White-Tailed Deer Harvest from the Chronic Wasting Disease Eradication Zone in South-Central Wisconsin

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2006-10-01
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Blanchong, Julie
Joly, Damien
Samuel, Michael
Langenberg, Julia
Rolley, Robert
Sausen, Janet
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Blanchong, Julie
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Natural Resource Ecology and Management
The Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management is dedicated to the understanding, effective management, and sustainable use of our renewable natural resources through the land-grant missions of teaching, research, and extension.
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Abstract

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discovered in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in south-central Wisconsin in 2002. The current control method for CWD in the state is the harvest of deer from affected areas to reduce population density and lower CWD transmission. We used spatial regression methods to identify factors associated with deer harvest across south-central Wisconsin. Harvest of deer by hunters was positively related to deer density (slope = 0.003, 95% C =0.0001-0.006), the number of landowners that requested harvest permits (slope = 0.071, 95% C/ = 0.037-0.105), and proximity to the area of highest CWD infection (slope =-0.041, 95% Cl =-0.056- -0.027). Concomitantly, harvest was not impacted in areas where landowners signed a petition protesting intensive deer reduction (slope = -0.00006, 95% Cl = -0.0005-0.0003). Our results suggest that the success of programs designed to reduce deer populations for disease control or to reduce overabundance in Wisconsin are dependent on landowner and hunter participation. We recommend that programs or actions implemented to eradicate or mitigate the spread of CWD should monitor and assess deer population reduction and evaluate factors affecting program success to improve methods to meet management goals.

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This article is from Wildlife Society Bulletin 34 (2006): 725, doi:10.2193/0091-7648(2006)34[725:WDHFTC]2.0.CO;2.

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