How Should Deer Farm Regulations Be Changed to Better Protect the Ecosystem?
Background
Deer Farm have multiple purposes a few of them are for food purposes, for hunting preservers, and lastly breeding purposes. There are 301 deer farms (68 of them are hunting ranches)
The economic impact has been close to 1.8 million dollars due to pre-hunt in 2019. There is also a different type of economic impact when deers escape from deer farms that have CWD they infect other deer and damage wildlife crops that end up costing the state of Wisconsin 1 million dollars in repair.
The impact of deer farms is the huge spread of CWD that is transmitted directly through animal to animal, so when a deer farm has multiple deer with CWD this is a huge danger to the surrounding deer and environment. For example if a deer escapes the deer farm with CWD and goes to another wild deer this is going to contaminate the other deer which would later on get worse and worse since the deer is gonna keep passing it to different wild deers. Another impact would be the genetics of the deer, CWD causes damage proportionally to the brain and typically through time causes loss of body conditions, excessive salivation and death. Farmed deer are open to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis, malignant catarrhal fever and yersiniosis.
Regulations
The fencing regulations in Wisconsin states “Any person who keeps farm-raised deer that are white-tailed deer shall keep the farm-raised deer enclosed by a perimeter fence that meets all of the following requirements. The first major rule is “Fence shall be at least 8 feet tall measured from the ground to the top horizontal wire.” The second major rule is “The distance between vertical stay wires is not more than 6 inches.” And the third major rule states “The distance between horizontal line wires is not more than 4 inches in the bottom foot of the fence, is not more than 6.5 inches in the next 2 feet of the fence and is not more than 8.5 inches in the rest of the fence.” These three laws are the two biggest when it comes to fencing because these are the dimensions of the fences that are the bare minimum. However, Wisconsin Legislature section (1). Subsection (a). states that “Fences constructed and approved prior to January 1, 2003 need only be 7‵10‶ in height.” Which is the only fencing exception for deer farms.
There are three major sections of regulations in place to help slow and prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CDW). The first being deer parts that are moved, the Department of Natural Resources states that if not brought to a licensed taxidermist or meat processor within 72 hours the meat cannot be moved if it was in a county with a reported CWD case. The entire deer can be moved however it must be tested or legally permitted to be transported to a meat processing facility or a taxidermist. The DNR also states “The department recommends not transporting whole deer carcasses to areas outside the county or adjacent county where the animal was harvested.” To further help slow the spread of CDW in case of an accident where the body parts end up back in the wilderness. The second part is the movement of carcasses into Wisconsin. The DNR stated that “Whole carcasses and parts of carcasses from these states and provinces are not allowed into Wisconsin unless taken to a licensed meat processor or permitted taxidermist within 72 hours of entry into Wisconsin.” The states that are mentioned in this quote are Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois. The third and final major regulation is the disposal of deer carcasses. There are 3 suggested options from the DNR going in order from most effective to least effective. 1) Dispose of your deer carcass waste in a landfill, transfer station or deer carcass disposal dumpster, 2) Bury the deer carcass waste, if hunting on your land or on private land with landowner permission, and 3) Return to the location of harvest, if on your land or on private land with landowner permission.
For movement between farms the regulations are very strict for the safety of us and our deer in Wisconsin. To transport deer you must show and have your certificate of veterinary inspection which needs to be signed by a Wisconsin certified herd veterinarian. The deer being transported also must be enrolled in the CWD Heard Status Program with at least 5 years of disease status.
Controversy
Deer farmers want to maximize their land for profit. When hunters see a deer they see a big buck. Landowners in many states raise fenced deer as livestock. Farmers sell everything from antlers, velvet, urine and venison to control hunts and breeding stock. Farmers are able to make big money with bucks with trophy antlers that can fetch prices in six figures. Deer farms can cause CWD to spread rapidly. If one deer were to get the disease the most possible outcome will be that the rest of the deer will also get the disease.
Every three years the DNR approves population objectives for each deer management unit based on the population metrics and CDAC input. As soon as the objectives are set, wildlife biologists and the CDACs work together to set hunting quotas and seasons to move the local deer population in the direction of the objective. Their main goal for the population objective is to produce a healthy herd, fewer deer damage complaints and good hunting and wildlife watching for everyone.
Wildlife biologists worry that captive herds could spread diseases such as chronic wasting diseases to wild populations and sabotage the health of an entire state's deer population. There is no test for CWD for live animals and it’s always fatal to deer. Another reason why biologists do not agree with deer farms is because they believe deer should be let loose in the wild and they state that “ deer are wildlife not livestock.”
The U.S department of Agriculture regulations require double-fencing for deer farms taking a role in its CWD herd certification programs to make an attempt to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease.” When you have a single fence. “It’s nose to nose contact”. “ Nose to nose contact is a way of spreading the disease. Although double fencing might be a good way of spreading the disease it could lead farmers to other issues. For the past five years Dan Brown has been raising deer in fall creek. He says the new emergency rules regarding CWD in Wisconsin are concerning for the industry. He says that double fencing means different things. Adding another 8 foot fence would cost and that it's going to shrink the size of their pens down which is going to shrink the size of the herds. He fears this plan of double fencing will lead to loss of revenue because he wouldn't be able to raise as many deers as he wants.
Solutions
CDW as of now can’t be cured however it can be prevented through the regulations in place. Such as the transportation regulations to hopefully slow the spread throughout Wisconsin. Something that could be done to help the prevention is make it a law for all deer farms to join the CWD Status Program to help the tracking and quarantine of deer that could potentially Car
Sources
DATCP Home Farm-Raised Deer
Wisconsin Legislature
Carcass Movement, Processing and Disposal (DNR)
Wisconsin State farmer
Deer Farm have multiple purposes a few of them are for food purposes, for hunting preservers, and lastly breeding purposes. There are 301 deer farms (68 of them are hunting ranches)
The economic impact has been close to 1.8 million dollars due to pre-hunt in 2019. There is also a different type of economic impact when deers escape from deer farms that have CWD they infect other deer and damage wildlife crops that end up costing the state of Wisconsin 1 million dollars in repair.
The impact of deer farms is the huge spread of CWD that is transmitted directly through animal to animal, so when a deer farm has multiple deer with CWD this is a huge danger to the surrounding deer and environment. For example if a deer escapes the deer farm with CWD and goes to another wild deer this is going to contaminate the other deer which would later on get worse and worse since the deer is gonna keep passing it to different wild deers. Another impact would be the genetics of the deer, CWD causes damage proportionally to the brain and typically through time causes loss of body conditions, excessive salivation and death. Farmed deer are open to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis, malignant catarrhal fever and yersiniosis.
Regulations
The fencing regulations in Wisconsin states “Any person who keeps farm-raised deer that are white-tailed deer shall keep the farm-raised deer enclosed by a perimeter fence that meets all of the following requirements. The first major rule is “Fence shall be at least 8 feet tall measured from the ground to the top horizontal wire.” The second major rule is “The distance between vertical stay wires is not more than 6 inches.” And the third major rule states “The distance between horizontal line wires is not more than 4 inches in the bottom foot of the fence, is not more than 6.5 inches in the next 2 feet of the fence and is not more than 8.5 inches in the rest of the fence.” These three laws are the two biggest when it comes to fencing because these are the dimensions of the fences that are the bare minimum. However, Wisconsin Legislature section (1). Subsection (a). states that “Fences constructed and approved prior to January 1, 2003 need only be 7‵10‶ in height.” Which is the only fencing exception for deer farms.
There are three major sections of regulations in place to help slow and prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CDW). The first being deer parts that are moved, the Department of Natural Resources states that if not brought to a licensed taxidermist or meat processor within 72 hours the meat cannot be moved if it was in a county with a reported CWD case. The entire deer can be moved however it must be tested or legally permitted to be transported to a meat processing facility or a taxidermist. The DNR also states “The department recommends not transporting whole deer carcasses to areas outside the county or adjacent county where the animal was harvested.” To further help slow the spread of CDW in case of an accident where the body parts end up back in the wilderness. The second part is the movement of carcasses into Wisconsin. The DNR stated that “Whole carcasses and parts of carcasses from these states and provinces are not allowed into Wisconsin unless taken to a licensed meat processor or permitted taxidermist within 72 hours of entry into Wisconsin.” The states that are mentioned in this quote are Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois. The third and final major regulation is the disposal of deer carcasses. There are 3 suggested options from the DNR going in order from most effective to least effective. 1) Dispose of your deer carcass waste in a landfill, transfer station or deer carcass disposal dumpster, 2) Bury the deer carcass waste, if hunting on your land or on private land with landowner permission, and 3) Return to the location of harvest, if on your land or on private land with landowner permission.
For movement between farms the regulations are very strict for the safety of us and our deer in Wisconsin. To transport deer you must show and have your certificate of veterinary inspection which needs to be signed by a Wisconsin certified herd veterinarian. The deer being transported also must be enrolled in the CWD Heard Status Program with at least 5 years of disease status.
Controversy
Deer farmers want to maximize their land for profit. When hunters see a deer they see a big buck. Landowners in many states raise fenced deer as livestock. Farmers sell everything from antlers, velvet, urine and venison to control hunts and breeding stock. Farmers are able to make big money with bucks with trophy antlers that can fetch prices in six figures. Deer farms can cause CWD to spread rapidly. If one deer were to get the disease the most possible outcome will be that the rest of the deer will also get the disease.
Every three years the DNR approves population objectives for each deer management unit based on the population metrics and CDAC input. As soon as the objectives are set, wildlife biologists and the CDACs work together to set hunting quotas and seasons to move the local deer population in the direction of the objective. Their main goal for the population objective is to produce a healthy herd, fewer deer damage complaints and good hunting and wildlife watching for everyone.
Wildlife biologists worry that captive herds could spread diseases such as chronic wasting diseases to wild populations and sabotage the health of an entire state's deer population. There is no test for CWD for live animals and it’s always fatal to deer. Another reason why biologists do not agree with deer farms is because they believe deer should be let loose in the wild and they state that “ deer are wildlife not livestock.”
The U.S department of Agriculture regulations require double-fencing for deer farms taking a role in its CWD herd certification programs to make an attempt to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease.” When you have a single fence. “It’s nose to nose contact”. “ Nose to nose contact is a way of spreading the disease. Although double fencing might be a good way of spreading the disease it could lead farmers to other issues. For the past five years Dan Brown has been raising deer in fall creek. He says the new emergency rules regarding CWD in Wisconsin are concerning for the industry. He says that double fencing means different things. Adding another 8 foot fence would cost and that it's going to shrink the size of their pens down which is going to shrink the size of the herds. He fears this plan of double fencing will lead to loss of revenue because he wouldn't be able to raise as many deers as he wants.
Solutions
CDW as of now can’t be cured however it can be prevented through the regulations in place. Such as the transportation regulations to hopefully slow the spread throughout Wisconsin. Something that could be done to help the prevention is make it a law for all deer farms to join the CWD Status Program to help the tracking and quarantine of deer that could potentially Car
Sources
DATCP Home Farm-Raised Deer
Wisconsin Legislature
Carcass Movement, Processing and Disposal (DNR)
Wisconsin State farmer