Back when the Republican caucus controlled the Minnesota House, Roseville DFL state representative and deer hunter Jamie Becker Finn couldn't get a hearing for her legislation to address Chronic Wasting Disease.
Times have changed.
At Session Daily, Margaret Stevens reports in Bill targets deadly deer disease with tighter proposed restrictions on farms:
Deer populations are under threat by chronic wasting disease, a deadly disease that can spread from one animal to another.
It's been found in 29 states, including Minnesota.
Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL-Roseville) sponsors HF1202, a package of proposals directed at cervid farms with a goal of curbing the spread of the disease. Its provisions include tighter fencing, testing, and reporting requirements.
The bill would also put a moratorium on licenses for white-tailed deer farms.
One of 500,000 deer hunters in the state, Becker-Finn says her primary source of protein is venison.
“The idea that deer who are infected with CWD – because of the things we’re not taking care of now – would not be safe for my family to eat. That is my biggest fear,” Becker-Finn said.
Tuesday, the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee adopted an sponsor’s amendment and two others before approving the bill and sending it to the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee.
Among other things the bill would:
- make public the location of cervid farms;
- require annual live-animal testing of all farmed white-tailed deer;
- give sole authority for regulating white-tailed deer to the Department of Natural Resources; and
- restrict movement of live cervid and cervid semen in some cases.
Saying the state needs to help farmers who are caught in a bad situation, Rep. John Burkel (R-Badger) unsuccessfully offered an amendment that would have appropriated $11.1 million for a voluntary buyout program.
Representing the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association, Tim Spreck calls the bill an industry killer with costly provisions that wouldn’t do much to slow or stop the disease’s spread. Some farmers would have to spend up to $100,000 to meet fencing requirements, he told the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee earlier this session.
Moreover, some in the industry believe farms could contribute to management of chronic wasting disease by breeding genetic resistance into their herds.
However, Becker-Finn said interfering with the genetics of wild animals is bad policy.
Here's the Minnesota House Information Services YouTube of the bill's hearing:
Related posts
- VIDEO: MN House environment committee passes most sweeping anti-CWD measure to date
- Update: wild CWD detection in Beltrami County possibly connected to deer farm dump site
- DNR: Chronic wasting disease suspected in a wild deer in Bemidji area for the first time
- MN Chronic Wasting Disease dilemma: should new deer farms be blocked? The old bought out?
- Chronic Wasting Disease: St. Louis County permanently bans new or expanded cervid farms
- Todd Miller's deer farm was depopulated Tuesday,
- 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
Photo: Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn on a deer hunt near Preston. Courtesy photo, via Max Nesterak's August 13, 2021 MNReformer podcast, The wild politics of the zombie deer disease.
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