MONROE — A man was cited Jan. 13 for feeding corn to deer on his rural Albany property in November, a once-legal practice that is now banned across most Wisconsin counties.

Arthur John Zeratsky, 57, paid a $343.50 fine for the non-criminal offense of placing material to feed or attract wild animals, according to court records.

A conservation warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Nick King, noted on the Nov. 17 citation that Zeratsky said his spouse had put out the corn for deer on their property in the W2200 block of County EE, which is located north of the Albany Wildlife Area.

Zeratsky “admitted that they were trying to keep deer on their property to protect them” and that he would “take the citation” for his spouse, King wrote.

Deer baiting and feeding were once legal statewide, even “a strong tradition,” until the discovery of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin in 2002, according to the DNR.

Now it is prohibited in most Wisconsin counties, including Green County and all surrounding counties, due to concerns about the spread of disease and disruptions to natural population movement.

“We know that placing feed for deer tends to congregate deer in certain areas. Especially in winter, they’re always looking for a free meal that’s easy,” said Nathan Kroeplin, conservation warden team supervisor for Green, Dane and Columbia counties.

Cornfed deer tend to wait around for the next corn pile to appear, and the more deer in an area, the easier it is for infections like chronic wasting disease to spread in the population, Kroeplin said.

Corn feeding can also cause the animals intestinal problems and stress from fighting over food.

It’s better to let deer roam and “do their natural thing,” he said. “Less deer per square mile” is the goal.

Even in the 20 counties where feeding deer is currently legal, there are limits to the amount, content and placement of feed. Automatic or gravity feeders are prohibited.

Such rules about feeding deer don’t apply to backyard birdfeeders. For one thing, “we never get calls from farmers about songbirds causing damage to their cornfields,” Kroeplin said.

For more information on DNR regulations and guidelines for feeding wildlife, search for “baiting and feeding” at dnr.wi.gov.