CWD sample sites are located across Wisconsin. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR
(WTAQ-WLUK) — A Wisconsin DNR report shows most positive chronic wasting disease (CWD) cases in deer were found in the southern farmland zone of the state this season.
With the conclusion of the 2025 deer hunting seasons, the DNR shared a summary of the year’s (CWD) sampling efforts.
For the 2025 season, the DNR focused its efforts on increasing sample collection in designated 2025 Fall Priority Areas. As in past years, testing was available statewide, but the additional samples tested from this year’s priority areas will help the DNR better understand disease levels and distribution in areas where the disease was most recently discovered.
Across Wisconsin, a total of 242 CWD sampling locations were available to hunters, including 163 self-sampling kiosks and 46 staffed sites. Six of the kiosks were managed through the Adopt-a-Kiosk program.
In total, 17,759 deer were sampled throughout the state during the 2025 hunting seasons with 2,006 samples testing positive. Most (87%) of these detections were in the Southern Farmland Zone.
A full breakdown of sampled and positive totals by zone and full CWD year (April 1-March 31) is available on the DNR’s Summary of CWD Statewide Surveillance webpage.
The average number of days statewide from when a sample was dropped off at a sampling location to when the CWD result was emailed to the hunter and available online was 8.9 days. The diagnostic tests are completed at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
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