Elk NetworkStudy: CWD Doubles Mortality Rate for Infected Deer

General | March 1, 2019

A new report conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)  indicates whitetail deer in the southwest part of the state infected with chronic wasting disease have a 65 percent annual mortality rate compared to 31 percent of those not infected.

“It’s continuing to hold true and we’re getting more certain about the rate,” Dan Storm, DNR deer and elk research scientist, told the Oshkosh Northwestern. “Year-by-year we’ll be narrowing in on what the true survivorship is.”

Researchers also determined that CWD-infected deer were more apt to succumb to other issues.

“The disease was determined to be the cause of death in several animals, but CWD-positive deer die from lots of causes, and the disease seems to make the animal more vulnerable to those,” said Storm.

Go here to learn more about the study.

(Photo source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)