I agree Jeff23.........to not do anything out of the fear of losing is a loss already!! We need to fight and we need to do it now!!
CWD Standards
- Thread starter Rhonda Brakke
- Start date
First and foremost we need to remember that we are the UNITED STATES of AMERICA......key word here.... UNITED.
We will need to fight multiple battles to win this War....and each State will have their own battles to fight but this does NOT mean they should have to fight alone without help and support from others!
Remember....yours... ours... and the industries rights have been slowly taken away one notch at a time and the only way we are going to gain them back is one Victory at a time!
Thanks to All fighting these Battles.......they all will be worth it!
We will need to fight multiple battles to win this War....and each State will have their own battles to fight but this does NOT mean they should have to fight alone without help and support from others!
Remember....yours... ours... and the industries rights have been slowly taken away one notch at a time and the only way we are going to gain them back is one Victory at a time!
Thanks to All fighting these Battles.......they all will be worth it!
It sounds like we may be all clear, the standards do nothing for us just more regulations to better clarify the old rule. Iowa went right down the line in the standards in our treatment here. Even though the Standards have not been passed states are already making the changes as I write this reply. Again, the Standards give the states the right to do what they want, it is only a MINIMUM requirement guideline. We have state vets who want to see changes, why aren't we monopolizing on this???? We have science/testing in our favor.
I keep hearing about research on how they grinded up CWD brain material and dirt and blew it in the nasal cavities of fawns and they all became sick, however what I am not hearing is that this will not happen in our pens as our dead are removed, tested and disposed of properly. Can the wildlife agencies say the same for their wild animals?
The standards needs to be changed. We need fence neutral treatment. Releasing those CWD infected-exposed animals in SD needs to be brought to the publics attention. We need to be making a BIG deal about that.
I keep hearing about research on how they grinded up CWD brain material and dirt and blew it in the nasal cavities of fawns and they all became sick, however what I am not hearing is that this will not happen in our pens as our dead are removed, tested and disposed of properly. Can the wildlife agencies say the same for their wild animals?
The standards needs to be changed. We need fence neutral treatment. Releasing those CWD infected-exposed animals in SD needs to be brought to the publics attention. We need to be making a BIG deal about that.
I agree Rhonda.......that is a no brainer........seriously we should be jumping all over this release.......we can't just sit back and keep are fingers crossed anymore that we are not the next one to have CWD show up on our farm......we need to fight this we all we have the same skin in the game!...the Standards are by no means going to help our Industry........they are only the beginnning of the end if we except them......
Amen. Just think if Tom and I had been in the Top 30 the last 5 to 10 years. How many lights would have gone out across the Cervid world??? Look what happened in PA and NY as a result.
Iowa alone has more than tested their entire farmed herd in existence today! What are we doing here people???
Iowa alone has more than tested their entire farmed herd in existence today! What are we doing here people???
Dennis I agree with you. Brakke's have already spent upwards of $80,000 in attorneys to this point in their lawsuit. I propose we use this post as a fund raiser to help them through this difficult time.
I talked to Iowa's President, Todd Landt, this morning, he said they are already receiving donations for this fight.
If anyone would like to donate to this cause, send it to:
IWDA Legal Fund
% Todd Landt
2400 170 St.
Charles City
Iowa
50616
Cell 641-330-1416
Dennis I will match your $500 for this battle if you're still willing to do this.
You had a post last fall about raising funds for a fight. Do you suppose these people that pledged last fall would continue their support now? We now have a cause and a site to take their pledges. Minnesota has already sent $5,000 to help our neighbors in this fight, and we raised another $1,400 at our banquet, by a semen lot donation.
This is OUR time, and OUR fight, deer farmers. We need to come together and support this. We can't afford to loss this battle.
Gary Olson
I talked to Iowa's President, Todd Landt, this morning, he said they are already receiving donations for this fight.
If anyone would like to donate to this cause, send it to:
IWDA Legal Fund
% Todd Landt
2400 170 St.
Charles City
Iowa
50616
Cell 641-330-1416
Dennis I will match your $500 for this battle if you're still willing to do this.
You had a post last fall about raising funds for a fight. Do you suppose these people that pledged last fall would continue their support now? We now have a cause and a site to take their pledges. Minnesota has already sent $5,000 to help our neighbors in this fight, and we raised another $1,400 at our banquet, by a semen lot donation.
This is OUR time, and OUR fight, deer farmers. We need to come together and support this. We can't afford to loss this battle.
Gary Olson
Thats right Dennis , we need to fight and win some of these battles if we're ever going to win the war ! I myself would rather fight and loose than not fight at all !! No one has ever won a war without winning the battles . I'd rather go down fighting than just sit around like somesort of cowerd . Why do some deer farmers invest thoudands and thousands of dollars in an animal and not want to FIGHT to keep it ? It baffles me !! CWD is NOT the super killing , kill all disease they thought it was so why take it out on us ! I served my country in the military and I felt I served her well and I thought I earned at least the right to have a frick'n deer !
We had a doe that became ill a few years back. She was on the ground for two weeks. I had to sit all 110 lbs of my body weight on her back while I fed her pedialyte and treated her with antibiotics, had to move her body position, massaging her legs so that she wouldn't get ground sores. Everyone i spoke to claimed her doomed and she finally trotted off one day.
I intend to fight for every animal on my farm just as I did that doe!
I intend to fight for every animal on my farm just as I did that doe!
Joined Oct 2009
3,165 Posts | 1+
upstate ny
Rhonda Brakke said:
You can ad in Ny throwing dead untested deer in a compost pile and then spreading the compost in flower beds and along our highways. The guys with the degrees say this is LOW RISK.. in a cwd positive state! Go figure!
Quote from Rhonda "I intend to fight for every animal on my farm just as I did that doe"...
People this is the Rhonda that I know. If our whole industry had this kind of fight to us we could beat this thing.
Rhonda, I thank you and Tom so much for standing up and fighting the fight. I know that you and Tom could just as easily walk away from this thing (I couldn't blame you for one minute if you did) but again, THANK YOU, for fighting for all of us...
Mike, I'd bet if you filed a lawsuit you would find lot's of support from the industry like the Brakkes have... Wish you the BEST in NY... If there is anything that we can do from Iowa please let us know...
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE...
People this is the Rhonda that I know. If our whole industry had this kind of fight to us we could beat this thing.
Rhonda, I thank you and Tom so much for standing up and fighting the fight. I know that you and Tom could just as easily walk away from this thing (I couldn't blame you for one minute if you did) but again, THANK YOU, for fighting for all of us...
Mike, I'd bet if you filed a lawsuit you would find lot's of support from the industry like the Brakkes have... Wish you the BEST in NY... If there is anything that we can do from Iowa please let us know...
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE...
Yes Gary....I will donate 500 towards this fight......it will probably be the best money I have spent yet since I got into the deer farming!! I hope others will consider donating as well.......this is our first front against what we all KNOW has been unfair treatment to our Industry.......let's show them we mean business......it's time to get mad!! With the way we have been treated we have the right to be MAD! We win this fight and you will see things start to change for sure!
Joined Oct 2009
3,165 Posts | 1+
upstate ny
Rhonda Brakke said:
Sure i could get it. It might be recorded as it was said in a room of 20 people from our lawyer all the way up to heads of Dept of Ag and heads of DEC. I spoke with one of our guys about a permit i have in for a deer to come in from Ohio and he says spreading compost from these untested deer is a lower risk than it would be for him to allow a deer to come in from Pa!
That my friends is a joke!
Four Seasons Whitetails said:
This is just the type of information, we as an industry need to be sharing with the public. I know that there are thousands of stories similar to this. We need to get it in writing and give it to our attornies for a news release to be sent across the country.
These blantant double standards need to be shared with the public. They need to know who started the spread of CWD in Fort Collins and who is still spreading it today.
Any articles that people have, please forward to my email. Please put "CWD Public Record" in the subject line so that I can just forward it to our attornies. I would ask that you keep it professional and informative. We are all very busy. Thank you. My email is: [email protected]
I think everyone can identify cwd double-standards and injustices in their home state and across the nation.
However, this thread speaks to the CWD Federal Program Standards that are nearing the very end of the negotiations of the standards working group. It ends Monday.
There are still several aspects we CANNOT live with in the latest draft of these standards.
We as an industry have to decide- do we move forward with flawed standards detrimental to our businesses or do we stop them in their tracks and only advance policy that is designed to help us?? Y'all decide!
This is the question at hand.
However, this thread speaks to the CWD Federal Program Standards that are nearing the very end of the negotiations of the standards working group. It ends Monday.
There are still several aspects we CANNOT live with in the latest draft of these standards.
We as an industry have to decide- do we move forward with flawed standards detrimental to our businesses or do we stop them in their tracks and only advance policy that is designed to help us?? Y'all decide!
This is the question at hand.
If these Standards pass as written, they will impact our situation here in Iowa and that will impact every deer farmer in every state. I am hoping that your state will vote to continue working and rewriting these standards until we can all be satisfied.
Laurie Seale said:
Here is the theme song Laurie.
http://youtu.be/MotNtq41NDw
It doesn't matter how long we've waited for these rules and standards. A few of the positive benefits from the standards do not justify the devastating points in standards such as the quarantines and depopulation requirements.
There is nobody that can afford to be quarantined for 5 years! There is no way we can agree to trace back 5 years! If we can't move our animals from state to state this industry is done! If these standard are allowed to go through as they are the brakke's legal case is doomed!!
My family can't live with these standards and neither can the industry!!
Joined Oct 2009
3,165 Posts | 1+
upstate ny
Travis said:
I dont believe anything can really be taken care of untill the DEC and DNR of each state are out of the picture. We need to be called farmers and we need to have livestock!
Mike Kerry,
Exactly, you are right, wildlife needs to be out of the picture. Therefore we as an industry, should NOT approve the advancement of policy(program standards) that exempts wildlife agencies, do not bring parity to testing regulations and that also give wildlife a seat at the table to impose restrictions on us.
To follow your thoughts to conclusion, I am assuming you think these standards are flawed by this concept alone and will stand in opposition to advancing the them.
We have a long way to go on CWD reform that includes several steps. Stopping these flawed standards is step one.
Thanks,
Travis
Exactly, you are right, wildlife needs to be out of the picture. Therefore we as an industry, should NOT approve the advancement of policy(program standards) that exempts wildlife agencies, do not bring parity to testing regulations and that also give wildlife a seat at the table to impose restrictions on us.
To follow your thoughts to conclusion, I am assuming you think these standards are flawed by this concept alone and will stand in opposition to advancing the them.
We have a long way to go on CWD reform that includes several steps. Stopping these flawed standards is step one.
Thanks,
Travis
Joined Oct 2009
3,165 Posts | 1+
upstate ny
And then we have guys like this!!!!!!
Senate Pro Tem David Long says he'll kill high-fence hunting amendment
Apr. 4, 2013 8:53 PM
A legislative proposal to allow the state’s five fenced deer-hunting preserves to stay in business hit a roadblock on Thursday.
Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, told reporters he would quash efforts to legalize what critics decry as “canned hunts.”
“It’s not hunting. It’s not sporting,” Long said. “... I don’t think it’s a good idea for Indiana.”
Long compared the regulations preventing hunters from shooting deer trapped behind fences to laws prohibiting dog fights. He said his position against the practice was solidified when shown an “appalling” video by Republican Sen. Michael Crider, a former Indiana conservation officer. Long said the video showed “docile” farm-raised deer being shot by hunters paying $20,000 for the privilege.
Last year, Long killed a similar bill when it made its way to the Senate. Long said he would remove the amendment that the House Committee on Natural Resources approved on Monday by a 6-2 vote.
At the urging of Rep. Matt Ubelhor, R-Bloomfield, the committee amended Senate Bill 487 with language that grandfathers in the five shooting preserves that have operated in Indiana since 2005 and set rules and seasons for how they operate.
The committee’s members said they supported the measure because the preserves provide an economic boost to rural Indiana.
Gov. Mike Pence had earlier said he did not want to expand high-fence hunting in Indiana, but would consider allowing the existing operations to stay in business.
Owners of those operations sued the Department of Natural Resources in 2005 in an attempt to prevent the agency from shutting them down. The lawsuit is unresolved, and they’ve operated under a court-ordered injunction.
(Page 2 of 2)
Rodney Bruce, the owner of the Whitetail Bluff preserve in Harrison County, told the House committee that the groups agreed to put their lawsuit on hold to await a legislative solution.
Ken McIntosh, the owner of Midwest Woodlots, a fenced preserve in Kosciusko County, declined to comment when reached Thursday, other than to say he supported lawmakers’ efforts to keep his facility in business.
“I’m just going to keep praying,” he said.
The four other preserve operators couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
There are nearly 400 deer farms in Indiana that sell deer to such facilities, though most of their business currently is out of state.
Rick Miller, a Columbus deer and elk farmer who sits on the board of the directors of the Indiana Deer and Elk Farmers’ Association, described Long’s opposition as “just awful.”
Miller said the preserves get a bad rap. He said most are several hundred acres, large enough enclosures in which the deer have a fair chance to escape hunters. Plus, he said he sees efforts to shut them down as violations of hunters’ freedom of choice and the preserves owners’ private-property rights.
“If somebody wants to do it, that’s their prerogative,” Miller said.
But high-fence hunting is widely opposed by wildlife advocates and most hunting groups, which describe the preserves as posing a disease risk to native deer herds as well as violating of “fair-chase” hunting ethics.
On Thursday, representatives from eight such organizations met at the Indiana statehouse to hold a news conference and hand Pence’s office a formal declaration of opposition to the legislation.
“We Hoosiers don’t shoot fish in a barrel,” said Jerry Wheeler of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, “and we don’t shoot pets in a pen.
Senate Pro Tem David Long says he'll kill high-fence hunting amendment
Apr. 4, 2013 8:53 PM
A legislative proposal to allow the state’s five fenced deer-hunting preserves to stay in business hit a roadblock on Thursday.
Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, told reporters he would quash efforts to legalize what critics decry as “canned hunts.”
“It’s not hunting. It’s not sporting,” Long said. “... I don’t think it’s a good idea for Indiana.”
Long compared the regulations preventing hunters from shooting deer trapped behind fences to laws prohibiting dog fights. He said his position against the practice was solidified when shown an “appalling” video by Republican Sen. Michael Crider, a former Indiana conservation officer. Long said the video showed “docile” farm-raised deer being shot by hunters paying $20,000 for the privilege.
Last year, Long killed a similar bill when it made its way to the Senate. Long said he would remove the amendment that the House Committee on Natural Resources approved on Monday by a 6-2 vote.
At the urging of Rep. Matt Ubelhor, R-Bloomfield, the committee amended Senate Bill 487 with language that grandfathers in the five shooting preserves that have operated in Indiana since 2005 and set rules and seasons for how they operate.
The committee’s members said they supported the measure because the preserves provide an economic boost to rural Indiana.
Gov. Mike Pence had earlier said he did not want to expand high-fence hunting in Indiana, but would consider allowing the existing operations to stay in business.
Owners of those operations sued the Department of Natural Resources in 2005 in an attempt to prevent the agency from shutting them down. The lawsuit is unresolved, and they’ve operated under a court-ordered injunction.
(Page 2 of 2)
Rodney Bruce, the owner of the Whitetail Bluff preserve in Harrison County, told the House committee that the groups agreed to put their lawsuit on hold to await a legislative solution.
Ken McIntosh, the owner of Midwest Woodlots, a fenced preserve in Kosciusko County, declined to comment when reached Thursday, other than to say he supported lawmakers’ efforts to keep his facility in business.
“I’m just going to keep praying,” he said.
The four other preserve operators couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
There are nearly 400 deer farms in Indiana that sell deer to such facilities, though most of their business currently is out of state.
Rick Miller, a Columbus deer and elk farmer who sits on the board of the directors of the Indiana Deer and Elk Farmers’ Association, described Long’s opposition as “just awful.”
Miller said the preserves get a bad rap. He said most are several hundred acres, large enough enclosures in which the deer have a fair chance to escape hunters. Plus, he said he sees efforts to shut them down as violations of hunters’ freedom of choice and the preserves owners’ private-property rights.
“If somebody wants to do it, that’s their prerogative,” Miller said.
But high-fence hunting is widely opposed by wildlife advocates and most hunting groups, which describe the preserves as posing a disease risk to native deer herds as well as violating of “fair-chase” hunting ethics.
On Thursday, representatives from eight such organizations met at the Indiana statehouse to hold a news conference and hand Pence’s office a formal declaration of opposition to the legislation.
“We Hoosiers don’t shoot fish in a barrel,” said Jerry Wheeler of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, “and we don’t shoot pets in a pen.
