Senator Tammy Baldwin has introduced a new bill, which she says will prevent the transmission of wildlife diseases.
The Wildlife Health Coordination and Zoonotic Disease Prevention Act increases interagency coordination, facilitates information sharing, improves coordination between states, and furthers the sharing of best practices for managing wildlife and zoonotic disease outbreaks.
Sen. Baldwin noted that, since March of 2011, Wisconsin has lost 11.6 million birds across 50 commercial and backyard flocks due to outbreaks of avian influenza.
Between late February and March of this year, Wisconsin experienced three major avian flu outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks, affecting more than 4.3 million egg-laying hens.
As a result, two Wisconsin farms were forced to temporarily lay off more than 80 employees.
Chronic Wasting Disease also remains an increasing concern in Wisconsin.
Chronic Wasting Disease has been detected in both captive and wild animals in most Wisconsin counties since its original incursion, and, in 2025, it was detected in wild deer populations across 51 Wisconsin counties.
Sen. Baldwin also noted, “These diseases don’t just threaten our deer herds and poultry flocks – they put our food supply, our rural economy, and public health at risk.”
The Wildlife Health Coordination and Zoonotic Disease Prevention Act has received support from numerous organizations throughout the country.
