Help Missouri Deer Farmers
- Thread starter Whitetail Sanctuary
- Start date
Joined Apr 2009
1,130 Posts | 0+
Columbia, MO
'comic sans ms', cursiveKeep the emails coming. I wrote and sent the following letter to Governor Nixon. Its from the heart and its the truth. I hope and pray the truth still matters. Thanks to all of you who are helping both in Missouri and around this great country...
Charles S James
6504 Rippling Water Way
Columbia, MO 65201
June 5, 2014
The Honorable Governor Jeremiah W. Nixon
State of Missouri
Capitol Building
Room 218, P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Re: HB 1326 and SB 506, laws regarding agriculture
Dear Governor Nixon,
My name is Charles James and I own and manage 2 high fenced hunting preserves along with a whitetail deer breeding operation. I have a Degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Missouri, a Masters Degree in Business, and I taught at the University of Missouri in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources for 23 years. I retired from that job in 2007. I am now in the hunting ranch and whitetail breeding business full time. My son works with me and graduated with a degree in Animal Science with a new minor offered from the University of Missouri in Captive Wildlife Management. I opened my first preserve and breeding operation in 1992 so I’ve been in this business for over 20 years. I currently serve as President for the Missouri Deer Association. It is my second term as President. Our organization was formed in 2001 in response to the first attack from the MDC. I have spent thousands of hours trying to dispel the myth that captive cervids carry disease. It’s simply not true. Through intense management by the Missouri Department of Agriculture our animals have become the most tested and healthy animals in the country. For my breeding herd I have an MDC permit, a premise I.D., a CWD number, a TB number, and a Brucellosis number. That’s 5 permit numbers for one herd. I handle every deer in my herd at least twice a year and check every animal every day for any sign of sickness or disease. If one does die for any reason, I cut off the head and have it tested for CWD. I have a file cabinet full of records that reflect the testing, movement, natural additions, and deaths for EVERY animal in my herds. That inventory must be reconciled by my vet every year and turned into the Department of Agriculture. My Vet bill runs over $15,000 per year due to testing and the time my vet has to spend at our farms. Compare that to the free ranging deer in the state or any other animal industry and I think you will agree that there is very little risk that our deer are sick or carry any disease. We simply have lowered that risk to near zero through intense management. We are very proud of that but do a very poor job advertising it.
For whatever reasons, the Missouri Department of Conservation does not like our industry and they would like to put us out of business. While they will never admit to that there is very little doubt that this is their intention. You simply have to study their actions. In April of 2001, they sent a letter out to all the hunting ranches saying they were going to place a moratorium on our industry and close it down. The end of the letter read “The Amendment will prohibit new Big Game Shooting Areas and result in the eventual elimination of these operations in Missouri.� I would call that trying to put us out of business. We fought hard for the next couple years to try to prohibit them from reaching that goal and were successful. Over the next several years we built our relationship with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. We enrolled in CWD, TB and Brucellosis programs and tested and tested, and then tested some more. Our herd health grew tremendously while the risk of any disease dropped to near zero.
At one point around 2008 the MDC even agreed to have the MDA handle all health and movement of our captive deer. They took all their regulations regarding health and movement out of their code book and simply stated that those items should be handled by the MDA and our accredited veterinarians. Looking back, I wish we would have had that in some sort of legislation.
Our programs are designed to FIND disease. In fact they starting working so well that our industry discovered CWD in Missouri in 2010 (from a 2009 sample). MDC quit testing in 2005. The program did exactly what it was designed to do. Then in August of 2012 over 2 years after discovering CWD in Missouri, MDC again surprised us when they tried to put us out of business by trying to implement both an emergency and permanent moratorium on any new breeding or hunting operations in Missouri. It seems they just decided that CWD could be their “tool� to get rid of us. They made absolutely no effort to work with us or even inform us until a week before they put their plan into action. They even had the nerve to tell the Commissioners and everyone in a public meeting that this wouldn’t affect our business. Are these people so far removed from any real business that they could really believe that? Luckily we called a quick JCAR hearing and they found that there was no emergency and the Secretary of State refused to publish the rule. They then decided to drop the permanent moratorium. I believe that they were pressured by the current commission to do so.
The Missouri Department of Conservation does nothing to help promote our industry and simply has served as a regulatory agency. Since they can’t win any legitimate discussion on CWD using facts and science, they have resorted to the strategy of using their power and their vast resources to mount a huge propaganda campaign to get the public behind them and against our industry. They use their right hand organizations like the Conservation Federation and Wild Turkey Federation to spread fear and lies. They have even partnered with the Humane Society of the United States. They state how important the free ranging herd is and how bad CWD is and then all they have to do is just associate CWD with our industry and like magic the public agrees that we have to go. Never mind that we are doing far more to prevent CWD than they are. And since they have been unsuccessful in simply shutting us down by a rule, they are now getting ready to try and regulate us out of business. It is nearly impossible for us to fight that campaign. It’s really just another example of big government running all over small business. Everywhere you turn there is a new article full of fear, lies, and half truths. They even take those articles and put them on their web page. Then when they get enough public support they will claim “the public demands this�. They recently launched a huge web based survey. And they slanted the questions so badly that they know they will get the answers they want. This is really unprecedented and is simply a way for them to “justify� what they are getting ready to do. It really seems on the edge of even being legal.
I want to make it clear that our industry does not want to be free from regulation. We just want those regulations to be based on science and be written by people with disease management backgrounds. We want to be included as a stakeholder when regulations are written and discuss the scientific material and facts that justify those regulations. In addition to our current programs we look forward to working with the DOA to require mandatory enrollment for our breeding herds. Our goal has always been to adequately test and to track every captive cervid and their movements in Missouri. It just makes good sense!
The regulations proposed on April 28<supth</sup, 2014 by the MDC were so far out of line that they could have skipped all the trouble and simply said they were closing us down. No state has ever seen any regulations that are even close to as strangling as those. The regulations were 34 pages long. If you would like a copy I’m sure we can get you one.
We have been forced by MDC to seek legislation to define our animals as livestock. The captive elk were defined as livestock in 1995. It’s the right thing to do and the only way our industry can survive. I wish we would have been able to do it back when the elk were done. I truly believe we would have a much bigger, stronger and better run industry.
I along with the Missouri Deer Association am asking you to consider Senate Bill 506 and House Bill 1236. Those bills are the bills that contain our amendments to define our animals. When you really study this legislation, all it says is that our captive cervids are livestock. And they are. We pay for them, pay taxes on them, care for them, test them, and provide 100% of everything they need. They are born and will die in our care behind our fences. It’s a simple definition that is very easy to make.
Of course there are many other items in the bills. While I haven’t studied those other issues they seemed very popular with legislators. The bills are backed by The Cattleman’s Assoc, the dairy people, the Soybean Growers, Purina, The Safari Club, and a host of other organizations. I have to assume they are good for Missouri. I am not a politician nor do I want to be. I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I am simply a small farmer and businessman who loves working with deer and loves Missouri. Our industry provides about 133 million in economic impact to Missouri. Most of the money comes from out of the state. It directly employs about 1300 people and indirectly affects many others. It has been in existence since the 1800’s. It is a good industry and a part of the “alternative livestock� that our Department of Agriculture tries to promote. In the last 10 years, with the help of the MDA, our industry has made great strides to test and make our animals much more healthy. The claim that our industry “endangers� the wild deer herd in Missouri is simply a lie. Ask any qualified disease epidemiologist and they will tell you the free ranging elk released by MDC are much more of a risk of spreading disease than we are. We have been around for a long time and there has never been any documented case of our deer spreading any disease.
I REALLY appreciate your time and would be happy to meet with you to discuss the facts surrounding our industry. I know it’s just a small part of the “mountain� of items you have to consider. But remember, it’s our livelihood.
Again, thank you for your time,
Charles (Sam) James
Charles S James
6504 Rippling Water Way
Columbia, MO 65201
June 5, 2014
The Honorable Governor Jeremiah W. Nixon
State of Missouri
Capitol Building
Room 218, P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Re: HB 1326 and SB 506, laws regarding agriculture
Dear Governor Nixon,
My name is Charles James and I own and manage 2 high fenced hunting preserves along with a whitetail deer breeding operation. I have a Degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Missouri, a Masters Degree in Business, and I taught at the University of Missouri in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources for 23 years. I retired from that job in 2007. I am now in the hunting ranch and whitetail breeding business full time. My son works with me and graduated with a degree in Animal Science with a new minor offered from the University of Missouri in Captive Wildlife Management. I opened my first preserve and breeding operation in 1992 so I’ve been in this business for over 20 years. I currently serve as President for the Missouri Deer Association. It is my second term as President. Our organization was formed in 2001 in response to the first attack from the MDC. I have spent thousands of hours trying to dispel the myth that captive cervids carry disease. It’s simply not true. Through intense management by the Missouri Department of Agriculture our animals have become the most tested and healthy animals in the country. For my breeding herd I have an MDC permit, a premise I.D., a CWD number, a TB number, and a Brucellosis number. That’s 5 permit numbers for one herd. I handle every deer in my herd at least twice a year and check every animal every day for any sign of sickness or disease. If one does die for any reason, I cut off the head and have it tested for CWD. I have a file cabinet full of records that reflect the testing, movement, natural additions, and deaths for EVERY animal in my herds. That inventory must be reconciled by my vet every year and turned into the Department of Agriculture. My Vet bill runs over $15,000 per year due to testing and the time my vet has to spend at our farms. Compare that to the free ranging deer in the state or any other animal industry and I think you will agree that there is very little risk that our deer are sick or carry any disease. We simply have lowered that risk to near zero through intense management. We are very proud of that but do a very poor job advertising it.
For whatever reasons, the Missouri Department of Conservation does not like our industry and they would like to put us out of business. While they will never admit to that there is very little doubt that this is their intention. You simply have to study their actions. In April of 2001, they sent a letter out to all the hunting ranches saying they were going to place a moratorium on our industry and close it down. The end of the letter read “The Amendment will prohibit new Big Game Shooting Areas and result in the eventual elimination of these operations in Missouri.� I would call that trying to put us out of business. We fought hard for the next couple years to try to prohibit them from reaching that goal and were successful. Over the next several years we built our relationship with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. We enrolled in CWD, TB and Brucellosis programs and tested and tested, and then tested some more. Our herd health grew tremendously while the risk of any disease dropped to near zero.
At one point around 2008 the MDC even agreed to have the MDA handle all health and movement of our captive deer. They took all their regulations regarding health and movement out of their code book and simply stated that those items should be handled by the MDA and our accredited veterinarians. Looking back, I wish we would have had that in some sort of legislation.
Our programs are designed to FIND disease. In fact they starting working so well that our industry discovered CWD in Missouri in 2010 (from a 2009 sample). MDC quit testing in 2005. The program did exactly what it was designed to do. Then in August of 2012 over 2 years after discovering CWD in Missouri, MDC again surprised us when they tried to put us out of business by trying to implement both an emergency and permanent moratorium on any new breeding or hunting operations in Missouri. It seems they just decided that CWD could be their “tool� to get rid of us. They made absolutely no effort to work with us or even inform us until a week before they put their plan into action. They even had the nerve to tell the Commissioners and everyone in a public meeting that this wouldn’t affect our business. Are these people so far removed from any real business that they could really believe that? Luckily we called a quick JCAR hearing and they found that there was no emergency and the Secretary of State refused to publish the rule. They then decided to drop the permanent moratorium. I believe that they were pressured by the current commission to do so.
The Missouri Department of Conservation does nothing to help promote our industry and simply has served as a regulatory agency. Since they can’t win any legitimate discussion on CWD using facts and science, they have resorted to the strategy of using their power and their vast resources to mount a huge propaganda campaign to get the public behind them and against our industry. They use their right hand organizations like the Conservation Federation and Wild Turkey Federation to spread fear and lies. They have even partnered with the Humane Society of the United States. They state how important the free ranging herd is and how bad CWD is and then all they have to do is just associate CWD with our industry and like magic the public agrees that we have to go. Never mind that we are doing far more to prevent CWD than they are. And since they have been unsuccessful in simply shutting us down by a rule, they are now getting ready to try and regulate us out of business. It is nearly impossible for us to fight that campaign. It’s really just another example of big government running all over small business. Everywhere you turn there is a new article full of fear, lies, and half truths. They even take those articles and put them on their web page. Then when they get enough public support they will claim “the public demands this�. They recently launched a huge web based survey. And they slanted the questions so badly that they know they will get the answers they want. This is really unprecedented and is simply a way for them to “justify� what they are getting ready to do. It really seems on the edge of even being legal.
I want to make it clear that our industry does not want to be free from regulation. We just want those regulations to be based on science and be written by people with disease management backgrounds. We want to be included as a stakeholder when regulations are written and discuss the scientific material and facts that justify those regulations. In addition to our current programs we look forward to working with the DOA to require mandatory enrollment for our breeding herds. Our goal has always been to adequately test and to track every captive cervid and their movements in Missouri. It just makes good sense!
The regulations proposed on April 28<supth</sup, 2014 by the MDC were so far out of line that they could have skipped all the trouble and simply said they were closing us down. No state has ever seen any regulations that are even close to as strangling as those. The regulations were 34 pages long. If you would like a copy I’m sure we can get you one.
We have been forced by MDC to seek legislation to define our animals as livestock. The captive elk were defined as livestock in 1995. It’s the right thing to do and the only way our industry can survive. I wish we would have been able to do it back when the elk were done. I truly believe we would have a much bigger, stronger and better run industry.
I along with the Missouri Deer Association am asking you to consider Senate Bill 506 and House Bill 1236. Those bills are the bills that contain our amendments to define our animals. When you really study this legislation, all it says is that our captive cervids are livestock. And they are. We pay for them, pay taxes on them, care for them, test them, and provide 100% of everything they need. They are born and will die in our care behind our fences. It’s a simple definition that is very easy to make.
Of course there are many other items in the bills. While I haven’t studied those other issues they seemed very popular with legislators. The bills are backed by The Cattleman’s Assoc, the dairy people, the Soybean Growers, Purina, The Safari Club, and a host of other organizations. I have to assume they are good for Missouri. I am not a politician nor do I want to be. I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I am simply a small farmer and businessman who loves working with deer and loves Missouri. Our industry provides about 133 million in economic impact to Missouri. Most of the money comes from out of the state. It directly employs about 1300 people and indirectly affects many others. It has been in existence since the 1800’s. It is a good industry and a part of the “alternative livestock� that our Department of Agriculture tries to promote. In the last 10 years, with the help of the MDA, our industry has made great strides to test and make our animals much more healthy. The claim that our industry “endangers� the wild deer herd in Missouri is simply a lie. Ask any qualified disease epidemiologist and they will tell you the free ranging elk released by MDC are much more of a risk of spreading disease than we are. We have been around for a long time and there has never been any documented case of our deer spreading any disease.
I REALLY appreciate your time and would be happy to meet with you to discuss the facts surrounding our industry. I know it’s just a small part of the “mountain� of items you have to consider. But remember, it’s our livelihood.
Again, thank you for your time,
Charles (Sam) James
Had tears in my eyes reading this it was so good. Thanks Sam "Great Job"...
One issue we need to bring to light while talking about our issues is the fact that we are paying for our own CWD testing (at least $100 per deer for me), and all the work that goes with that ( finding the deceased animals in time for testing, just one example).
Bell, I'm pretty sure there is a Sam in Indiana, he/she just needs to step up to the plate and be heard (whom ever that might be)...
One issue we need to bring to light while talking about our issues is the fact that we are paying for our own CWD testing (at least $100 per deer for me), and all the work that goes with that ( finding the deceased animals in time for testing, just one example).
Bell, I'm pretty sure there is a Sam in Indiana, he/she just needs to step up to the plate and be heard (whom ever that might be)...
Joined Feb 2013
198 Posts | 0+
Narvon, PA
Awesome Antlers935441403279225
Bell, I'm pretty sure there is a Sam in Indiana, he/she just needs to step up to the plate and be heard (whom ever that might be)...
Good Job Sam!!!!
Barry you nailed it. i don't really know what's going on in Indiana, but i Know that it doesn't help anybody talking Negative about there association...............
Bell, I'm pretty sure there is a Sam in Indiana, he/she just needs to step up to the plate and be heard (whom ever that might be)...
Good Job Sam!!!!
Barry you nailed it. i don't really know what's going on in Indiana, but i Know that it doesn't help anybody talking Negative about there association...............
Joined Feb 2013
780 Posts | 1+
Markleville IN
Awesome Antlers935441403279225
Had tears in my eyes reading this it was so good. Thanks Sam "Great Job"...
Bell, I'm pretty sure there is a Sam in Indiana, he/she just needs to step up to the plate and be heard (whom ever that might be)...
Barry,
You are right, there are people that will fight, but those people cannot because of the current b.o.d. They do not want their participation. Do your keep beating your head against the wall the same way and expect a different result every time you do it? And who wants to keep beating their head against the wall???? As an association you can't keep taking a knife to a gun fight, over and over. and to sit idly, you may as well agree to it. It's all about control and egos and not about what is right for 350 deer farmers and at some point it has to stop.
And Rocky top I'll scream it from the highest mountain until it changes. If it offends you do not read my or Bell's posts.
Sam has done a great job putting his education to work for Missouri deer farmers, if only others would check their egos at the door and do the same!
Had tears in my eyes reading this it was so good. Thanks Sam "Great Job"...
Bell, I'm pretty sure there is a Sam in Indiana, he/she just needs to step up to the plate and be heard (whom ever that might be)...
Barry,
You are right, there are people that will fight, but those people cannot because of the current b.o.d. They do not want their participation. Do your keep beating your head against the wall the same way and expect a different result every time you do it? And who wants to keep beating their head against the wall???? As an association you can't keep taking a knife to a gun fight, over and over. and to sit idly, you may as well agree to it. It's all about control and egos and not about what is right for 350 deer farmers and at some point it has to stop.
And Rocky top I'll scream it from the highest mountain until it changes. If it offends you do not read my or Bell's posts.
Sam has done a great job putting his education to work for Missouri deer farmers, if only others would check their egos at the door and do the same!
ATTENTION!
Our newspaper The Southeast Missourian Cape Girardeau, MO has a article in today's paper that Gov Nixon is receiving more emails to Veto the bill than for him to sign into law!!!
This can't be true. A cover up in the making!! Please everyone keep emailing, friends family and anyone keep those emails going to the Gov.
He has till Mid July to sign.
Our newspaper The Southeast Missourian Cape Girardeau, MO has a article in today's paper that Gov Nixon is receiving more emails to Veto the bill than for him to sign into law!!!
This can't be true. A cover up in the making!! Please everyone keep emailing, friends family and anyone keep those emails going to the Gov.
He has till Mid July to sign.
, ' ', 'Lucida Grande', ;10pt
;georgia (205,35,44)More than five times as many messages c (205,35,44)alled for Nixon to veto the legislation as urged him to sign, based upon a review by The Associated Press of correspondence the governor's office had received in the weeks following the end of the legislative session.
;georgia_________________________________________________________________
;georgiaPeople, we need to respond to this!!
;georgiaGary
;georgia (205,35,44)More than five times as many messages c (205,35,44)alled for Nixon to veto the legislation as urged him to sign, based upon a review by The Associated Press of correspondence the governor's office had received in the weeks following the end of the legislative session.
;georgia_________________________________________________________________
;georgiaPeople, we need to respond to this!!
;georgiaGary
Joined May 2009
2,369 Posts | 0+
Chillicothe, Missouri
MDC is pulling out all the stops and with these "Town Hall Meetings" coming up won't help us either! is there a way to have ACA,NADeFA and ALL ........State Associations..................Bombard folks E-Mail boxes............DAILY to get folks ATTENTION!!
Just wondering ?
Just wondering ?
Joined Apr 2009
1,130 Posts | 0+
Columbia, MO
The 5 to 1 I'm sure comes from email. It's just too easy
If every deer farmer in the country sends an email then we might get 5000. If 5% of the deer hunters send an email that's 25000. That's 5 to 1. I guarantee you an email doesn't carry the weight of a letter. I'm sure a deer hunter who is on our side but is not a deerfarmer isn't going to bother or even know anything about it.
With that said let's keep pushing. Every little bit helps. But try to send letters if possible. Thanks everyone!
If every deer farmer in the country sends an email then we might get 5000. If 5% of the deer hunters send an email that's 25000. That's 5 to 1. I guarantee you an email doesn't carry the weight of a letter. I'm sure a deer hunter who is on our side but is not a deerfarmer isn't going to bother or even know anything about it.
With that said let's keep pushing. Every little bit helps. But try to send letters if possible. Thanks everyone!
Joined Apr 2009
1,130 Posts | 0+
Columbia, MO
I went to the first town hall meeting in rolla. There were about 40 mdc people there and about 10 to 20 people from the public showed up. They had a sign up sheet for those supporting their new regs but didn't even have a copy of them. So about 5 people signed it without even reading the regs...frustrating but not much of an impact for the amount of money and effort spent...
That is exactly what I am saying Sam. There is not a deer hunter out there that even knows much about this. I will send a letter as well but I bet they read emails more as they are easier. I will be going to the Jackson meeting and will see how many hunters, MDC, locals and deer farmers are there. I may not be able to state all the facts but I will have your information to read and see for sure see who all is in attendance and report to the governor. If there is a sheet of short facts vs false statements or anything that would be helpful please email to [email protected].
I am pretty sure a lot of emails are probably from employees of the MDC. I have made a comment to the article in the Southeast Missourian to show me the emails. This is the Show Me State!!
I just can't believe hunters would be against this. This is madness.
I am pretty sure a lot of emails are probably from employees of the MDC. I have made a comment to the article in the Southeast Missourian to show me the emails. This is the Show Me State!!
I just can't believe hunters would be against this. This is madness.
Joined Apr 2009
1,130 Posts | 0+
Columbia, MO
Here is a bullet point sheet I put together to take to these "Town Hall Meetings" Feel free to use it. (The numbering didn't copy and paste correctly)
18ptWhat the MDC is NOT telling you about CWD in Missouri
18ptWhat the MDC is NOT telling you about CWD in Missouri
- MDC is trying to lay the blame of CWD in Missouri on the captive cervid industry. At the time the industry found CWD the MDC had quit looking for nearly 5 years. The only people who are going to find something are people who are looking for it. All the CWD positives that came from the Ranch where it was found were from animals that were born on the ranch. No positives were from tagged animals that were brought in to hunt.
- The highest precedence of CWD in any state is Wyoming. It has never allowed any game farming. Missouri has a CWD Task Force that has been in place since 2002. It was stated at the Task Force Meetings in 2008 due to the extreme bias in testing requirements for privately held deer in Missouri that if CWD was ever found in Missouri it would be found in by the captive deer industry in privately owned deer. We found it and we are certainly being blamed for it.
- Because of our testing and our programs, CWD in the captive environment has been steadily DECREASING while CWD in the wild herd has been INCREASING. State Senator and Veterinarian Dr. Dan Brown testified in Senate hearings that the captive deer herd in Missouri is much healthier than the wild deer herd due to access of the animals and the ability to test them. There are over 8,000 captive deer farms in the United States. Since the CWD program was started in 2002 there have been 56 farms that have had a positive case of CWD. Since 2009 there have only been 6 farms that have had a positive. This decline is due to the program working. On all farms 5 year trace forwards and 5 year trace backs have been performed by the Ag departments and the USDA. Since 2002 , they have NEVER found a single case where a positive whitetail deer was moved across state lines. NEVER, NOT ONE!
- The typical hunting preserve in Missouri that is importing deer tests nearly 100% of its imports and from 20% to 40% of its entire herd each year for CWD. On the wild herd outside the fence, the testing is occurring at a rate of about .003%. In most places in the wild herd no testing is taking place. The current rate of testing on the wild herd is statistically unlikely to detect CWD at the low prevalence levels that it has been shown to occur.
- One of the leading Whitetail deer authorities in the World, Dr. James Kroll or Dr. Deer, has testified that there has never been a wild deer herd that has been adversely affected by CWD. The MDC claims that the Mule deer herd in Wyoming is on the decline due to CWD. However the Wyoming Game and Fish Department blames the decline on Hemorrhagic disease due to the droughts, poor fawn survival, and a host of other causes and NEVER mentions CWD. We don’t know why the MDC continues to use this herd as an example. It’s the only one they can come up with.
- MDC states “Missouri Department of Conservation has a constitutional responsibility to protect and manage all of the state’s wildlife, including white-tailed deer.� Taking this into consideration if the MDC had constitutional authority to regulate the Cattle industry they would likely try to close down that industry as cattle are the host for the virus that spreads Hemorrhagic disease or blue tongue which has on many occasions been devastating on the deer herd in Missouri. Fortunately they do not have any constitutional authority over cattle in Missouri. As a private land owner you should be aware of the MDC’s continual effort to control how private land owners use their land.
Thank you Sam I am printing everything I can on this and will study up and be prepared. I am a female so it may not count for much but I sure am a fighter. I have a contact in Jefferson City that says she has some idea and will be getting with her.
Joined May 2009
2,369 Posts | 0+
Chillicothe, Missouri
This is a response Susan at Redwood River Whitetails gave that pretty well sums up what we try to convey to the average person almost daily!
(128,128,128); 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, ;12pxIf you can't understand why or like that I raise whitetail deer...then please unfriend me and for God's sake do not follow me! I have way too much time and money into this to respond to people that have no clue on the compassion for animals it takes to raise any kind of livestock, deer or otherwise. Its a business....and its run like a business and in this business, animals are hunted and/or slaughtered like it or not. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota where we raised a lot of cattle. I like what I do now, my office is the great outdoors looking at deer in the pens all day, all summer. So, although I do respect your opinions...just don't question my values, because I am an animal lover to the extreme as everyone that knows me can vouch for.
(128,128,128); 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, ;12px
Here is an answer to a private message that I gave someone:
When I was in 4-H for 12 years as a kid, I took steers to the county fair, then to state fair every year (and sometime 4-5 of them in a single year). They were then sold at the auction to a packing plant in which they would bring top dollar. My steers were all dog tame by state fair time and I knew they weren't being sold to someone to be a pet...they were going to get butchered to be someone's meal. You like steak? Cuz I sure do...and roasts and hamburger. There is no difference. The does mainly are breeding stock and are sold for breeding stock, but some are sent off to the butcher. The bucks are hunted if they were raised on the doe. Bottle fed bucks, hopefully turn wild after weaning but if they don't there is a market for people that enjoy a pet buck. If you had the money and time into this that my husband and I have you would have more understanding on how easy it is to have them hunted or slaughtered. All dairy calves are raised on a bottle...most of them eventually go to slaughter too. So, just because they are deer...people seem to have a problem with it. Yes, we love our animals and take exceptional care of them and they have a great life. A lot better life than the deer in the wild. They are fed properly everyday of their life, they have fresh water available constantly, shade, fly control, wormed and treated if sick, not to mention that we are tested to death and more than any other livestock raised. I think you will find that most people that raised livestock and most hunters have the greatest passion for animals of anybody. We understand they are here on this earth for our enjoyment and also have a place in the food chain. so...that is why I can "let people pay to kill them".
THANK YOU............Susan
(128,128,128); 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, ;12pxIf you can't understand why or like that I raise whitetail deer...then please unfriend me and for God's sake do not follow me! I have way too much time and money into this to respond to people that have no clue on the compassion for animals it takes to raise any kind of livestock, deer or otherwise. Its a business....and its run like a business and in this business, animals are hunted and/or slaughtered like it or not. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota where we raised a lot of cattle. I like what I do now, my office is the great outdoors looking at deer in the pens all day, all summer. So, although I do respect your opinions...just don't question my values, because I am an animal lover to the extreme as everyone that knows me can vouch for.
(128,128,128); 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, ;12px
Here is an answer to a private message that I gave someone:
When I was in 4-H for 12 years as a kid, I took steers to the county fair, then to state fair every year (and sometime 4-5 of them in a single year). They were then sold at the auction to a packing plant in which they would bring top dollar. My steers were all dog tame by state fair time and I knew they weren't being sold to someone to be a pet...they were going to get butchered to be someone's meal. You like steak? Cuz I sure do...and roasts and hamburger. There is no difference. The does mainly are breeding stock and are sold for breeding stock, but some are sent off to the butcher. The bucks are hunted if they were raised on the doe. Bottle fed bucks, hopefully turn wild after weaning but if they don't there is a market for people that enjoy a pet buck. If you had the money and time into this that my husband and I have you would have more understanding on how easy it is to have them hunted or slaughtered. All dairy calves are raised on a bottle...most of them eventually go to slaughter too. So, just because they are deer...people seem to have a problem with it. Yes, we love our animals and take exceptional care of them and they have a great life. A lot better life than the deer in the wild. They are fed properly everyday of their life, they have fresh water available constantly, shade, fly control, wormed and treated if sick, not to mention that we are tested to death and more than any other livestock raised. I think you will find that most people that raised livestock and most hunters have the greatest passion for animals of anybody. We understand they are here on this earth for our enjoyment and also have a place in the food chain. so...that is why I can "let people pay to kill them".
THANK YOU............Susan
Joined Aug 2012
303 Posts | 0+
Billings, MO
Here is an article that I found interesting. It lets us know what kind of money the MDC has to spend to get what they want.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/article295015/Cash-flow-never-stops-for-Missouri-Conservation-Department.html
http://www.kansascity.com/news/article295015/Cash-flow-never-stops-for-Missouri-Conservation-Department.html
Joined Aug 2012
303 Posts | 0+
Billings, MO
Gotta give credit to Kurt Humphrey and Our Missouri Whitetails. Just wanting to get the information out there. I am sure this has been passed on to the right people.
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