Don't Need Overly Burdensome Regulations on Farmed Deer
September 20, 2014
Opinion
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 20, 2014
Regarding the letter "Legislators must show whether they care about the people or the money" (Sept. 10):
Richard Brown needlessly fear-mongers about legislation that would classify farmed deer as livestock. The Department of Agriculture already regulates 90 percent of farmed deer issues, such as disease control and animal movement, and it already regulates farmed elk. The Department of Conservation is trying to exceed its limited authority on farmed-deer matters by imposing unconstitutional regulations such as a ban on importing deer into the state and banning new farms in certain areas.
Deer farmers don’t want the spread of wildlife disease such as chronic wasting disease any more than anyone else. But the public should understand that scientific regulations are already in place. For instance, the USDA has a federal CWD certification protocol that it requires farmers to meet before they can ship deer across state lines. A facility must test every eligible mortality (animals over 1 year of age) for CWD for a minimum of five years before it is eligible to ship animals interstate. Not one deer transported under this protocol has tested positive for CWD.
The Department of Agriculture has veterinarians on staff and is equipped to handle farmed deer kept behind fences. Overly burdensome and unconstitutional regulations by the Department of Conservation aren’t a viable solution and will kill small businesses.
Charly Seale • Medina, Texas
American Cervid Alliance
m.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_2fe40b6e-e005-502e-97a0-52a6a25f531b.html
<< Go Back
|
