2-22-2006 |
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A recent opinion piece in the Charleston Gazette asserts that the Department of Agriculture should have no say in the farming of deer in this state and that farmed deer pose an imminent threat to West Virginia 's whitetail industry because of chronic wasting disease (CWD). One thing can be said with certainty: The farming of deer did not cause CWD. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) have been part of the veterinary medical literature for literally centuries. CWD will continue to be a fact of life in wild and captive populations, and experts in both arenas will need to exercise their unique abilities for the mutual good of our state. USDA recognizes farmed deer as livestock animals, and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture simply wants its veterinary staff to ensure the health of the animals, no matter what type of disease is at issue. Wild deer and farmed deer are biologically identical, but there is a distinct difference between the two. One group lives in the woods and is managed by wildlife biologists. The other group is segregated from the wild population and should be managed by agricultural veterinary experts. WVDA for decades has combated diseases in farm animals, many of which have been eradicated due to the diligence and expertise of the Department's veterinary professionals. WVDA's track record of protecting animal and human health is exemplary and remains the top priority of the Department. The farm community supports WVDA's animal health effort because it realizes that healthy animals result in a better bottom line for them. The proposed bills (H.B. 4258 and S.B. 506) require stringent controls on deer farms, including provisions for animal tagging, record-keeping, medical testing and transport restrictions. Such a system parallels USDA's own animal health programs, and would include technological elements of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), now in development. If passed, the bills would allow WVDA to quickly detect and control outbreaks of any disease in farmed deer, including CWD, which is found in wild deer in many states. The same cannot be said of wild populations, which also harbor the disease, but which are much more difficult to monitor. CWD is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a class of disease that exists in a variety of species, including humans (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), cattle (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), sheep (scrapie) and cervids (CWD). TSEs, like many diseases, are not fully understood. However, some forms apparently arise spontaneously, some spread through direct contact, and some appear to include a genetic susceptibility factor. CWD is a concern for humans, as are all animal diseases, but it is not really the issue. Deer farms exist throughout the world and captive deer are managed as livestock animals. Deer farms have a substantial economic impact in other states and tremendous potential here. Whether or not that impact equals the impact of hunting is immaterial. Deer farmers have the right to raise their animals, and deserve to do so with the benefits and oversight of WVDA's veterinary experts and their counterparts at the federal level. WVDA's goal is to use the best scientific knowledge and the widest range of resources to make sure no disease ever gains a foothold in farmed deer or other livestock populations in this state. Rather than posing a threat, the proposed bills will help protect the state's wild deer herd by creating a well-monitored and controlled population of animals that can function as sentinels for disease. There is no reason that wild deer and farmed deer cannot or should not co-exist.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org. |
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