Facilities in Crawford and Portage counties under quarantine

Key Points:

• Two captive cervid facilities in Wisconsin, HuntCal, LLC and RC Ranch, LLC, are under quarantine following detections of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a 3-year-old buck and a 2-year-old cow elk, respectively, with ongoing epidemiological investigations by state and federal officials.
• Earlier in 2026, CWD detection at Whitetails Ahoy in Soldiers Grove led to the depopulation of 33 white-tailed deer, with the owner compensated nearly $99,000 through federal indemnity funds.
• Chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological illness affecting deer, elk, and moose caused by infectious prions, has spread widely since its identification in the 1960s and was first detected in Wisconsin in 2002; it poses no known risk to humans or common livestock but is advised against for human consumption.
• Wisconsin has 231 registered deer farms, with 20% reporting CWD cases since 2001; despite regulations and voluntary testing programs, the disease continues to spread among farmed and wild deer populations, with 60 of 72 counties classified as CWD-affected as of July 2026.
• The state's wild deer herd showed a record 11% CWD-positive rate in 2025 testing, yet the overall deer population remains high at 1.89 million, with local population declines predicted only when disease prevalence reaches 30% or more.