Owners of commercial deer farms in Pennsylvania are concerned that continued restrictions to curb the spread of chronic wasting disease could put the industry out of business.
In March, Kip Adams, the Pennsylvania-based chief conservation officer for the nonprofit National Deer Alliance, told the Governor's Advisory Council on Hunting, Fishing and Conservation that transporting captive white-tailed deer among the farms is one of the root causes for the spread of CWD among wild herds. National Deer Alliance is a deer management lobbying group.
"No doubt that is the single biggest threat — the movement of live deer," Adams said, according to Lancaster Farming, an agricultural newsletter. "Almost every day we move deer. The [U.S. Department of Agriculture] herd certification program does not work. We continue to have herds that are [certified] disease-free and they end up having CWD-positive deer."
The newsletter reported that Josh Newton, president of the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association, called Adams' allegations inaccurate, misleading and an attempt to weaken the industry.
"To think a ban on deer movement will end CWD, that's not how it works," Newton said. "It's a narrative that's been pushed for years, that deer farming is bad and it's the root cause of CWD. But that's not the case."
Newton said CWD exists among wild deer in about 11 states that have no deer farms. Since the start of CWD restrictions within the industry, the number of high-fence deer operations in Pennsylvania has dropped from 1,200 in 2014 to 700 in 2021.
Commercial deer farms breed and raise the animals for urine-based deer lures, sale to hunting preserves and stud service. Stock that are traded within the state are enrolled in a herd monitoring program. Transport across state lines requires additional testing and hands-on examinations. Deer that die on the farms are also tested for CWD.
Spread of the disease in the wild doesn't always progress in waves. Pockets of CWD-positive deer often appear in areas near deer farms and hunting preserves.
