In January 2004, Wisconsin's farm-raised deer industry was just over a year into the chronic wasting disease battle. Deer hunters were pointing fingers at deer farms, deer farmers were resisting new regulations, and efforts to fight CWD on farms were landing in court.
Enter Dr. Richard Bourie, a dairy herd veterinarian for the past 30 years, who had never shot a deer or heard of deer farming. He accepted the job of managing the CWD Program for the Division of Animal Health in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
"I like tackling big projects, I enjoy working with people, and the deer industry is very interesting," Bourie says by way of explaining that decision.
Now, it's been three years since CWD turned up on a Wisconsin hunting preserve, and six years since it was found in a breeding herd. Many of the states that slammed their doors to Wisconsin deer and elk in 2002 have now re-opened them. The industry that was on the decline after CWD arrived has stabilized. Bourie has streamlined the program so it operates with just him and one clerical staff person. And he's helped the program and regulations evolve along with the deer industry during the long journey.
So, it was a good decision.
Wisconsin's farm-raised deer are actually a mix of white-tailed deer, sika deer, fallow deer, mule deer, red deer, reindeer, moose, muntjac, and elk. All nine species are "cervids," and are raised for a wide range of reasons: meat for restaurants, trophy antler and head mounts, agri-tourism, deer urine scent products for hunters. But the main sources of income for deer farmers are breeding stock sales and hunting preserves.
This niche industry adds $71 million a year to the state's economy, provides about 1,650 jobs, keeps an estimated 69 acres of land per farm out of development, and offers another element of diversity that can help cushion farms from economic ups and downs.
Since Wisconsin's first on-farm CWD was reported in September 2002 on a central Wisconsin hunting preserve, the disease has been found on nine farms and hunting preserves. A total of 99 farm-raised deer have tested positive – 82 of them on that first farm, where legal action delayed destruction of the herd for more than three years after the initial positive was found.
Bourie notes that Wisconsin's captive deer industry has changed through the CWD experience. The number of animals on deer and elk farms has dropped from 30,000 to 22,000, and the number of licensed farms has dropped from about 800 to 536.
But a recent economic impact report commissioned by deer and elk farmer groups says the industry has stabilized, and cervid farmers expect to increase their livestock numbers, acreage, and sales. The strict state regulations imposed in the wake of CWD were painful and expensive for deer owners, the report notes, but it says, "A greater understanding of CWD along with decisive action by state officials and farmers together has the cervid farming industry back on track."
"Three new states have approved Wisconsin deer or elk imports this past year – Illinois, Indiana and Florida – because we can document that owners meet their disease testing requirements, and they are enrolled in our CWD herd status program. We can prove they are double-fenced or have not had escapes or incidence of disease,” Bourie says. Deer farms in the southern third of the state, where CWD has been found in the wild, can move live deer off their farms only if they are enrolled in the CWD program and have a double fence around their deer pens to prevent contact between free-ranging and farm-raised deer.
Owners who keep cervids in Wisconsin must be registered with DATCP, and must be enrolled in the CWD program if live animals move off their farm for any reason other than to go directly to slaughter. Enrollment in the CWD program requires owners to turn in an annual census that documents births, deaths, test results, sales, purchases, trades, and each animal’s official identification number. All Wisconsin farm-raised deer owners must test any deer or elk 16 months or older that dies, is slaughtered, or shot – even if the owner is not enrolled in the CWD Program.
That's a lot of paperwork and data entry. In the early years, temporary employees would be hired to handle the yearly stack of paper. Now, Bourie has streamlined the process so that electronic test results, annual census reports, and movement papers can be handled easily by him and one full-time assistant. Proposed rule changes will reduce the number of CWD tests required of owners in low-risk situations – further reducing the paper avalanche and farmers' costs, without increasing the risk of CWD.
"We're trying to reduce the sampling needed, while still protecting both the farmed and the wild deer herds and keeping commerce channels open, so we can keep the industry vital," Bourie said.
