| 1967-Deer begin dying from
a mystery disease at Foothills Wildlife Research Facility, Fort
Collins, Colorado. In 1980 the illness is identified as chronic
wasting disease. (CWD) |
| 1981-First wild elk with
CWD found inLarimar County, Colorado. Disease begins spreading into
the northeast corner of the state. |
| 1986-An elk in southeastern
Wyomong is the first wild animal to test CWD positive there. By
2001 10% of Wyoming deer have CWD. |
| 1996-Saskatchewan game farm
is found to be infected with CWD. |
| 1997-South Dakota game farm
tests positive for CWD. Within a year two more farms are infested.
|
| 1998-Game farm in Cherry
County, Nebraska has CWD. First in the state. |
| 1998-Second Saskatchewan
game farm has CWD. |
| June 1998-A game farm in
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma reports outbreak of CWD. |
| 1999-Animals from a game
farm near Philipsburg, Montana test CWD positive. |
| 1999-Wisconsin begins testing
deer for CWD, fearing game farm have imported CWD exposed elk. |
| March 2000 to July 2001-CWD
concerns cause Saskathewan game officials to slaughter 4,600 elk
at 29 game farms. |
| Fall 2000-Nebraska's first
wild mule deer with CWD is killed by a hunter in Kimball County. |
| April 2001-Saskatchewan
confirms first wild mule deer with CWD near Lloydminster. Two more
positive tests follow. |
| September 2001-The U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture declares a CWD emergency., begins creating
a plan to eradicate it in game farm and in the wild. |
| October 2001-Eleven Colorado
game farms placed under CWD quarantine. 450 elk from these game
farms had been shipped to game farms in 15 states. |
| December 2001-Game farm
in Anthony, Kansas reports states first case of CWD from an elk
purchased from one of the now quarantined Colorado farms. |
| December 2001-Game farm
in Souix County, Nebraska is CWD infected. Its whitetails test 43%
positive. |
| February 2002-South Dakota
reports first case of CWD in wild deer. |
| March 2002-Colorado finishes
slaughtering 1,600 game farm elk from the 2001 quarantine. |
| March 2002-Wisconsin reports
three deer taken during 2001 season were CWD positive. |
| April 2002-Wisconsin shoots
506 deer in the infected area and tests them for CWD. 14 are CWD
positive. |
| May 2002-Wisconsin prepares
to eradicate 15,000 deer in a 287 square mile area to stop the spread
of CWD. |
| May 2002- Two more cases
of chronic wasting disease have been found inside an elk ranch in
southwestern Routt County, Colorado |
| May 23, 2002-Four more deer
near Mount Horeb, Wi. tested positive for CWD. One of the deer was
killed outside of the eradication zone, so the zone will be expanded
by 74 square miles. The tests initially came back negative, but
additional tests of the lymph nodes were done, and those tests showed
infection. That suggests that the deer were in the earlier stages
of infection, than those whose brain stems show infection. |
| June 17, 2002-A total of
262 deer were killed in the first week in an effort to kill 25,000
deer. There are three more 1 week hunts planned before bow season
opens. Landowners shot 170 deer and sharpshooters killed 92. |
| June 21,2002-A mule deer
from white Sands Missile Range, Albuquerque, New Mexico has tested
positive for CWD. It is the first case verified in this state. Game
officials are banning the importation of deer and elk. |
| June26, 2002-The Wisconsin
State Natural Resources board voted 6-1 in favor of a number of
measures they hope will stop the spread of CWD. The most controversial
is the banning of feeding and baiting deer until June 2004. |
| August 3, 2002-6 more cases
of CWD have been found in the 261 deer tested from the special hunt
June 8 to June 14 in Wisconsin. Two of the deer killed were near
the boundary of the current zone so the DNR is going to extend the
zone by 13 square miles to 374 square miles. The next special hunt
is Aug. 10 to 16. |
| August 31, 2002-Seven more
deer out of 336 that were shot in the special season in July tested
positive. Another 15 square miles was added to the eradication zone.
Minnesota found its first CWD case in an elk that was part of a
farm raised herd in Aitkin County. Minnesota plans to immediately
kill and test wild deer in the vicinity of the elk farm. |
| October 15, 2002-Out of
669 deer tested on Wisconsin game farms only one has tested positive
for CWD. A panel of experts at UW Madison has determined that by
leaving the disease alone will only fan its distribution. They also
say that hunters should not use the test for CWD to judge the safety
of the venison. They say the risk for contracting CWD from eating
infected venison is very low. |
| October 18, 2002- 9 more
wild deer tested and 1 doe on a second game farm tested positive
for CWD. That brings the total to 40 deer that have tested positve
in the eradication zone west of Madison. Wardens want to inspect
590 deer farms by the end of the year, by checking fences and in
some cases checking the financial records of the sales and purchasas
of deer. |
| November 3, 2002- Wildlife
officials have confirmed the first known case of CWD in deer in
Illinois. A deer was shot Oct. 23 just east of Roscoe near the Wisconsin
border. |
| November 5, 2002- The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration will spend about $500,000 to commission
a study whether CWD can jump from deer to other species. |
| December 4, 2002-CWD has
been discovered for the first time in a wild deer outside the eradication
zone. A 3 year old buck shot in Grant County during the gun hunt
tested positive for the disease. The testing was done by a private
diagnostic lab from test kits available through sporting goods stores. |
| December 7, 2002-Early results
have shown that CWD has not spread beyond an area near Mount Horeb.
The DNR has tested 662 deer shot in the 10 county zone that surrounds
the eradication zone. None has tested positive. |
| December 13, 2002-All 118
deer on a deer farm in Walworth County were killed by federal sharpshooters.
All of the deer will be tested for CWD. A deer tested positive on
Sept. 30 for the disease so a decision was made to test the rest
of the deer. The oldest deer on the farm were about 15 years old. |
| December 14, 2002-A deer
that escaped from the Walworth County farm and roamed freely for
at least six months has tested positive. The deer was shot by sharpshooters
on Oct. 22. It is the first escaped deer in Wisconsin to test positive.
So far no wild deer have tested positive for the disease outside
of the eradication zone. |
| December 22, 2002-The states
latest round of testing revealed no new cases of CWD in the wild.
5,045 deer have been tested from ouside the quarantine area and
none were infected. The state will be testing a total of 37, 938
deer from this falls hunt. Meanwhile Illinois has reported a total
of four positives, all in counties bordering Wisconsin. |
| December 29,2002-73 more
deer were tested and none were positive. The small number of deer
tested was due to the holidays. |
| January 4, 2003-7, 785 deer
have been tested so far. 50 have tested positive and they are from
Dane and Iowa counties. So far it looks like the disease hasn't
spread beyond the eradication zone. A private lab has reported that
3 deer it examined tested positive, however state official's have
disputed the accuracy of the lab's tests. |
| January 8, 2003-
State officials decided Tuesday to allow baiting in the hot zone,
to extend the season to March 31, and to bring in government sharpshooters.
So far only 8,000 of the estimated 30,000 deer in that area have
been killed. The 8,000 deer killed is equivalent to a yearly fawn
crop in the area. Wildlife biologists say that 10,000 to 12,000
deer must be harvested to get the density down to 20 to 25 deer
per square mile. The agency is considering paying a bounty to landowners
for every deer killed, but funding and liability issues may scuttle
that. |
| January 9, 2003-Stanley
Hall, owner of Buckhorn Flats game farm is going to court to block
the state from killing the animals. The first captive animal to
test positive came from the game farm. Hall said he retained some
of the brain tissue and had it tested at a Wyoming lab, which found
no evidence of the disease. Calls to the DNR were not returned yet.
State law allows for a second test if the initial test is positive.
The DNR killed all 118 deer on the game farm of James Hirschboek
after one deer tested positive. The Hirschboek farm came under suspicion
after authorities traced his purchase of deer from Hall. |
| January 11, 2003-
Five infected deer were found outside the hot zone, 1 in Richland
County and 4 in western Iowa County. The new cases were still inside
the management zone, which extends 40 miles beyond the area where
the disease was fisrt detected. The deer in Richland County was
killed 16 miles from the hot zone boundary and the Iowa County deer
were up to 12 miles from the boundary. So far 9,064 deer have been
tested. |
| January 18, 2003-
State agencies have spent about $11.5 million on CWD in Wisconsin.
The estimate includes the salaries of wildlife experts who have
devoted their timr to the problem. That figure means the state has
spent the equivalent of $209,000 for each of the 55 deer that tested
positive. $1.1 million was spent last fall to collect thousand of
deer heads from hunters across the state, and about $1.6 million
was spent disposing of the deer. A big bulk of the upfront costs
were to get the project started. |
| February 2, 2003-3
more deer test positive in the hot zone. 1,390 new samples were
analyzed last week. So far 13,977 deer have been tested which is
36% of the deer that will be tested. 2.21% of the deer in the hot
zone have tested positive. In the broader 10 county management zone
5 deer have tested positive an incidence of 0.9%. |
| February 8, 2003-With
16, 119 or 41% of the results in the DNR said that no new cases
were found in the last week. |
| February 15, 2003-With
18,838 deer tested there were no new cases of CWD. |
| March 9, 2003-With
26,232 deer tested 62 have been infected. 33 from Dane County, 27
from Iowa County, 1 from Richland County and 1 from Sauk County.Wisconsin's
eradication initiative is the biggest in the country. The testing
of almost 40,000 deer is the most comprehensive of any state. the
incidence rate in the hot zone is 1.9%. |
| March 15, 2003-Two
new cases of CWD were found out of 2,055 more deer tested. The two
deer that tested positive came out of Dane County. A total of 64
deer have tested positive. 28,287 deer have been tested. |
| March 20, 2003-436
deer have escaped from farms to wild State finds violations, lax
record keeping at many sites, report says A state inspection of
private deer farms, prompted by the discovery of chronic wasting
disease, found that 436 white-tailed deer escaped into the wild,
officials said Tuesday.onic Wasting Disease Game Farms Inspected
A summary of the findings of the Department of Natural Resources'
inspection of 550 private white-tailed deer farms in the state:
The deer farms contained at least 16,070 deer, but the DNR believes
there are more deer in captivity than that because large deer farms
are unable to accurately count their deer. 671 deer had escaped
from game farms, including 436 that were never found. 24 farmers
were unlicensed. One had been operating illegally since 1999 after
he was denied a license because his deer fence did not meet minimum
specifications. Records maintained by operators ranged from "meticulous
documentation to relying on memory." At least 227 farms conducted
various portions of their deer farm business with cash. Over the
last three years, 1,222 deer died on farms for various reasons.
Disease testing was not performed nor required on the majority of
deer. Farmers reported doing business with people in 22 other states
and one Canadian province. The Department of Natural Resources found
that captive deer have escaped from one-third of the state's 550
deer farms over the lifetime of the operations. The agency also
uncovered hundreds of violations and has sought a total of 60 citations
or charges against deer farm operators. These and other findings
come as state officials say they are still no closer to understanding
how the fatal deer disease got to Wisconsin. |
| March 24,2003-16
new cases were found in the latest round of testing. 2,574 deer
were analyzed this week. A total of 80 deer have been found to be
infected. All of the infected deer were from the eradication zone. |
| March 26, 2003-CWD
has been found in a farm raised elk in Manitowoc County marking
the first time in Wi. that it has been found in an animal other
than a deer. The 6 year old female elk, one of 20 imported by a
Valders elk farmer from Stearns County, Minn. tested positive after
dying in a fight with another elk. One elk died earlier and was
not tested. The remaining 18 elk were killed for testing. 6 game
farms imported elk from Minn. and all are quarantined since Sept.
when the Minn. game farm had an elk that tested positive. |
| March 30, 2003-14
more deer test positive bringing the total to 94. All were killed
within the three county eradication zone. The DNR figures about
2% of the deer in that area are infected. The illness which jeopardizes
the state's $1 billion hunting industry was discovered near Mt.
Horeb in February 2002. |
| April 5, 2003-36
new cases were found in the latest round of testing. 2655 samples
were tested this week. That brings the total to 130 infected deer
out of 35,196 deer tested. 40,002 deer will be tested for the last
season.. |
| April 19, 2003-49
more deer were found with CWD, all within the hot zone. That brings
the total number of infected deer to 190 or about 2% of the deer
tested in that area. 39,012 of the 40,111 deer have been tested.
Of the diseased deer, 99 were in Iowa County, 89 were in Dane County,
1 in each in Richland and Sauk Counties. |
| May 3, 2003-With
all 41, 046 deer tested there have been 207 positive cases, all
within the zone. Dane county had 97 cases, Iowa county had 107 cases,
2 cases in Sauk county and 1 case in Richland county. |
| May 14,
2003-Six wild fawns that were killed last fall have tested
positive for CWD, state officials announced last week. The fawns
were 5 to 6 months old. Officials had previosly believed CWD didn't
begin to appear in white-tailed deer until the animal was at least
16 months old.
The six fawns were shot in Wisconsin's
411-square-mile CWD eradication zone, where 4,200 fawns less than
a year old were tested for CWD last fall.
For more information, visit www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/on/index.htm#art4.
|
| July 2, 2003-To fight the spread
of CWD, the DNR wants to create a special zone in and near Beloit,
where hunters and sharpshooters will try to wipe out the deer population.
Covering 25 square miles, the area lies alon the Wisconsin-Illinois
border and within 4 1/2 miles of where a deer in northern Illinois
tested positive for the disease. None of the 308 deer killed last
season in Rock County tested positive. |
| August 12, 2003-A sickly deer
shot in a village park in Fontana on the west end of Lake Geneva
has tested positive for CWD the DNR reported Monday. |
| August 16, 2003-The
Dnr will test between 20,00 and 25,00 deer in selected counties
this year, compared to 41,000 deer in all 72 counties. They will
be using a rapid test so hunters will know in a matter of weeks
instead of months to see if the deer they shot tests positive. |
| December 3, 2003-Every
deer in the herd reduction zone and intensive harvest zone is being
tested. 11, 500 samples have been collected and 2,100 have been
tested since the archery season began in Sept. Of those 18 tested
positive bringing the total of infected deer to 226. |
| December 5, 2003-A
4th deer from a Portage county hunting preserve has tested positive
for CWD. A 5 1/2 year old deer shot at Buckhorn Flats game farm
in Almond tested positive. The farms owner told the agency that
the deer was born on the farm. Sixteen herds in Wisconsin are quarantined
over the disease. Six other herds are linked to this case. Two received
animals from a positive herd in Minnesota and seven other are in
the state's eradication zone. |
| January 12, 2004-CWD
has spread into Kenosha County for the first time after a yearly
buck tested positive after it was shot last fall. So far they have
tested 85% of the 14,290 deer that were sampled from the 2003 season.
Of that, 57 tested positive. |
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