Georgia legislators are reacting to recent news that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) that has been found in a deer breeding pen and canned shooting operation in Missouri and was subsequently spread from that pen to wild white-tailed deer by trying to make it legal to have white-tailed deer breeding pens and their end product – canned shooting facilities- in Georgia through House Bill 1043.
And that's not even the bad news.
While Rep. Jay Powell, from Camilla, is leading the charge to make it legal to artificially breed and genetically alter deer in Georgia, the information coming from the Show Me State should be a wake-up call in the state legislature and to serious, ethical deer hunters.
Missouri's story is this: In 2010, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) found two cases of CWD in captive deer at two breeding facilities. Both were high-fenced shooting operations, one in Linn County and the other in Macon County. Macon County just happens to be the most productive county in Missouri for deer hunters.
Based on those two cases, the MDC decided to test free-ranging deer for CWD. About 1,100 deer were killed for CWD testing in Macon County (roughly a fifth of all the deer killed in Macon County). Two bucks were found to be infected with CWD and, by the way, these two deer were collected near the deer breeding facility where the disease was originally discovered.
Since CWD is transmitted via feces, urine, saliva, nose-to-nose contact or other direct and indirect contact, all the two bucks had to do was have contact with an infected deer at the fence of the deer breeding facility. Or, a captive deer from the facility “accidently” escaped, which is also a common occurrence with these operations.
Some “experts” and lobbyists will say there's no link between captive deer and CWD. Most of those “experts” and lobbyists are being paid by people who are desperate not to find a link between captive deer and CWD. But the vast majority of states where CWD has been found allow deer farming of one kind or another, and the vast majority of professional biologists believe the two go hand-in-hand because that is what the facts indicate.
Missouri will now implement a plan the Department of Conservation put in place in 2002 which includes more testing and a herd management strategy for the area where the disease has been found. In other states with a CWD problem, herd management has meant sharpshooting deer in large numbers (i.e., depopulation). And, this negatively affects private landowners and hunting leases near disease ridden deer farms. Thus, the economy of the multitudes is placed at risk for a few already wealthy individuals to further pad their bank accounts.
That's not any concern of Rep. Jay Powell who is sponsoring the bill on behalf of a handful of wealthy individuals and veterinarians who seek to usurp the public’s deer and use electroejaculation, artificial insemination, drug and chemical treatments, and hand-raise deer to supply shooting pens for trophy hunting.
HB 1043 leaves it up to the Department of Agriculture to set the rules and regulations for deer farmers/breeders. White-tailed deer in Georgia are publicly held wildlife not privately owned livestock. Wildlife should be managed and regulated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) who are the professional experts in such matters not the Department of Agriculture.
Certainly, Rep. Jay Powell and other proponents (most from outside Georgia) of deer breeding in Georgia will contend this is a jobs bill and it’s good for rural economies (current political buzz phrases). They're partially right about that, but have missed the boat. Deer hunting in Georgia is already big business. DNR has responsibly managed white-tailed deer in Georgia for more than 50 years. Through sound scientific management by professional biologists, Georgia’s annual harvest of free-ranging white-tailed deer taken by “fair-chase” methods grew from 17,000 in 1962 to 464,000 in 2011. Hunters have contributed through the wildlife restoration program and license revenue more than $750 million to Georgia’s successful wildlife management programs. Additionally, sportsmen contribute $1.8 billion to Georgia’s economy. The question remains, to what extent would this investment in Georgia’s economy by hunters be at risk as a result of a disease threat originating from breeding and farming white-tailed deer by a few number of individuals with the interest and financial means to establish such a business?
In Missouri, where the economic impact of deer breeding has been negligible, according to recent media reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is in talks with deer farmers/hunting preserve owners to buy them out and close the operations because of CWD. Once again, the government steps in and provides a taxpayer bailout of the individuals who fail to take responsibility for their irresponsible actions and, further, the taxpayers get stuck with the multi-million dollar bill to clean up the completely avoidable mess created by deer breeders and farmers. In the end, deer hunters, wildlife, and taxpayers get harmed and deer breeders get compensated. Another great private-public partnership.
Who says there's no money to be made from deer farming? We, the taxpayers, get stuck with paying the bill and the tip just as it was with the Wall Street bailouts.
Please contact Chairman Tom McCall and Chairman Jon Burns (404-656-5099). Tell them HB 1043 is bad public policy and detrimental to Georgia’s wildlife and hunting economy. Also, please call your local Representative and tell him or her the same.