Support growing for method of slowing CWD growth

Whatever minimal efforts Wisconsin is taking to combat the spread of chronic wasting disease clearly aren’t working.

That’s apparently why there’s a big shift in how Wisconsin fights CWD in the state’s deer herd that is gaining some support.

La Crosse County Conservation Alliance chair Marc Schultz expressed his support for something called, “Pay for positive.”

“Pay for positives is really a very science based approach to try and reduce the prevalence of the spread of the disease,” Schultz said.

The plan, getting pushed by a group of former DNR employees, would offer hunters in counties with lots of CWD $1,000 for each positive deer they kill. Landowners would also get $1,000 for each positive killed on their property. Another $300 would go to the business that tested the deer.

“There’s good science behind the idea that if you remove enough deer by hunting of the positive, the sick deer that you can reduce the spread, and maybe even control the spread, of CWD,” Schultz said.

Among other things a hope is the financial awards would incentivize landowners to invite more hunters onto their lands.