Glenn Thompson: “All farm deer must be CWD certified, meaning testing for over 5 years, to be eligible for interstate shipment and…”

“All farm deer must be CWD certified, meaning testing for over 5 years, to be eligible for interstate shipment and commerce, and there is a USDA Federal rule, all farm deer in the Federal herd certification program must test 100 percent of their death loss for CWD, and State and Federal fish and wildlife agencies test a low percentage of wild deer for CWD. So the focus on this is the wild deer. If a farm deer is determined to be CWD positive, in almost all cases, the entire herd is put down, as you had mentioned in your experience, leaving the farmer without a source of income or business. The goal of the amendment, however, I think would help in that situation because the goal of the amendment is to find a live test or a cure for CWD since scientists believe it is naturally occurring in the wild. If we had a vaccine, we could then increase the number of sportsmen and -women in the field to help with the Pittman-Robertson funds that go to conservation. The total economic impact of the farmed cervid industry is $7.9 billion a year in the U.S. and employs almost 57,000 people who contribute greatly to rural American, State, and certainly Federal economies as well. The outcome of this would benefit both farm but also wild CWD instances and cases, and prevent them.”