CWD policy: Illinois drops removals

The "now what" is approximately $12 million: USDA APHIS says it will provide approximately $12 million for chronic wasting disease surveillance, testing, management, and response as Illinois ends its long-standing targeted removal program and shifts to public education, continued monitoring, and stronger hunter-landowner partnershipsaphis.usda.gov facebook.com). Read that as a tactic reset, not a retreat: the cull-first thesis is being marked down as a standalone answer, while the state leans harder on surveillance and hunter compliance. Washington is still funding that base case. APHIS says it has invested over $41 million in CWD projects, and the House report sets $17,500,000 for APHIS CWD work, including $12,500,000 for surveillance, testing, management, and response and $5,000,000 for indemnity and associated removalsaphis.usda.gov congress.gov). The stakes are not niche: BEA put hunting/shooting/trapping at $16.5 billion in 2024 current-dollar value added bea.gov. The hit would be stable surveillance after the shift; the miss is worsening spread, which would pull targeted removal back to the center of the policy mix.