Wisconsin CWD?

[BC Buck]

What do you guys do with venison after harvest. I do not want to spend two weeks ageing then 8+ hours processing to get back results that make me need to dispose of meat. I could see hunter # going down.

 

[Telemark]

What do you guys do with venison after harvest. I do not want to spend two weeks ageing then 8+ hours processing to get back results that make me need to dispose of meat. I could see hunter # going down.

Older deer are more likely to be infected. If you shoot a couple fawns instead of a mature deer, you're less likely to have wasted time processing infected meat. These days I try for a head shot on young deer when rifle hunting. Less mess, less loss, and smaller deer are easier to handle and process. It also leaves the mature deer to keep breeding. Might be something that works for you.

 

[Mortenson]

Here is another example, deer looked perfectly healthy all fall. By early December, we questioned if something was wrong and by end of December you could clearly see he was sick. Found him dead early January and we had him tested and it was confirmed CWD.View attachment 90471View attachment 90472View attachment 90473View attachment 90474

Not doubting you, but are you certain that's the same buck? Do you know if it's common for cwd to take down a large, healthy deer so quickly? That guy made a huge decline in just 3 wks.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Not doubting you, but are you certain that's the same buck? Do you know if it's common for cwd to take down a large, healthy deer so quickly? That guy made a huge decline in just 3 wks.

Here's an article from Wisconsin's CWD mortality study. If you scroll down to the story of deer # 5006, they documented that doe dropping 74 pounds in 49 days.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Research/articles/June2025#:~:text=We%20examine%20the%20cases%20of%20three%20collared%20deer,%235010%2C%20a%20doe%20collared%20at%203.5%20years%20old

 

[gunther89]

Not doubting you, but are you certain that's the same buck? Do you know if it's common for cwd to take down a large, healthy deer so quickly? That guy made a huge decline in just 3 wks.

He was a regular on trail camera, we got a picture of him with 1 side already shed and a couple days later he was shed out. Yes we are 100% positive its the same deer. Every deer is different.

One thing we have noticed is the bucks we have shot that were positive, were super daylight active. During the rut, they would be all over in daylight. My cousin shot a verified 7.5 old buck. We knew about the buck since 3.5 and from 3.5-6.5, he was like a ghost, only being seen at night on cameras. When he became 7.5, he became daylight active and we both saw him opening night of gun season chasing does. The 2nd night of gun season my cousin was able to harvest him and he came back as positive for CWD. the deer weighed 270 live weight.

 

[Telemark]

Do you know if it's common for cwd to take down a large, healthy deer so quickly?

Unfortunately it is common. CWD is cumulative, so it tends to ramp up exponentially until the tipping point, and older deer are particularly vulnerable to death from CWD.

When I took my yearling to be tested after a deer farm caused an outbreak, they said they don't really test young deer and were specifically interested in older mature deer. They tested it anyway since I brought it in, but they said young deer rarely test positive even if they are infected, so they like to focus testing on deer 2.5 years and older.

 

[Brian662]

He was a regular on trail camera, we got a picture of him with 1 side already shed and a couple days later he was shed out. Yes we are 100% positive its the same deer. Every deer is different.

One thing we have noticed is the bucks we have shot that were positive, were super daylight active. During the rut, they would be all over in daylight. My cousin shot a verified 7.5 old buck. We knew about the buck since 3.5 and from 3.5-6.5, he was like a ghost, only being seen at night on cameras. When he became 7.5, he became daylight active and we both saw him opening night of gun season chasing does. The 2nd night of gun season my cousin was able to harvest him and he came back as positive for CWD. the deer weighed 270 live weight.

Habits change as deer age and home ranges can shift as well. I'd be cautious about anecdotally stating CWD positive deer are more daylight active than other deer.
Not saying it isn't or can't be true, but long before CWD was around deer have been changing their patterns.