Urgent!!! SGRA Needs Your Help!

The Mississippi Senate passed the deer farming bill this afternoon by a vote of 29 Yay's to 18 Nay's. The bill was passed in its original form and was not amended. This is a great start to making deer farming in Mississippi a reality. Although we are happy with the outcome of the Senate vote, our fight has just begun. The Chairman of the house wildlife and fisheries committee (Bo Eaton) has stated he is opposed to the bill, but will let us (the deer farmers) present our case to the committee to see if we can muster enough votes to send the bill to the house floor.



It is essential that we bombard the wildlife committee representatives with emails and phone calls. We have to get them to understand this bill. We found in the Senate, educating the legislators yielded much support.



The previous email I sent to you has their addresses and my plea to them for their support. Feel free to copy it, add to it or write an email of your own and send iot to all of the listed representatives.



Thank You!!!



Scott Heinrich







Here is the email I sent......................



Dear Representative



Senate Bill 2530 was passed today. It will soon be introduced to your committee for consideration. There has been quite a bit of controversy about this bill. Please allow me an opportunity to present facts to you and your committee as opposed to rhetoric.



Background ( I bet you didn't know...........)

Deer Farming is not new to Mississippi. Presently there are ~200 enclosures throughout our great state that house deer. Many of these enclosures have within them, breeding pens in which whitetail deer are legally bred both naturally and by means of artificial insemination. Existing regulations allow such breeding facilities only within registered enclosures of 100 acres or more. Breeding paddocks in these enclosures are small, generally not exceeding five acres. The present regulations require these breeding facilities to be populated by deer captured from within the large enclosure, or from deer obtained from any other registered enclosure within the state. These deer "technically" are the property of the State, not the private property of the enclosure owner. This bill will establish private ownership of whitetail deer within breeding enclosures, provide for safe regulated breeding enclosures on smaller tracts of land and allow the importation of farmed whitetail deer from breeding facilities from outside of Mississippi that meet the criteria of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture.



Importation of whitetail deer is not new to Mississippi. Between 1937 and 2001, the MDWFP imported over 3700 whitetail deer and released them into the wild herds throughout the state. There is also a research program conducted by MDWFP that places deer from Mississippi State University and other sources on privately owned properties that meet the criteria of the program. What this bill establishes is a legal way for normal residents of Mississippi with modest sized private properties, the option to elect to participate in the fastest growing agri-business in the U.S.



1. This bill is to allow the farming of Whitetail Deer. It is NOT a hunting bill. This bill states that NO farmed deer may come from the wild, nor may any of them be released into the wild.Thus the impact to Mississippi's native whitetail deer is non-existent.



2. This bill states that ALL of the farmed deer imported into Mississippi shall be identified with traceable identification (i.e; microchip), have a certificate of general health issued by a veterinarian, have a negative tuberculosis and negative brucellosis test no more than 30 days prior to its importation and originate from a farm within a state that has NO recorded cases of CWD and the herd of origin must have a negative CWD monitored status for a minimum of 5 years. Domestic livestock (cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and swine) are not regulated this closely.



3. Deer Farming is the fastest growing agri-business in the U.S. In neighboring Louisiana, economic impact from deer farming is estimated to be around $175 million dollars annually, With no cost to the state of Mississippi, we too, could enjoy the economic impact of this industry. With the passage of this bill, Mississippi, with its terrain, flora and fauna will become a leader in this agri-business.



4. JOBS!!!!! The passage of this bill would allow small business opportunities for our residents, which will create jobs for both our non-skilled and professional residents.



The rhetoric would have you believe we are playing God by producing high quality genetic offspring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Deer Farming has been around for over 50 years in the U.S. Technological advances has made this industry comparable to the domestic livestock industry. Just as a cattle breeder tries to produce the best bull, a horse breeder the best horse and a swine breeder a superior hog, the deer farmers of America continue to try to produce better quality animals using scientifically proven breeding techniques common to livestock operations.





Please help Mississippi become a leader in this fast growing agri-business by supporting SB 2530. In a few years you will be proud when you look back and see that for once Mississippians are the leaders in this field instead of at the bottom of the list in agricultural achievements.



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Dont worry about constitutional challenges. We got the required 3/5 majority!

Joe, we do not have a date for debate yet, but we are getting industry professionals ready to come along with us and present our case to the committee. I will update as info becomes available.



To all of you who have sent letters to these legislators, called them and called me, the SGRA and the MDeFA THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



If we keep up this vigil, the lawmakers will become educated and better understand our cause.