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NEWS!
Battle brews over control of deer herd
Columbus - Legislation introduced in the Ohio General Assembly to transfer authority for deer farms and deer preserves to the Ohio Department of Agriculture is opposed by both the Ohio Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture.
“After reviewing both pieces of legislation (in the House and Senate), we've concluded that these proposals are not in the best interest of Ohioans, nor our livestock and wildlife herds,” said Cristie Wilts, chief of communication for the DNR.
“We are very close to filing a rule package that takes into consideration the unique and distinct regulatory responsibilities of wildlife management at ODNR and animal disease management at ODA, as well as the concerns in the regulated community,” Wilt said. “We believe that this is the best approach and will not warrant legislative action.”
Wilt said neither the ODNR nor ODA had input on the two pieces of legislation.
“We cannot support either (legislation). There won't be support testimony coming from our department,” said ODA Deputy Director Greg Hargett. Hargett said the best course of action is to adopt a rules package with the ODNR to address issues in disease management of the deer herd.
“We have a good working relationship (with the ODNR),” Hargett said.
Rep. Mark Okey, D-Carrollton, a main sponsor of H.B. 410 and who is a lawyer, said the Agriculture Department's position “changes with the wind. One day they are for it, and one day they are against it.”
Okey said he was approached by a deer propagator in his constituency who felt that the DOW was “heavy handed in the regulation of their industry.” He said he wrote several letters to the DOW since August 2009 but has not heard anything from the division.
“They refuse to take a friend's hand in an offer to help,” Okey said. “If you think I sound frustrated, that's an understatement.”
Okey said his legislation is “sympathetic” to the DOW's concerns about regulation of the deer farmers and game preserves.
“I am not the bad guy in this,” he said.
Now Okey said, he is in “sensitive consultations” with ODNR Director Sean Logan about the legislation.
Okey said his research of the existing laws that pertain to management of Ohio's domestic cervids gives authority for management to the Department of Agriculture and has a legal opinion from the ODA that supports his findings. He said current law is “confusing and poorly drafted.”
The perception by some deer farmers that the DOW is heavy handed in its regulation of the industry is shared by Vaughn Stull of Uhrichsville, Ohio, who has raised deer since 1998.
When the DOW inspectors show up at his farm, Stull said, “I think they are more concerned with what they can find is wrong.”
As for CWD awareness, “We were way ahead of it,” he said. Stull said the DOW seems to be “pushing health issues to an unreasonable degree. It is hard to do business “when you have to spend so much money for health issues.”
Stull also feels the DOW is pitting Ohio's sportsmen against the deer farmers.
“We are all animal lovers,” he said.
The Columbus-based U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance said the proposed legislation could endanger Ohio's deer herd and issued a statement in support of the DOW's continued management of domestic and wild deer.
“The DOW is the only agency in Ohio with the tools, expertise and resources available to ensure we protect this great natural resource,” said Evan Heusinkveld, director of state services for the Sportsmen's Alliance, in a news release. “Regulation, inspection, and enforcement over captive deer facilities should remain with the DOW.”
Last week, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported the Ohio Senate held a hearing on its bill, Senate Bill 225, which would require the ODA manage the commercially raised deer herd and the DOW manage the wild deer herd.
Four ODA veterinarians and eight inspectors handle livestock, including deer testing, The Plain Dealer reported.
No hearing as yet for House Bill 410, which seeks “to establish an agricultural deer propagating license, an agricultural deer hunting preserve license, and corresponding requirements under the authority of the Director of Agriculture.”
Ohio has 566 domestic deer propagators and 27 hunting preserves, according to the DOW.
Assistant DOW Chief Jim Marshall said he thinks that the division has had a good history of oversight of hunting preserves and deer propagators.
“I think we have established good rules. CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) has changed the game nationwide,” he said. “We have to develop a set of rules that the industry can live with.”
Mandatory CWD testing would be a big part of rule changes, he said.
CWD is a fatal degenerative brain disease that affects whitetailed and mule deer and elk. CWD can travel a mile a day in a wild deer population, Marshall said.
“With propagators, (CWD) can move 60 mph. That's how fast it is moving when you put it in the back of a truck,” he said.
Nationwide, CWD has been found in 15 other states and two Canadian provinces. For the eighth consecutive year, testing has found no evidence of CWD in Ohio's deer herd, according to a DOW news release.
State and federal agriculture and wildlife officials collected 571 samples in 2009 from hunter-harvested deer from 44 counties mostly during the annual deer gun season. All CWD testing was performed at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the DOA.
In addition to CWD, all 571 samples of the hunter-harvested deer samples were also tested and found negative for bovine tuberculosis.
Since 2002, the DOW, the ODA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been conducting surveillance throughout Ohio for CWD and bovine tuberculosis.
This post is for informational purposes only.
Battle brews over control of deer herd
Columbus - Legislation introduced in the Ohio General Assembly to transfer authority for deer farms and deer preserves to the Ohio Department of Agriculture is opposed by both the Ohio Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture.
“After reviewing both pieces of legislation (in the House and Senate), we've concluded that these proposals are not in the best interest of Ohioans, nor our livestock and wildlife herds,” said Cristie Wilts, chief of communication for the DNR.
“We are very close to filing a rule package that takes into consideration the unique and distinct regulatory responsibilities of wildlife management at ODNR and animal disease management at ODA, as well as the concerns in the regulated community,” Wilt said. “We believe that this is the best approach and will not warrant legislative action.”
Wilt said neither the ODNR nor ODA had input on the two pieces of legislation.
“We cannot support either (legislation). There won't be support testimony coming from our department,” said ODA Deputy Director Greg Hargett. Hargett said the best course of action is to adopt a rules package with the ODNR to address issues in disease management of the deer herd.
“We have a good working relationship (with the ODNR),” Hargett said.
Rep. Mark Okey, D-Carrollton, a main sponsor of H.B. 410 and who is a lawyer, said the Agriculture Department's position “changes with the wind. One day they are for it, and one day they are against it.”
Okey said he was approached by a deer propagator in his constituency who felt that the DOW was “heavy handed in the regulation of their industry.” He said he wrote several letters to the DOW since August 2009 but has not heard anything from the division.
“They refuse to take a friend's hand in an offer to help,” Okey said. “If you think I sound frustrated, that's an understatement.”
Okey said his legislation is “sympathetic” to the DOW's concerns about regulation of the deer farmers and game preserves.
“I am not the bad guy in this,” he said.
Now Okey said, he is in “sensitive consultations” with ODNR Director Sean Logan about the legislation.
Okey said his research of the existing laws that pertain to management of Ohio's domestic cervids gives authority for management to the Department of Agriculture and has a legal opinion from the ODA that supports his findings. He said current law is “confusing and poorly drafted.”
The perception by some deer farmers that the DOW is heavy handed in its regulation of the industry is shared by Vaughn Stull of Uhrichsville, Ohio, who has raised deer since 1998.
When the DOW inspectors show up at his farm, Stull said, “I think they are more concerned with what they can find is wrong.”
As for CWD awareness, “We were way ahead of it,” he said. Stull said the DOW seems to be “pushing health issues to an unreasonable degree. It is hard to do business “when you have to spend so much money for health issues.”
Stull also feels the DOW is pitting Ohio's sportsmen against the deer farmers.
“We are all animal lovers,” he said.
The Columbus-based U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance said the proposed legislation could endanger Ohio's deer herd and issued a statement in support of the DOW's continued management of domestic and wild deer.
“The DOW is the only agency in Ohio with the tools, expertise and resources available to ensure we protect this great natural resource,” said Evan Heusinkveld, director of state services for the Sportsmen's Alliance, in a news release. “Regulation, inspection, and enforcement over captive deer facilities should remain with the DOW.”
Last week, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported the Ohio Senate held a hearing on its bill, Senate Bill 225, which would require the ODA manage the commercially raised deer herd and the DOW manage the wild deer herd.
Four ODA veterinarians and eight inspectors handle livestock, including deer testing, The Plain Dealer reported.
No hearing as yet for House Bill 410, which seeks “to establish an agricultural deer propagating license, an agricultural deer hunting preserve license, and corresponding requirements under the authority of the Director of Agriculture.”
Ohio has 566 domestic deer propagators and 27 hunting preserves, according to the DOW.
Assistant DOW Chief Jim Marshall said he thinks that the division has had a good history of oversight of hunting preserves and deer propagators.
“I think we have established good rules. CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) has changed the game nationwide,” he said. “We have to develop a set of rules that the industry can live with.”
Mandatory CWD testing would be a big part of rule changes, he said.
CWD is a fatal degenerative brain disease that affects whitetailed and mule deer and elk. CWD can travel a mile a day in a wild deer population, Marshall said.
“With propagators, (CWD) can move 60 mph. That's how fast it is moving when you put it in the back of a truck,” he said.
Nationwide, CWD has been found in 15 other states and two Canadian provinces. For the eighth consecutive year, testing has found no evidence of CWD in Ohio's deer herd, according to a DOW news release.
State and federal agriculture and wildlife officials collected 571 samples in 2009 from hunter-harvested deer from 44 counties mostly during the annual deer gun season. All CWD testing was performed at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the DOA.
In addition to CWD, all 571 samples of the hunter-harvested deer samples were also tested and found negative for bovine tuberculosis.
Since 2002, the DOW, the ODA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been conducting surveillance throughout Ohio for CWD and bovine tuberculosis.
This post is for informational purposes only.