties, banned attractants (minerals and feeders) in CWD counties, and increased the number of doe tags available. Some areas require testing on opening weekend. Where I am at, testing in voluntary, but something I do as part of my deer management process.
 
Thanks for posting that video @356. It was pretty brave for the director of MDC to get in front of an audience like that. I think he handled it well. It brings up a lot of thoughts and questions.
 
Thanks for posting that video @356. It was pretty brave for the director of MDC to get in front of an audience like that. I think he handled it well. It brings up a lot of thoughts and questions.
I agree with this. It's a very good video.

I applaud Missouri for taking the steps they have to contain the spread.
 
What MO and many other states have done has eliminated all management, EXCEPT for CWD. Whether intentional, or a by-product, that is the sad truth. ...and remember, kill them before they die.
 
Illinois has admitted their culling program ultimately didn’t work. The disease is spreading rapidly and they suspended the snipers. My kid got a 5.5 year old doe last fall, according to the check station anyhow. The results on her came back positive. Grilled 2 of her half back straps last week and they were incredible.
 
It seems like from what the MO director was saying was that the culling is being targeted now in precise locations where positive cases have been detected.
 
That's how it was done here as well. My immediate section had it's 1st positive 10 years ago. And every since. Finally a year ago the county made large jump in positives, despite having snipers at all the hot spots. We're a large ag county. Not much for woods, but 2 decent sized rivers, quite a few highways and 2 major interstates.
 
That's how it was done here as well. My immediate section had it's 1st positive 10 years ago. And every since. Finally a year ago the county made large jump in positives, despite having snipers at all the hot spots. We're a large ag county. Not much for woods, but 2 decent sized rivers, quite a few highways and 2 major interstates.
How many deer per square mile?
 
How many deer per square mile?
Deer per square mile of deer habitat surveyed in cwd zones in winter of '24 was 14.
 
Illinois has moved from culling program to targeted removal in 2014. In 2018 Don Higgins took on the Illinois DNR and the issue became politicized. To date (summer 2025) the IDNR operates a sharpshooting program to manage deer populations when chronic wasting disease is identified. The state has also eased farm depredation permits access, added a CWD season and is expanding testing.
 
Deer per square mile of deer habitat surveyed in cwd zones in winter of '24 was 14.
That seems pretty low depending on the habitat quality. The major corridors would have to have something to do with the high prevalence rate I would think?
 
It seems like from what the MO director was saying was that the culling is being targeted now in precise locations where positive cases have been detected.

Sounds good until it’s your precise location. Iowa had a single case up the road so MDC put our little area in a targeted core zone. None of us would allow snipers. But somehow we were decimated by “EHD maybe” the following summer. Never found a dead deer in the timber. Only in the wide open ground.

In December we were removed from any type of CWD zone. No positives in this part of MO I suppose.

I’m saying we are about three to four years before we get our mature buck numbers back up.

I’m just suspicious. Years of managing a neighborhood went poof in what I see as under suspicious circumstance's. No proof of nefarious government activity. I Just don’t trust the government.
 
Illinois has moved from culling program to targeted removal in 2014. In 2018 Don Higgins took on the Illinois DNR and the issue became politicized. To date (summer 2025) the IDNR operates a sharpshooting program to manage deer populations when chronic wasting disease is identified. The state has also eased farm depredation permits access, added a CWD season and is expanding testing.
Not exactly. As of the winter of 24/25 IL has suspended sniping for a 5 yr period. I'm unaware of that changing this summer. They did sign into law this year for more degradation tags. Im confident none of the farmers or landowners in my area will apply for those. The largest landowner, the state, who knows what they will do. My county has had 2 extra cwd seasons for many years now. Crossbow can be used til mid Jan. Including youth and ML, there are now 6 rifle seasons. If I didn't like eating them so much, I'd probably stop hunting them sometime soon out of pity for them.
 
Similarly to Bill, we were also decimated by EHD in 24. And I've heard rumblings dead deer have been found as early as mid summer here this year. Based on tales, would fit the description of being ehd. My summer cams have shown almost no fawns. Literally 1 or 2. A good survey cam that stewed all summer til Aug had 3000 pics on it with only 1 fawn. Ehd must've wreaked havoc on the surviving does.
 
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