On June 3, Saint Petersblog ran a story bringing light to a behind-the-scenes effort by a small group of Florida deer farmers to ban the importation of deer and elk into Florida under the guise of preventing the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease — a move that would create a cushy in-state monopoly for their personal businesses without any proven benefit to deer populations.
CWD is a fatal, contagious central nervous system disease among cervids such as deer and elk that can incubate over several years before symptoms are apparent. It has been an issue since the mid 1980s. Because of this, strict regulations already govern the importation of deer into Florida, requiring hunting preserves to deal only with certified farms that meet compliance with numerous USDA rules, and prohibiting the importation of deer from regions known to have CWD in circulation. These regulations work. Under these guidelines, Florida’s deer population has been CWD free.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to vote on a proposal to ban imported deer.
Although this proposed rule change has floated under the radar for many months, this blog and others have drawn attention to detrimental consequences of the measure — and through this, opposition to the proposed ban has grown among legislative leaders.
Senate President Don Gaetz, in a June 6 letter to the FWC, wrote that the proposal is “a bit premature and extreme” and could “potentially cut jobs, monopolize an industry, and limit options for the roughly 100 registered hunting preserves already in operation.” Gaetz’ solution is for the FWC to wait for “credible, scientific evidence of the eminent threat” that current importation practices create.
Joining Gaetz in opposition are Sen. Denise Grimskey, and Reps, Matt Gaetz, Frank Artiles, Holly Raschein, Dana Young, and Jason Brodeur, who share his concern that a total importation ban would close the door on many small farmers and could result in illegal smuggling. Smaller hunting preserves and deer farms feel the proposal is motivated exclusively by the desire to create a closed market where prices can be dramatically inflated.
“The proposed FWC rule would kill hundreds of jobs and cost Florida millions of dollars,” said Chris Winsey, president of the Southeast Trophy Deer Association. “We only hope that Gov. Scott and the FWC Commissioners do not destroy us – one of rural Florida’s fastest growing job producers.”
