MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Data from the state Department of Natural Resources show about 6 percent of deer tested last year were infected with chronic wasting disease.
According to the data, 600 of 9,882 deer analyzed tested positive for the disease, an infection rate of nearly 6.1 percent.
The 2016 infection rate among tested deer was 7.3 percent. The 2015 rate was 9.4 percent, the highest since the disease was discovered in Wisconsin in 2002.
The testing season runs from April 1 through March 31. Three of the 50 deer the DNR has tested since March 31 were infected.
Gov. Scott Walker announced Wednesday he was directing state agencies to develop regulations requiring enhanced deer farm fencing and limiting movement of dead deer from CWD-affected counties in an effort to slow the disease's spread.
