Wisconsin regulators propose mandatory wasting disease tests

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources is recommending that hunters in parts of western Wisconsin be required to have deer they shoot during the gun season this fall inspected for chronic wasting disease.

CWD affects deer's brains, causing them to grow thin, act abnormally and eventually die.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the agency's Chippewa Valley CWD Advisory Team of hunters suggested the testing orders in six townships in Eau Claire, Dunn and Pepin counties.

Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker's administration was wary of addressing CWD during his tenure out of fear for angering deer hunters. But CWD has been costly for deer farmers in recent years.

In 2018, state and federal officials paid Wisconsin deer farmers more than $330,000 in compensation after wiping out herds they feared were CWD-infected.