Wisconsin Hunters Not Deterred by Chronic Wasting Disease Fears

Tradition appeared to be stronger than fear for most deer hunters in Wisconsin, a state trying to determine how far chronic wasting disease has spread among its herd.

Heartened by a lack of evidence that the always-fatal disease can infect humans, something close to the usual contingent of hunters took part in the first deer season since the disease was discovered in the southwestern part of the state. Most even told state officials they wanted to keep the venison.

“We are seeing some proof of what we felt all along, that deer hunting is a strongly held tradition and people don’t want to give it up easily or willingly,” said Bob Manwell, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

License sales dropped 10% for the state’s nine-day deer season, which ended Sunday, and the 121,000 deer that hunters registered over the first weekend represented a 20% drop from last year. But that was a better showing than game managers had feared, given preseason surveys indicating a third of hunters would stay home.

The final numbers on how many deer were killed were not expected until Tuesday.