WISCONSIN RAPIDS – In cooperation with local businesses, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff are collecting deer heads for chronic wasting disease surveillance testing within Adams, Juneau, Portage, Marathon and Waushara counties during the 2017 archery, crossbow and gun hunting seasons.
If you harvest an adult deer within those counties, please consider submitting a sample from any harvested adult deer for CWD testing.
Head samples can be dropped off at the following locations:
- Hartnell’s Wild Game Processing – 1925 Cypress Ave., Arkdale (608-339-7288);
- Rockie Top Meats – N3825 Cty HWY P, Elroy (608-462-4400);
- Strictly Wild Processing – 140 Buffalo St., Wisconsin Rapids (715-459-2538);
- Roche-A-Cri Bowman – 2021 14th Drive, Friendship (608-339-6460);
- Mama’s Place – 9312 Main St., Wittenberg (715-454-6822);
- Buena Vista DNR Field Station (24-hour self-serve kiosk) – 8310 Cty Road F, Bancroft;
- Wisconsin Rapids DNR Service Center (24-hour self-serve kiosk) – 473 Griffith Ave., Wisconsin Rapids;
- Adams-Friendship DNR Ranger Station (24-hour self-serve kiosk) – 532 North Main St., Adams;
- Plover DNR Ranger Station (24-hour self-serve kiosk) – 2510 Maple Drive, Plover;
- Wausau Service Center (24-hour self-serve kiosk) – 5301 Rib Mountain Drive, Wausau, WI 54401; and
- Necedah Ranger Station (24-hour self-serve kiosk) – 400 Birch St., Necedah, WI 54646.
In addition, lymph node samples can be taken at the following locations:
- Froh’s Taxidermy – W9650 Jacobsen Road, Camp Douglas (608-547-1279);
- Field and Stream Taxidermy – 217 South Front St., Coloma (608-547-1565);
- Todd’s Wildlife Taxidermy – N2148 State Road 58, Mauston (608-847-7693);
- Vollmer Taxidermy – 3631 Plover Road, Plover (715-345-1934);
- Almond Rod and Gun Club – 8092 Cty Road GG, Almond (715-570-1147);
- Bob’s Critter Shack – 120 S. Main St., Adams (608-350-9022);
- All Seasons Taxidermy – W9711 Beechnut Drive, Wautoma (920-765-1078); and
- Superior Taxidermy – 9710 Camp Phillips Road, Weston (715-359-0557).
Wisconsin’s citizens and cooperators have played a key role in CWD sampling efforts in Wisconsin, and department staff would like to thank all participants and collection cooperators for their continued efforts.
Sick deer reports
Samples will also be collected from sick adult deer exhibiting signs of CWD in all four counties. Everyone is encouraged to keep an eye out for deer that appear sick or are otherwise acting abnormally so biologists can assess if symptoms are consistent with CWD infection. Sick deer can be reported to your local DNR office or directly to the following DNR Wildlife Management staff:
- Adams County: Darren Ladwig, 608-339-4819;
- Juneau County: Darren Ladwig, 608-339-4819;
- Portage County: Lesa Kardash, 715-421-7813; and
- Marathon County: Brandon Stefanski, 715-359-6405.
For more information and a list of participating taxidermists and deer processors, visit dnr.wi.gov and search keywords “CWD sampling.” For CWD testing results, search keywords “CWD test results.”
Deer hunters are encouraged to check out the frequently asked questions page for more information regarding deer hunting in Wisconsin. The FAQ feature provides brief responses to a wide variety of deer hunting questions, ranging from deer management unit boundaries to antlerless permits. To view the FAQ page and more information regarding archery and crossbow deer hunting, search keyword “deer.”