MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) – The Department of Natural Resources is getting ready to purchase and seclude a former deer farm in Portage County that had a high infection rate of chronic wasting disease.
The Hall Farm in Portage County had an 80 percent infection rate when it was closed down in 2006. The property was then closed and quarantined for 5 years as per an agreement with the USDA. DNR Land administrator Kurt Thiede says the department is worried that the prions that cause CWD can still be infectious after that 5 year period. “We have some concerns that the ground would still be a concern to deer outside the fence.
If the purchase is completed, the property would remain closed as a research site into chronic wasting disease. Thiede says no one other than DNR personnel would be allowed inside. “The risk of transporting soil or spreading prions outside the fence is too great.”
Stewardship funds will be used to purchase the property from the owner for $465,000. The Natural Resources Board will meet on the purchase March 23rd.
