# Missouri Gov. Nixon vetoes two bills defining captive deer as livestock



## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

Gov. Nixon vetoes two bills defining captive deer as livestock

July 8, 2014 

Governor points out Missouri Constitution gives Conservation Commission sole regulatory authority over wildlife; says bill provisions are clearly unconstitutional Columbia, MOGov. 

Jay Nixon today vetoed two bills that would have redefined the term livestock to include captive deer in order to eliminate the role of the Missouri Department of Conservation in regulating white-tailed deer. The Governor said those provisions of Senate Bill 506 and House Bill 1326 would go against longstanding successful conservation practices and also would clearly violate the Missouri Constitution, which gives exclusive authority over game and wildlife resources to the Missouri Conservation Commission.

For more than 75 years, our Department of Conservation has been held up as a model for wildlife management agencies across the country because of its incredible success, Gov. Nixon said. Redefining deer as livestock to remove the regulatory role of Department defies both its clear record of achievement as well as common sense. White-tailed deer are wildlife and also game animals  no matter if theyre roaming free, or enclosed in a fenced area.

In his veto message, the Governor cites the exclusive authority of the Missouri Conservation Commission provided by the Missouri Constitution under Article IV, Section 40(a). He also said that under the stewardship of the Missouri Department of Conservation, the states population of white-tailed deer has grown from fewer than 2,000 in the early 1930s to an estimated 1.3 million today, and that the 500,000 deer hunters contribute $1 billion to Missouris economy.

Growing and managing our deer herd and fostering the hunting opportunities that we enjoy takes hard work and sound science, and the Department of Conservation should be commended for employing both to preserve this important part of our heritage, not stripped of its authority to do so in order to protect narrow interests, the veto message reads.

Gov. Nixon noted that it is unfortunate that the legislature insisted on amending this unconstitutional provision to two pieces of legislation that otherwise contain worthy provisions advancing Missouri agriculture.

The Governor discussed his actions on the two bills at a special meeting today of the Missouri Conservation Commission in Columbia. The veto message on Senate Bill 506 can be found here, 

http://governor.mo.gov/sites/default/files/SB 506.pdf 

and the veto message on House Bill 1326 can be found here. 

http://governor.mo.gov/sites/default/files/HB 1326.pdf 

http://governor.mo.gov/news/archive/gov-nixon-vetoes-two-bills-defining-captive-deer-livestock 

PRION 2014 CONFERENCE

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD 

A FEW FINDINGS ; 

Conclusions. To our knowledge, this is the first established experimental model of CWD in TgSB3985. We found evidence for co-existence or divergence of two CWD strains adapted to Tga20 mice and their replication in TgSB3985 mice. Finally, we observed phenotypic differences between cervid-derived CWD and CWD/Tg20 strains upon propagation in TgSB3985 mice. Further studies are underway to characterize these strains. 

We conclude that TSE infectivity is likely to survive burial for long time periods with minimal loss of infectivity and limited movement from the original burial site. However PMCA results have shown that there is the potential for rainwater to elute TSE related material from soil which could lead to the contamination of a wider area. These experiments reinforce the importance of risk assessment when disposing of TSE risk materials. 

The results show that even highly diluted PrPSc can bind efficiently to polypropylene, stainless steel, glass, wood and stone and propagate the conversion of normal prion protein. For in vivo experiments, hamsters were ic injected with implants incubated in 1% 263K-infected brain homogenate. Hamsters, inoculated with 263K-contaminated implants of all groups, developed typical signs of prion disease, whereas control animals inoculated with non-contaminated materials did not.

Our data establish that meadow voles are permissive to CWD via peripheral exposure route, suggesting they could serve as an environmental reservoir for CWD. Additionally, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that at least two strains of CWD circulate in naturally-infected cervid populations and provide evidence that meadow voles are a useful tool for CWD strain typing. 

Conclusion. CWD prions are shed in saliva and urine of infected deer as early as 3 months post infection and throughout the subsequent >1.5 year course of infection. In current work we are examining the relationship of prionemia to excretion and the impact of excreted prion binding to surfaces and particulates in the environment.

Conclusion. CWD prions (as inferred by prion seeding activity by RT-QuIC) are shed in urine of infected deer as early as 6 months post inoculation and throughout the subsequent disease course. Further studies are in progress refining the real-time urinary prion assay sensitivity and we are examining more closely the excretion time frame, magnitude, and sample variables in relationship to inoculation route and prionemia in naturally and experimentally CWD-infected cervids.

Conclusions. Our results suggested that the odds of infection for CWD is likely controlled by areas that congregate deer thus increasing direct transmission (deer-to-deer interactions) or indirect transmission (deer-to-environment) by sharing or depositing infectious prion proteins in these preferred habitats. Epidemiology of CWD in the eastern U.S. is likely controlled by separate factors than found in the Midwestern and endemic areas for CWD and can assist in performing more efficient surveillance efforts for the region.

Conclusions. During the pre-symptomatic stage of CWD infection and throughout the course of disease deer may be shedding multiple LD50 doses per day in their saliva. CWD prion shedding through saliva and excreta may account for the unprecedented spread of this prion disease in nature. 

Monday, June 23, 2014 

*** PRION 2014 CONFERENCE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD 

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/06/prion-2014-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html 

Tuesday, July 01, 2014 

*** CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION DISEASE, GAME FARMS, AND POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS THERE FROM ***

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/07/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse-prion.html 

Thursday, July 03, 2014 

*** How Chronic Wasting Disease is affecting deer population and whats the risk to humans and pets? ***

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-chronic-wasting-disease-is.html 

Monday, July 07, 2014 

Governor Nixon Hosting Press Conference to Act on Captive Deer Legislation in Missouri 

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/07/governor-nixon-hosting-press-conference.html 


TSS


Tuesday, July 08, 2014 

Missouri Gov. Nixon vetoes two bills defining captive deer as livestock 

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/07/missouri-gov-nixon-vetoes-two-bills.html


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Appears to be a good decision... Willing to read dissent.


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## johnhunter247 (Mar 12, 2011)

Thumbs up to the governor.


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

here is the video of the speech the good Governor Nixon made on the veto. great speech ''deer are NOT livestock''... ''we cannot head back to the bad old days, when wildlife decisions, were made by officials worried about the next election, rather than professionals committed to doing what's best for the next generation, and the ones to follow that''... 

BRAVO! 









:woohoo1:


kind regards, terry





terry said:


> Gov. Nixon vetoes two bills defining captive deer as livestock
> 
> July 8, 2014
> 
> ...


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

MDC encourages Missourians to share opinions on protecting deer

Go online to mdc.mo.gov/DeerHealth to share opinions on proposed MDC regulations for the captive-cervid industry that protect Missouri deer from diseases.


JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Conservation Commission recently approved proposed regulation changes to the Missouri Wildlife Code regarding the operations of hunting preserves and wildlife breeding facilities that hold white-tailed deer, mule deer, and their hybrids.

The proposed regulation changes will be published in the Missouri Register through the Secretary of States Office at sos.mo.gov/adrules/moreg/moreg.asp for a 30-day public comment period beginning July 16.

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Director Robert Ziehmer stressed that success in keeping Missouri deer healthy and abundant depends on an informed and involved public.

Public input is an important part of how the Conservation Department makes decisions involving regulations, Ziehmer said. We will consider all public comments before deciding whether the regulations will be adopted, amended, or withdrawn.

He encouraged all Missourians to share their comments on these regulations. Get a comment card at MDC offices, nature centers, and numerous locations where hunting and fishing permits are sold, or simply go online to mdc.mo.gov/DeerHealth, the Director said. 


The regulations are part of MDCs ongoing strategy to minimize the spread of fatal diseases in the states deer population, such as Chronic Wasting Disease. This fatal disease affects members of the deer family, collectively called cervids.

Chronic Wasting Disease was first found in Missouri in captive-deer operations in Macon and Linn counties. It has also been found in numerous captive-deer operations in more than a dozen other states. It is always fatal to infected animals and has no cure. The disease is spread among deer herds mainly through direct contact. The movement of captive cervids within states and across state lines spreads the disease to new areas.

MDCs statewide proposed regulations include:


Banning the importation of live white-tailed deer, mule deer, and their hybrids from other states; 
Improving fencing requirements for new and expanding captive-cervid facilities; 
Requiring all deer six months or older that die in captive-cervid facilities to be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease;

Establishing better record-keeping requirements for captive-cervid operations; and 
Prohibiting any new captive-cervid facilities within 25 miles of where Chronic Wasting Disease has been confirmed.

Under the Missouri Constitution, MDC, which is governed by a citizen-led Conservation Commission, has the authority and responsibility to protect and manage Missouri wildlife, including deer.

Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and watch deer, and all white-tailed deer in Missouri are wildlife, regardless of which side of a fence they may be on, said Ziehmer.

According to MDC, a healthy and abundant deer population in the state is vital to half-a-million deer hunters, two-million wildlife watchers, tens-of-thousands of landowners who manage their properties for deer and deer hunting, and many conservation organizations. Deer hunting and watching also supports the states vital Share the Harvest Program where hunters donate deer meat to Missourians in need, along with more than 12,000 Missouri jobs, and a billion-dollar annual economic benefit to Missouri and Missourians.





Antlered Buck 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Share your opinions on proposed MDC regulations for the captive-cervid industry that protect Missouri deer from diseases. Get a comment card at MDC offices, nature centers, and numerous locations where hunting and fishing permits are sold, or go online to mdc.mo.gov/DeerHealth.




MEDIA CONTACT: 

Joe Jerek
Statewide News Services Coordinator
573-522-4115, ext. 3362
[email protected]




http://mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/...ting-disease/protecting-missouris-white-taile



MDCs statewide proposed regulations include: 

Banning the importation of live white-tailed deer, mule deer, and their hybrids from other states; 

YES ! 

Improving fencing requirements for new and expanding captive-cervid facilities; 

YES ! 

Requiring all deer six months or older that die in captive-cervid facilities to be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease; 

YES ! 

Establishing better record-keeping requirements for captive-cervid operations; and YES ! 

Prohibiting any new captive-cervid facilities within 25 miles of where Chronic Wasting Disease has been confirmed. 

YES, but, I would prefer a moratorium, on any and all new captive-cervid facilities, until a live test is available, and when that happens, all captive cervid are to be tested once a year and every dead cervid must be tested (any missing deer without records and trace forward, the captive facility should be immediately shut down, until said records are found, if not found, like the recent captive escapees from the cwd index herd in PA to LA and who knows where else, the facility should be shut down permanently, and at the cost of the captive farm, with heavy fines and penalties, and or when any cervid is sold, and until the cwd program is made to be MANDATORY, instead of voluntary). I also believe that it is the responsibility of all game farms, shooting pens, sperm mills, antler mills, urine mills, velvet mills, to have insurance not just to cover their loss, but to also cover the loss to the state, if CWD is documented any said facilities. once cwd is established, that land is worthless for years, if not decades to come, therefore will not be worth much, if you can use it at all. ...

kind regards, terry 


snip...see full text ;


Tuesday, July 15, 2014 

MDC encourages Missourians to share opinions on protecting deer 

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/07/mdc-encourages-missourians-to-share.html



kind regards, terry


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## RML (Apr 24, 2009)

This Veto was great news..Now the MCD needs to make all the high fence clubs FIX THERE FENCES and inspect them yearly too...Most of them need to be brought up to code with a double fence system..The first fence stops momentom from a running jumping Deer. The second fence is so tall they would have to get a running start to get over it..All the math of distance between the 2 fences and the height is figured out all you have to do is follow the directions..But MOST of these clubs will bitch and complain about spending the money.. MDC then need to tell them tought S***..Fix your fences or your out of Business..

That was how this who effen problem started in MO. A effed up old fence, trampled down by Deer coming and going at will..

The WHOLE IDEA of high fences is to keep your herd IN and the States Deer out...SO Do It..


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

Missouri Comment time running out on deer farming regs (AUDIO) 

August 13, 2014 By Bob Priddy 

Tomorrow is the deadline for Missourians to comment on the Conservation Departments new regulations for farmers who want to raise deer. But an important political decision could make the regulations moot.

The legislature will consider next month whether to override the Governors veto of a bill transferring regulation of deer farming from the Conservation Department to the Agriculture Department. Conservation says its not assuming the veto will stand as it solicits comments about new regulations that requires fences deer cant jump over, improved record-keeping when the deer are shipped, and mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease for deer that die in captivity.

Department deputy director Tim Ripperger says testing is needed to get a better handle on Chronic Wasting Disease, which attacks the animals nervous system and is always fatal, in captivity and in the wild. We did find it in a facility in north-central Missouri and the wild herd where we found it has been within two miles of that captive facility, he says.

Hes not saying the disease originated in the captive facility. But halting the spread of the disease is so important that the new rules ban captive deer operations within 25 miles of places where CWD has been found.

The regulations also ban the importation of live white-tailed deer, mule deer, and their hybrids from other states being in captive cervid operations. The rules require fences that deer cant jump over and space between double fences to keep outside deer from touching noses with impounded deer. It bans captive deer operations with 25 miles of any place where CWD has been confirmed.

Comments should be sent to the Secretary of States office by tomorrow although the department will keep taking them for a while longer.

http://www.missourinet.com/2014/08/13/comment-time-running-out-on-deer-farming-regs-audio/

http://mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/...ting-disease/protecting-missouris-white-taile

TSS


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## Section 8 (Feb 28, 2006)

Love it


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

One vote. 

One vote was the difference between reclassifying captive deer as livestock, or leaving them as wildlife under the control of the Missouri Department of Conservation. For a brief moment, the 109 votes needed to override Senate Bill 506 were secured. Then Representative Jeff Roorda, who is running for the State Senate in District 22, changed his voted and secured a huge victory for conservation. 

But the one vote margin to stop the override of SB 506 doesnt represent the true legislative sentiment regarding captive deer. And it is in complete opposition to how the vast majority of Missouri citizens and especially conservationists feel about the captive deer debate. 

You see, what really happened was a few captive industry champions, led by Senator Brian Munzlinger, and Representatives Casey Guernsey, Jay Houghton and Sandy Crawford, knew the captive deer legislation couldnt pass on its own during the regular legislative session, so they came up with a plan to include the captive cervid language in agriculture omnibus bills (Senate Bill 506 and House Bill 1326) that they thought were too good to fail. They were wrong. The Governor called their hand and vetoed the legislation. This past week the House of Representatives sustained his veto.

In the end, good agriculture bills failed because Munzlinger and Guernsey gambled them away. So now the Dairy Farmers are left without their Revitalization Act, livestock hauling limits remain the same and some scholarships for students were lost because a couple of politicians tried to backdoor bad legislation to support a tiny special interest group that is very willing and able to spread money around. What a shame for the farmers who needed the good agriculture bills to pass.

Thankfully for sportsmen and the millions of Missourians who appreciate wildlife, 52 state representatives were willing to stand against intense lobbyist pressure, and make a very hard decision to vote against overriding the Governors veto. 

Representative Jay Barnes of Jefferson City is one of the most sensible state legislators Ive had the pleasure of knowing. And he especially proved it on this issue by conducting himself the way the people who elected him would expect their representative to act. Instead of taking bribes, trading votes or buying into lobbyist lies, he examined the legislation and turned to the Missouri Constitution. In the end, he was one of the republicans who voted to sustain the veto.

Representative Barnes wrote a Jefferson City News-Tribune column that explained his position. He wrote, First, wildlife means those animal species that were wildlife in Missouri in 1936, when the provision was added to the Constitution. Second, wildlife is not all that Conservation has exclusive authority to regulate. Conservations constitutional mandate extends to game as well. Many deer-breeders in Missouri run their operations for hunters to shoot deer on their ranches. When a word is not defined in the Constitution or a statute, courts look next to the dictionary for a definition. Merriam-Websters online dictionary defines game as animals under pursuit or taken in hunting.

Senator Brian Munzlinger disagrees. He doesnt believe captive deer fall under MDCs constitutional authority. But then, Senator Munzlinger is a farmer and Representative Barnes is a constitutional lawyer. 

Representatives Chris Kelly of Columbia and T.J. McKenna of Festus were two who stood on the floor and fought to sustain the veto. 

McKenna turned to commonsense when he said, The Department of Conservation and the Department of Agriculture both testified against this bill. I dont know why we as a legislature continue to do what the people that take care of things tell us is not the right thing to do.

Great question. Maybe it had something to do with the checks the Missouri Deer Breeders and Hunting Ranch Association doled out. Representative Nate Walker told me he received an unsolicited check for $500 from them. Although Walker did vote to override the veto, he said it was because of the good agriculture portions of the bill, and he would have voted against the deer legislation had it been a stand-alone bill. If he received $500 without advocating for the captive industry, you have to wonder how much their champions pocketed. 

snip...see full article ; 

http://www.newstribune.com/news/2014/sep/14/driftwood-outdoors-captive-deer-remain-wildlife-co/ 

Thursday, September 11, 2014 

Missouri Nixon's Veto Stands Overide Fails on Agriculture Legislation 

How they voted: attempt to override veto of ag bill fails in the House

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2014/09/missouri-nixons-veto-stands-overide.html 

kind regards, terry


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