Current Issues Impacting the Cervid Industry
The leadership council of the American Cervid Alliance is charged with reviewing industry issues, examine options and executing solutions. The advantage of this council connecting with three dozen associations multiplies the number of total breeders that can be reached which gives more opportunity to educate and inform the cervid industry. The ACA is closely monitoring several ongoing threats and seeking obtainable solutions.
Communication between associations is essential to keep members abreast of industry issues and share insight between leaders. It is clear in this increasingly hostile regulatory environment that breeders and associations must stand united to prevent the eventual elimination of our rights to breed deer and elk.
A few of the ongoing issues closely monitored include regulatory and legislative issues as well as ensuring that the information going to the public regarding CWD is based on scientific evidence.
Regulatory Issues
Federal CWD Rule - As everyone is probably aware, the federal CWD rule came out last summer and did very little to help our industry operate financially viable farming operations. The cervid industry waited a decade for the rule and was less than satisfied with the results. There is no longer money for indemnification, no testing relief for farms with over a dozen years of monitoring, no relief for slaughter testing, and a new requirement of mandatory testing of animals over twelve months old instead of the usual sixteen months. There is also a requirement for 100% testing of all harvested animals from trophy ranches that are part of the monitoring program.
The proposed rule was open for public comment for sixty days. The industry rallied over two hundred comments of suggested changes. Very little if any changes recommended by the cervid industry were implemented.
In October 2012, at the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) Annual Conference the Federal CWD Rule was a topic of major discussion. The North American Elk Breeders Association Executive Director Eric Mohlman, Exotic Wildlife Association Executive Director Charly Seale and Minnesota's Board of Animal Health official Dr. Paul Anderson offered a resolution that was adopted to create a task force to review and recommend changes to the federal standards before it is permanently implemented. The working group was created that would include three industry seats along with representatives from the USDA, US Fish and Wildlife, and state agriculture officials. The cervid industry representatives on the task force are Eric Mohlman of NAEBA, Charly Seale of EWA and Shawn Schafer of NADeFA. The group was given 90 days to go through the standards and agree on recommendations.
As almost everyone in industry agrees, there are elements in the standards that are unacceptable to the industry and hopefully the USDA will make several changes to create a good business environment for breeders. The product of this working group will be sent to USDA as recommendations and then be subject to further scrutiny and be available for public comments. Unfortunately some breeders are being made to believe that the working groups' decisions are being implemented as positive changes and accomplishments. We hope there are positive changes made because the standards, as it is now written, are still unacceptable.
The ACA leaders are reviewing the progress to determine if the standards of the federal rule are acceptable to the industry. The industry waited over a decade for this rule and it is essential the standards and the rule reflect the input industry has given along the way but unfortunately most has been ignored to this point. Unless we have a rule and standards that allow free trade and encourage commerce we as an industry shouldn't be supporting it or its passage.
State Issues
Iowa: On July 26, 2012, Iowa breeders Tom & Rhonda Brakke were notified of a positive case of CWD from an animal taken during their harvest season in December 2011. Their herd was CWD monitored for ten years and remained a closed herd for more than ten years. The Iowa Department of Agriculture quarantined their breeding herd of 450 animals and their 330 acre hunting preserve for a minimum of five years. The Brakke's entered into an agreement with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for the 330 acre hunting facility to allow them to accommodate the hunters that had made arrangements to hunt with them during the 2012 hunting season. In this agreement, the Brakke's purchased a reefer trailer, paid for 50% of the electric standoff fence surrounding the preserve, and paid for 100% of the CWD testing for all animals harvested. They were allowed to purchase animals from other breeders and harvest those that were already on the property. All animals are to be harvested on the preserve property no later than January 31, 2013. To date, 170 of animals from the preserve have been tested and they have found two positives, both bucks.
Effective January 1, 2012, the USDA has dropped all CWD indemnity and declared their lack of understanding and scientific knowledge for CWD. The Brakke's have raised whitetail deer for twenty years with more than $2.5 million invested in the industry.
The Brakke's met with the IA Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on several occasions in hopes of developing a plan to depopulate their breeding herd and were unsuccessful. It was their intent to obtain indemnity for their herd through their hunting preserve with control factors to mitigate the risk of spreading the disease. The IA Department of Agriculture will not accept live rectal biopsy testing, as the test is not approved by the USDA and the Iowa DNR hunting preserve regulations include language that all deer must come from CWD free herds. It is their belief that the Brakke's should pay to destroy their own herd, pay for the testing and clean-up, which includes removing 2" of top soil on the entire property. The Brakke's are currently spending $3,000 per week to feed their animals and are quarantined for five years. Because they were not able to come to an agreement, the Brakke's recently entered into litigation with the state of Iowa for compensation for the breeding herd. The suit should reach the courts in Summer 2013.
Pennsylvania: After CWD is found on a deer farm in Pennsylvania, two deer escaped into the wild while the animals were being worked causing a media frenzy. Negative media speculated the two escaped deer could be infected themselves and spreading it to the wild population. During this fall's hunting season both deer were found and tested for CWD. Both tested negative.
On March 1 Pennsylvania was notified of their first wild cases of CWD. Three cases were found in the wild from last fall's hunt. This again has led to a media frenzy with threats of closing borders, quarantines, and trace outs affecting breeders' statuses in other states. The three positive wild deer were not in a county where the positive captive deer were raised, but that message has been lost to the media.
New York: After CWD was found on the PA farm, New York closed their borders until they could assess the situation. They continued to keep their borders closed well into the fall and caused extreme hardship on both the breeding operations and the hunt preserves. Some of the restrictions have relaxed but free trade hasn't been allowed to exist. The New York Deer and Elk Farmers Association have negotiated with the state agencies but they have also hired an attorney that is assisting them in the language that is being drafted by the state to solve the limitations to movement.
Minnesota: Minnesota is again under attack by the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR is now asking legislators to be compensated by cervid farmers for recovery costs when there are escaped animals that aren't recovered by the producer in a timely fashion. Under a heavy email campaign by members to legislators, the DNR removed language from the bill.
The Minnesota application for approval for the Federal Rule has been denied three times. The Board of Health is getting very frustrated with the approval process. Hopefully number four is a winner.
Missouri: Due to recent CWD findings in whitetail deer in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation implemented a temporary moratorium of new deer breeders and new trophy ranches with cervids. Missouri state cervid association leaders, assisted by national leaders, testified at several meetings and offered discussion and public comments. After several months, with a lack of scientific standing to keep the moratorium, the MDC allowed the proposed amendment to establish a moratorium on new captive cervid facilities to expire on January 29th, 2013.
Legislative Issues
Iowa: In the 2013 legislative session Senate File 59 was introduce by the Senate Natural Resources Committee Chairman. The bill would devastate the Iowa cervid industry. The bill calls for double fencing with ten foot fencing requirements and suggests $5,000 annual permit fees. It would also require a $100,000 bond to raise cervids. The bill is portrayed in the media to protect the wild deer herds of CWD from captive herds. Of course, scientific evidence would show this is a misrepresentation of the truth. The bill has received no action at the present time and is stalled in committee.
Illinois: Rep. Kelly Burke, D-Evergreen Park recently introduced House Bill 3118. HB 3118 would place a moratorium on any new captive hunt facilities for native mammals from opening in the state. These types of bills have been attempted in several states to end captive hunting. There are many false references and so-called facts that distort the truth by proponents of the bill.
CWD Policy
Negative Media: In the news it seems there is constantly an editorial or news article insinuating that CWD is fatal disease caused by domestic deer breeding that will completely wipe out the wild deer population. As our industry knows, nothing is further from the truth. If someone sets a Google news alert for "CWD" nine out of ten articles that come across the news are negative portrayals that attempt to show domestic breeding and captive hunting as the catalyst. If the public only hears one side without opposition it will become accepted.
ACA Goals
Exact goals and support will be decided by the ACA leadership council or an appointed committee.
A few suggested goals of ACA involvement.
CWD Science -The ACA has been working with two very reputable epidemiologist that are willing to provide their opinion and give scientific testimony during state agency hearings and to provide producers with sound scientific advice in these matters.
Research - The ACA will look for research possibilities that could bring benefit to the cervid industry, whether through CWD live testing methods, genetic resistance testing or other research projects that could positively impact the farmed cervid industry. The ACA will continually be looking for additional ways to improve the cervid industry through science based research.
Iowa Support - The ACA has been very involved with the Brakke family in Iowa and working with the Iowa Whitetail Deer Breeders Association and the Iowa Elk Breeders Association. The Brakke's have been forced to pursue litigation in order to recover indemnity due to the state implementing quarantines prohibiting their business activity and the federal government's unfunded mandates. A portion of the funds generated at the 2013 Midwest Select have already been sent to Iowa to assist their legal fees.
Federal Rule - The ACA has sought professional legal advice in the event the federal rule product still has elements detrimental to the industry. The final product of the rule and its companion standards document should be known by this spring.
Proactive Truth in CWD News - Nine out of ten news articles regarding CWD has extremely negative biases that distort the truth and either implies or flat out lies that domestic deer breeding and conservation hunt are the catalysts and are leading to the decimation of wild deer herds. The industry knows better but the public does not. If the public hears one side without hearing another then the one side becomes accepted by the public. We must work to get more proactive news explaining the real facts of CWD.
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