Last week the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association accused the state Game Commission of developing a "blame narrative" regarding the spread of chronic wasting disease.
The apparent impetus was the release of a Game Commission press release stating that two ear-ragged white-tailed deer sighted in Elk County within the state's Elk Management Area were killed by Game Commission personnel. The deer were examined and tested negative for chronic wasting disease.
"The PGC press release attempts to convince the public that this buck and doe had to be killed because they possessed a substantially greater risk of sickness and disease than other wild animals in the same area," said Glenn Dice Jr., president of the Deer Farmers Association, in a statement. " ... The herd certified program within the farmed deer industry tests 100 percent of all age-eligible deer deaths off the farm. ... Comparatively, the PGC tests less than 0.05 percent of the wild deer population within the commonwealth annually."
Dice said the Game Commission was using the farmed deer industry as a "scapegoat" for the spotty spread of CWD in southcentral and western Pennsylvania.
It is well documented that some early cases of CWD in Pennsylvania occurred at fenced deer facilities. Animals including deer in fenced hunting preserves and meat producing farms are regulated by the state Department of Agriculture. Escaped animals carry a dollar value, which can be substantial and owners generally want their property returned.
Outside the fence and in the wild, however, animals are under the jurisdiction of the Game Commission. When found on sensitive public properties including but not excluding Disease Management Areas and Elk Management Areas, Game Commission policy is generally to euthanize the animal and test it for disease.
A Game Commission news alert said the ear tags on the Elk County deer posed a potential problem.
"The discovery of deer from a captive herd in the wild always raises concerns," it stated, "due to the potential for CWD spreading to wild deer in a new area."
