The Natural Resources Board on Wednesday passed an emergency rule that will change the way many Wisconsin deer farms do business and the way many hunters handle their kills.
Both parts of the measure have the same goal: reducing the spread of chronic wasting disease.
The rule resulted from a recommendation earlier this year from Gov. Scott Walker.
Chronic wasting disease is contagious and fatal to members of the deer family. First identified in the 1960s in Colorado, the disease is now found in at least 25 states and provinces in North America.
CWD has been linked to population declines in several deer and elk herds in the western U.S. It was first detected in Wisconsin in three whitetails killed near Mt. Horeb in the south-central part of the state in 2001.
Over the last 17 years, the disease has continued to spread in geographical distribution and increased in prevalence in the state. The Department of Natural Resources now considers 55 of the state’s 72 counties “CWD-affected.”
By all accounts, regulations designed to contain the disease have failed.
The rule approved Wednesday has two prongs intended to reduce the spread of the infectious prion that causes the disease.
For deer farms, it requires enhanced fencing at captive cervid facilities statewide. The objective is to prevent contact between captive and wild deer at fences.
If CWD has been found on the property, the business must install a second 8-foot-tall fence or a solid barrier that is at least 8 feet.
If the disease has not been detected at the facility, it must install one of the following: a second 8-foot fence, a solid barrier that is at least 8 feet or at least three strands of electrified wire around the perimeter.
Deer farmers have one year, or a time agreed to with the DNR, to perform the required fence enhancement.
For hunters, the rule applies restrictions on movement of deer carcasses from the 55 CWD-affected counties.
Hunters who kill a deer in a CWD-affected county will be required to quarter the deer or bone it out before moving it out of the county.
The rule allows portions of the carcass such as the spinal cord to be left on public land where the animal was harvested.
There are two exceptions to the transport restriction. A whole carcass can be moved out of the county if it is taken to a taxidermist or a licensed meat processor. A deer head can also be moved out of a CWD-affected county if it is taken to a CWD sampling kiosk or sampling cooperator.
Under an amendment approved Wednesday, hunters have 72 hours after removing the carcass from the CWD-affected county to take it to a taxidermist or meat processor.
The hunting community and tribal representatives showed strong support for the rule.
“It’s a difficult decision, and it comes with costs,” said George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. “But ultimately it comes down to (the board’s) responsibility to protect the Wisconsin deer herd.”
Meyer said hunters, given the right information, will comply with the rule.
Scott Karel, DNR wildlife regulation policy specialist, said the agency plans to develop a video tutorial to explain the rule and offer recommendations on carcass handling.
A related item to watch down the road: Designated dumpsters to accept deer parts. Several board members encouraged the DNR to work with Gov. Walker and the Legislature to get funding to provide waste receptacles in CWD-affected counties.
The rule got a very different reception from deer farmers, however. All who testified were strongly opposed to the rule, mostly over cost concerns.
“If you approve the fencing rule, all you’re going to be doing is putting a lot of small businesses into bankruptcy and pushing CWD down the road,” said Rick Vojtik of Fairchild, president of Whitetails of Wisconsin, a deer farming group.
Wisconsin has 372 licensed deer farms, including shooting preserves, according to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
In the end, the NRB voted unanimously to approve the rule.
Its counterpart – the citizen board that oversees the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection – last month allowed a proposal to die that would have prohibited transfer of deer from CWD-positive counties.
That rule may come back in a permanent form. But the inaction by the DATCP board allows deer transfers to continue (unless a facility is quarantined) across the state.
History shows that policy will lead to increased spread of the disease.
The NRB did the right thing with the rule in its jurisdiction.
Nothing about CWD management is easy and the modified rule can only do so much.
But when given the chance to take a step or two toward stronger CWD controls, it’s critical to seize the opportunity.