MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The state Department of Natural Resources says a little more than 7 percent of deer tested last year were infected with chronic wasting disease.
Data on the DNR’s website shows 441 of 6,039 deer analyzed tested positive for the disease, a prevalence rate of 7.3 percent. The prevalence rate in 2015 was 9.4 percent, the highest rate since the disease was discovered in Wisconsin in 2002. Only 3,138 deer were analyzed that year, however. The prevalence rate in 2014 was 6 percent with 5,469 deer tested.
Since the disease was discovered in Wisconsin, 199,812 deer have been tested with 3,575 positives, a prevalence rate of 1.7 percent.
The DNR is currently revising its long-term CWD plan. The agency doesn’t plan to finish its work until at least December.
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