Op-ed from a hunter: Wisconsin is failing badly at CWD management
Category: hunting
Jun 18th, 2019 by Keith Worrall 278
Modified Jun 18th, 2019 at 11:59 AM
Another Wisconsin budget cycle and more of the same on Wisconsin’s fight against CWD. The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee once again failed to appropriate any funding for the Chronic Wasting Disease (“CWD”) epidemic. This is a profound failure of the State’s obligation to protect and conserve Wisconsin’s cherished whitetail deer herd.
Perhaps the most disturbing portion of the budget for hunters is the $100,000 appropriation to deer farmers for “genetic testing.” This $100,000 is coming from the money appropriated for CWD monitoring and testing. In other words, the money earmarked for monitoring and testing deer for CWD is going to deer farmers. Hunters, the money you pay for your licenses is going to a for-profit deer farm so the farm can try to lengthen the lives of their domestic deer. These same deer farmers fight efforts to prevent their deer from escaping onto Wisconsin’s landscape, carrying disease to the wild deer herd. These same deer farmers move deer from CWD positive farms to areas where CWD has not been detected. This genetic testing will do nothing for the wild deer herd. Hunters, your legislators have taken money from you and given it to these deer farmers. This $100,000 appropriation told us the legislature values the deer farmer far more than the Wisconsin hunter.