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State Department of Natural Resources wardens entered a fenced property Tuesday in the town of Lake Holcombe with search warrants and found 19 live deer and two dead deer, as well as six elk.
“Once our wardens became aware that deer from the wild were being co-mingled with other deer of unknown origin, this became a serious situation,” said Ed Culhane, DNR public information officer. “It as a serious breach in the security that has been set up to protect the health of wild deer and farm deer.”
The wardens received a tip in April the man had been trapping deer by attracting them to a pen using corn as bait, Culhane said.
The DNR already was concerned, based on a January fly-over of the farm, that the man had captive deer without having authority for a deer farm or a certification from the DNR for a deer farm fence, Culhane said.
The deer did not have ear tags or tattoos that would identify them as them as deer farm animals, Culhane said.
Federal officials shot the deer, and DNR wildlife managers took samples from them to analyze their genetics and whether the animals had chronic wasting disease or bovine tuberculosis.
Because the wild deer had mingled with captive animals they couldn’t be returned to the wild because of disease concerns, Culhane said.
Chippewa County District Attorney John Theisen said Friday he plans to charge the man with taking of wild animals and possession in a closed season. Both charges have penalties of up to $2,000 and six months in jail or both.
He could be charged with 19 counts of both violations, although it is unclear whether all 19 deer were wild or if some of them were game farm deer. Theisen said. Further testing may determine this, he said.
The man arrested on an unrelated charge of passing a bad check and was still in the Chippewa County jail Saturday.
