Wildlife
Illinois, Wisconsin differ in culling deer to control disease
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By Elizabeth DagresGreat Lakes EchoHunting combined with the controversial practice of culling can help control chronic wasting disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer better than hunting alone, according to a recent study done in Illinois and Wisconsin. Culling removes breeding animals to minimize reproduction. It’s been used in both Illinois and Wisconsin to control the spread of the contagious neurological disease that infects deer, elk and moose. CWD causes a spongy degeneration of the brain and results in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death, according to the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance. Illinois and Wisconsin are among the Great Lakes states experiencing an increase of white-tailed deer amid continued concern about the fatal disease.