# Michigan cracks down on private deer-hunting ranches



## terry

Michigan cracks down on private deer-hunting ranches

By Rosemary Parker | Kalamazoo Gazette 
November 14, 2009, 9:38PM


THREE RIVERS  Jack Menges has worked for 19 years as a taxidermist and deer processor, but he will not accept animals shot on private hunting ranches. 

I think they (ranches) ought to all be closed, said Menges, owner of the Rocky River Taxidermy in Three Rivers. Its an unsportsmanlike way of hunting  you might as well go down to the zoo to shoot them.

Worse, he says, the state of Michigan doesnt have enough money or manpower to properly oversee the ranch operations to assure the animals dont spread disease to the states wild deer herd. On that point, it appears the state now agrees.

In a hard new stance, private hunting ranches that dont meet state wildlife health regulations by Jan. 1, will not have their three-year operating licenses renewed. 

Of the 464 licensed deer farms in Michigan, 172 remain under a quarantine imposed in August 2008 after Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, was discovered on a Kent County private deer ranch.

Although no more cases of the fatal deer disease have been found, the state can no longer afford to be lax about enforcing its wildlife-health rules, said Steve Halstead, a veterinarian with the Michigan Department of Agriculture. 

We will no longer be looking the other way and assisting them in their noncompliance, Halstead said. Now there will be no option for renewal. 

Quarantined private deer and elk ranches were allowed to resume business only after state investigators determined they were in compliance with CWD rules protecting the states wild deer herd from exposure to any diseases the ranches might harbor.

About 144 of the 172 farms remain quarantined for CWD violations. The facilities have not completed the required testing to make sure their herds are free of the disease. The rest of the quarantined farms were cited for both CWD and bovine tuberculosis violations.

The offenders range from large game ranches and breeding farms to smaller show and hobby farms. 

Ninety-four farms, out of nearly 600 last year, have since closed down, unable to meet the states requirements. Investigators also found another 79 unregistered farms that had no government oversight. Of those 79, at least two, state officials say, are large deer facilities with more than 200 animals each. 

Hunting is allowed on quarantined facilities and the meat may be removed for processing, said Bridget Patrick, risk communications specialist for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. 
The animals heads are submitted for disease testing. However, live animals are not permitted to come and go from quarantined farms.

The agriculture department oversees the animal health side of the deer farming industry, since deer and elk farms in Michigan are regulated as livestock. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources regulates the farms physical facility. DNR staff members make sure that high fence enclosures do not interfere with natural wildlife corridors and that they meet standards set to keep captive animals in and wild animals out. 

Farms can be declared out of compliance on the health side or for facility operations.

Crackdown supported 

Kelly Powell, owner of J&B Whitetails in Algoma Township in Kent County, believes the state crackdown is appropriate. He is also president of the United Deer Farmers of Michigan, the trade group that represents the industry.

The organization formed this year when two now defunct groups representing deer breeders and private deer ranchers joined forces to speak for the industry.

Powell said his organization supports strong enforcement of the regulations and level application of the rules. He said deer farming cannot be just a hobby when so much is at stake. To do it right, and safely, requires a serious financial investment, he said. 

If you dont have the financial resources to house these animals humanely, you pretty quickly have fence issues or health issues, and you put your neighbors farm at risk, Powell said. 

That same investment, however, is tenuous at the state level, where discussions are under way about increasing fees for deer farmers in the state. The agriculture department and DNR oversight programs are underfunded, according to staff. That financial gap means agriculture department staff members monitor paper transactions rather than make site visits while other programs get cut to fund CWD prevention efforts. 

Shannon Hanna, who oversees the DNRs programs, said shes aware of 30 farms that have been cited for inadequate fencing or enclosures. Facility owners drag their feet, she said. 
Meanwhile, field biologists get calls from hunters who observe ear-tagged, farm deer running loose in the woods. 

We dont have the money to go to all 30 and say get that fence fixed, Hanna said. They are hanging in limbo, but I think the January deadline will take care of those. 

Fees not enough
Deer-farm license fees were increased in 2006 to help fund the program and have the industry shoulder more of the costs, Hanna said.

Before the increase, we were getting $40,000 (in fees) for a program that was costing us $300,000, Hanna said. Since the fees went up, we get a little over half, $164,000, but it still doesnt cover the program which is a huge black hole for us. 

Deer and elk farmers began covering half of the cost of testing in October. The $50 fee per head had been divided between the U.S. Department of Agricultural and the state agriculture department. Deer farmers now pay $25 per head, with the USDA covering the rest.

Powell said his organization is working with the state to resolve issues such as fees, disease monitoring and enforcement. He said he expects the industry to rebound after the less responsible operations go out of business. 

Meanwhile, the flood of new permit applications for private deer ranches last year has come to a virtual standstill, with just three applications filed in 2009, Hanna said. 

Taxidermy practices also have come under closer scrutiny. The rules were tightened to improve recordkeeping, reduce cross-exposure of deer and make clear that it is against the law for a taxidermist to accept a carcass brought in from a state where CWD exists. 

State investigators have not determined the source of the disease in Kent County last year.

Howard Meyerson of the Gazette News Service contributed to this report


http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/11/michigan_cracks_down_on_privat.html






ALSO, NOTE MINERAL LICKS A POSSIBLE SOURCE AND TRANSMISSION MODE FOR CWD ;


http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/08/third-international-cwd-symposium-july.html



http://www.cwd-info.org/pdf/3rd_CWD_Symposium_utah.pdf



Thursday, September 10, 2009 


Experimental oral transmission of CWD to red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus): early detection and late stage distribution of protease-resistant protein


http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/09/experimental-oral-transmission-of.html




Thursday, September 24, 2009

Validation of Use of Rectoanal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue for Immunohistochemical Diagnosis of Chronic Wasting Disease in White-Tailed Deer 


http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/09/validation-of-use-of-rectoanal-mucosa.html


Sunday, April 12, 2009

CWD UPDATE Infection Studies in Two Species of Non-Human Primates and one Environmental reservoir infectivity study and evidence of two strains

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/04/cwd-update-infection-studies-in-two.html



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Detection of CWD Prions in Urine and Saliva of Deer by Transgenic Mouse Bioassay

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/03/detection-of-cwd-prions-in-urine-and.html


Monday, July 13, 2009

Deer Carcass Decomposition and Potential Scavenger Exposure to Chronic Wasting Disease

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/07/deer-carcass-decomposition-and.html



CWD, GAME FARMS, BAITING, AND POLITICS

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-game-farms-baiting-and-politics.html



NOT only muscle, but now fat of CWD infected deer holds infectivity of the TSE (prion) agent. ...TSS

Monday, July 06, 2009

Prion infectivity in fat of deer with Chronic Wasting Disease

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/07/prion-infectivity-in-fat-of-deer-with.html



Friday, February 20, 2009

Both Sides of the Fence: A Strategic Review of Chronic Wasting Disease

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/02/both-sides-of-fence-strategic-review-of.html



Saturday, September 06, 2008

Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer farm 79% INFECTION RATE

Contents: September 1 2008, Volume 20, Issue 5

snip...see full text ;

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/11/commentary-crimes-hurt-essence-of.html


Wednesday, January 07, 2009

CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-to-tighten-taxidermy-rules-hunters.html



Thursday, December 25, 2008 Lions and Prions and Deer Demise

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/12/lions-and-prions-and-deer-demise.html



Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Susceptibilities of Nonhuman Primates to Chronic Wasting Disease

snip...

From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net)

Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ???

Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST

From: "Belay, Ermias"

To:

Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay,

Ermias"

Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM

Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

Dear Sir/Madam,

In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD.

That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated.

Ermias Belay, M.D.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

-----Original Message-----

From:

Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM

To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG

HUNTERS

Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS

snip...

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/08/susceptibilities-of-nonhuman-primates.html



Chronic Wasting Disease 



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/



TSS


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## Linda G.

Will the MDA release a list of those that have shut down and those that have not yet met compliance?


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## 2PawsRiver

They also need to make them take the word "Hunt" out of everything. There's no hunt at those places.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Ranger Ray

> We dont have the money to go to all 30 and say get that fence fixed, Hanna said. They are hanging in limbo, but I think the January deadline will take care of those.


Say what? You can't send the areas CO to each farm? WTH! But by god if you bait we will send 5 CO's out to walk the property. :lol:


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## e. fairbanks

POC Marketing Act, P.A.190 of 2000, as amended.
MDA; health issues and disease testing, official animal identification,
livestock inventory orders, livestock destruction orders, orders related to movement of live cervid or cervid products, and issuing quarantines.
DNR authorities include; Administration of the Act in consultation w/MDA and the DEQ; registrations, inspections, renewals, modifications, decommissions, and enforcement of captive cervid facility regulations; and includes enforcing MDA orders regarding movement, importing, or exporting of cervid or cervid products.
Changes in the Law since 2000: Executive Order 2004-3 TRANFERRED MOST OF THE REGULATORY AUTHORITIES TO THE DNR
(DNR Officials excuse the lack of administration of the Act to lack of funding. They can send 5 CO's to administer a baiting complaint ?)


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## Michihunter

This is actually better news than I had hoped for. From what I recall, in the past it was a common practice to extend the license indefinitely even if they were non compliant as long as they were "attempting" to work on the problem that kept them from becoming compliant.

As far as surveillance and enforcement, it was also noted that these places were notified of when the authorities would be making their inspections. Looking back I wish I had video taped that February NRC meeting for posterity. It put anything Benny Hill or Monty Python has done way down the list of comedic genius.


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## kristie

Just a little note....enforcement of facilities comes from registration fee monies......costs to run the program double what comes in from registrations.....Game and Fish funds (PR money) are not supposed to be used for this program.


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