In an October 18 Facebook post (screengrab above), Todd Miller lamented the loss of his captive deer herd, depopulated that day after Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was confirmed in the herd in August by the Board of Animal Health. In a comment, Miller states that 119 deer were destroyed.
An email from the Board of Animal Health, forwarded to Bluestem, confirms that the herd was depopulated on Tuesday, October 18.
One would never guess the Board of Animal Health was involved, however, since Miller, brother of Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R- Winona, only mentions the Department of Natural Resources.
Chronic Wasting Disease is an always fatal prion disorder.
A knowledgeable source tells Bluestem that it's likely the USDA that does the depopulation though we haven't confirmed that.=
Back in August, we'd posted about a Board of Animal Health press release about CWD being found on a Winona County deer farm. We later connected Todd Miller with the farm via Facebook and posted On Facebook, operator of CWD doomed Winona County deer farm wears Miller Scrap hat.
We'd updated that post with a Star Tribune article published that same day, in which Tony Kennedy reported that Todd Miller is Majority Leader Jeremy Miller's brother, CWD found on prominent deer farm in Winona County.
Bluestem had noted the involvement of the BAH and the DNR in regulating captive deer farms, but Kennedy is more succinct about the law and process governing the discovery of the always fatal disease in CWD found on prominent deer farm in Winona County:
. . .Under a 2019 law passed by the Legislature to combat the spread of CWD from farms to wild deer, private deer producers are required to "depopulate'' their herds if CWD is detected. Restocking is forbidden for five years and fencing must be maintained to keep wild deer away from sites where infected deer roamed.
Herd owners can be reimbursed by federal tax dollars distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Miller said in his Facebook posting that despite frustration and heartache, he is working with the state and USDA to "make this as smooth as possible.'' More than 127 deer are in his herd, a state official said. . . .
The state Board of Animal Health and the DNR together regulate deer farms. They suspected a CWD problem on Todd Miller's deer farm in 2020, quarantining his herd when CWD was confirmed in a Houston County deer that came from Miller's herd. The probe expanded in 2021 when another deer sourced from Miller's herd tested positive for CWD on a deer farm in Beltrami County.
Scores of deer that died on Miller's farm from fenced-in hunting or for other reasons were tested without detection of CWD. (CWD testing on live deer has not yet been approved.) But a positive test result was confirmed recently in tissue from a 4-year-old doe that had been culled. The finding and plan to kill Todd Miller's herd were announced Friday by the state.
And which agency made the announcement? Here's the press release the Board of Animal Health issued August 5, 2021:
CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County deer herd
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been confirmed in a four-year-old doe in a Winona County white-tailed deer herd. This herd has been officially quarantined since October 2020 and is part of the Board of Animal Health’s (Board’s) investigation into the CWD-positive Beltrami County herd. The Board has been working with the Winona County herd owner to collect samples and test them for CWD. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the positive results this week.
“This herd is part of an existing CWD investigation,” said Interim Executive Director Dr. Linda Glaser. “We’re now working with the producer and the USDA to develop a plan for depopulation and testing.”
The Board officially quarantined this herd as CWD exposed in October 2020, when CWD was confirmed in a Houston County white-tailed deer that came from the Winona County herd. The investigation then expanded to include a herd in Beltrami County, which was also found infected with CWD in late winter 2021. Both CWD infected herds in Houston and Beltrami Counties were depopulated.
In response to the detection of CWD in another Winona County deer farm, a special hunt resulted in the first detection of CWD in a wild white-tailed deer in Winona County in January 2019. The Winona County herd where CWD was confirmed this week has been double fenced since 2015.
CWD is a neurological disease of the deer and elk family caused by prions and is always fatal. The disease can be spread by both direct (animal-to-animal) and indirect (environmental) contact with infected Cervidae. Prions are shed through saliva, urine, blood, feces, and antler velvet and are known to persist in the environment for years. Additionally, carcass remains from a dead infected deer can serve as a source of further infection to other Cervidae. Consuming meat from CWD infected animals is not advised.
Damn that DNR!
In our August 5 post, MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd, we'd posted a flow chart the BAH used to explain how CWD spread to the Minnesota deer farms under the investigation that began in 2020:
Hunting on Epic Antler Ranch
Kennedy mentions a name of a farm in his August article:
Todd Miller, owner of Epic Antler Ranch and brother of Minnesota GOP Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, said on his Facebook page that CWD is "a money grab for the DNR, to get and waste millions of taxpayers dollars'' with no end game.
Is this the deer farm that was under quarantine-- or was it another deer farm associated with Todd Miller, "Little Paradise Whitetails"? Both share a business address that's used by other Miller family enterprises.
Bluestem asks the question because the Epic Antler Ranch Facebook page posted photos of hunters and the deer they bagged in September 2022:
September 20 (the creature in the top picture is a species of wild goat)
On September 30, the Epic Antler Facebook page posted that "Facebook took down my last post CALL FOR DETAILS!!" along with a photo of three bucks.
The deer farmers connected to the Miller family address became newsworthy during session when Senate DFL Leader Franzen raised conflict-of-interest concerns in Republican leader's role overturning bipartisan vote to protect wild deer.
No conflict of interest complaint was ever filed. For more on the Miller deer farm(s), check the related posts below.
We're still curious why the DNR is the only target of Miller's wrath in the alphabet soup of agencies involved in regulating the health of captive deer herds.
Related posts
- On Facebook, operator of CWD doomed Winona County deer farm wears Miller Scrap hat
- MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd
- Update: More on Miller family deer farm interests
- Senate DFL Leader Franzen raises conflict-of-interest concerns in Republican leader's role overturning bipartisan vote to protect wild deer
Screengrabs: From Todd Miller and Epic Antlers Facebook pages and the BAH.
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