Well Here We Go Again!

kudos to Record Rack!

Good!!!!!!!

If you watch and listen to the "Smart Biologists" they have as a staff on the QDMA tv show they are always talking about the findings of research THEY HAVE DONE ON CONFINED DEER to come up with the management practices they are preaching. I guess they must be the only ones smart enough to raise and keep deer and the rest of us uneducated common farmers shouldn't be allowed too. I'm writing a letter to Purina and telling them that unless they follow the same direction of Record Rack I will be forced to switch feed which is currently averaging about a ton a week between the wild deer and raised deer.

I wrote purina ..that is what i feed..but i can switch to record rack with ease

I just looked at QDMA page and the Record Rack logo has already been removed from their website. That was fast action.

I noticed that also..looks like i might be feeding record rack

I believe Record Rack realized the potential loss in revenue from the deer farmers. It's a smart move on their part!

Swift action from Record Rack!!! I'm impressed!

Good to hear!



For years my family and friends have used purina antlermax as a supplement to our un-fenced properties. Just emailed them along with the other sponsors (Cuddeback, and the Whitetail Institute) we have supported over the years and informed them that we will not be supporting them anymore as long as they support the views of the QDMA. Our voices need to be heard!



BTW we have contacted our purina dealer today informing him that we will no longer be using Purina and inquired about Record Rack after we heard this news.



We need to keep at it!!, My family and I have many friends that do not breed deer nor do they hunt high fence (YET!) but they fully understand and respect what we do. When I informed them as to the stance QDMA had taken they were suprised and upset, they will not be supporting QDMA. In fact four of them will be new PDFA and NADEFA members in the very near future!! When given the facts I am confident that many people will see through the misinformation the QDMA has given. However if we love and have a passion for this industry then it is up to all of us to spread the truth and make everyone we know aware of there ridiculous attacks!!



Sorry to keep posting on this subject but it has my blood boiling!!!





Jarrid Barry

Operations Manager,

Powder Ridge Whitetails

717-821-0669

[email protected]

It really shows you just how uninformed these "office biologist" type people really are but the problem is people think that because they are an educated biologist they have all the "RIGHT" answers and know how to manage wildlife. I see it first hand in my state and here it from more and more hunters in other states now that people are seeing less and less deer and I feel it has alot to do with the OVER harvesting of does. Don't get me wrong, shooting does is fine but these same guys preach like the more does you shoot the bigger and better your bucks will be and you'll have more of them and this simply is not true. Here in SD they are wiping out the deer population with basically unlimited doe tags for little license fees and then the Game Fish & Parks will also pay for the processing if the deer are donated to the hungry. I'm all for feeding the hungry but shooting doe's and button bucks like prarie dogs isn't doing anything in this state for our deer numbers. It's the exact reason a high fence hunting area is in the future plans of my farm, so I can make sure I'll have a healthy deer population for future generations before it's too late! I Also sent an e-mail to Purina about the QDMA who is the brand I feed and and also think that is a great idea to inform my home town dealer about not feeding it anymore, I know they will raise a stink with them that they won't be able to ignore!



Cody Warne

Wild Prarie Whitetails & Warne Ranches

www.warneranches.com

chasingcreation said:

quality deer management association

po box 160

bogart, ga 30622

1-800-209-deer (3337)



that's their contact info from their website . . . You might want to read some of what the qdma members and leaders are saying about this issue on their forums



general discussion



and



state/dmu/county regulations



it's scary how people just believe what they are fed without discovering the truth themselves (and a reminder that we're all susceptible to the same if we don't take the time to research the truth).

Click to expand...

thanks screw cuddy back and ray- will no longer buy from them

sdbigbucks said:

I see it first hand in my state and here it from more and more hunters in other states now that people are seeing less and less deer and I feel it has alot to do with the OVER harvesting of does.

Cody Warne

Wild Prarie Whitetails & Warne Ranches

www.warneranches.com

Click to expand...

cody,



here in PA i see the same thing. Over the last 7-10 years or so they increased our doe season from 3 days to 12 days running concurrent with buck season. This year I saw maybe 20 deer. The last week I saw 6 bear and 8 doe. In all my DEER hunting seasons combined I saw 1 bear, to see 6 is ridiculous. The game commission called with a survey asking a whole bunch of questions, a few in particular were interesting to say the least. These questions were asked individually "Are you in favor of using 1) birth control, 2)sharp shooters, 3) trapping and euthanizing does." I was shocked and asked where in the state the deer population was that dense because I would go there to hunt!

An email response from Record Rack



Zach

We never had a sponsorship but advertising agreement in which we had ads in their magazine. Our logos were on the web etc. Obviously we can't undo print ads but we have requested our logo be removed from the website etc. And as I am sure you have seen are not advocating this movement. As we previously stated, we are for nutritional support of all wildlife regardless of habitat and as you know support breeders and sportspeople.



Thank you for your email. Zach.



Andy

latest email:



Zach



A positve has come out of this. I did receive word yesterday that QDMA and NADeFA are going to get together to discuss views and opportunity. I truly believe this one movement caused tension but there are mutual benefit to be accomplished. The passion behind the organizations like you displayed drove this potential positive outcome.

Have a great weekend.

Andy

Zach, During my outfitting season I have around 120 clients from all over the country and I have none of them that agree that the deer hunting in there states is getting better but allot worse then in the past as far as numbers of deer and bucks. This is the reason I am planning on a high fence deer operation within a couple years, to satisfy the demand for trophy deer hunting. Our states Game Fish and Parks is closely tied with the SD Wildlife Federation (they won't admit it)and to them they want as much hunting opportunies as possible for the public, so I guess they feel that having the doe seasons basically unlimited will satisfy the Federations agenda, statewide free public hunting opportunies. They are completely against commercial hunting of any kind unless its them selling licenses or leasing private land for the public which is a complete conflict to the private landowners and outfitters, gov't competition with private small buisiness isn't right. The Wildlife Federation is the liberals of the hunting world, have the gov't collect all the non-resident lic. dollars and have the gov't lease the private land for puplic walk in so they don't have to contribute anything out of there pocket. If anyone else has noticed the deer and buck numbers down in there part of the country please post.



Cody Warne

Wild Prairie Whitetails & Warne Ranches

www.warneranches.com

Cody, I've heard many hunters complain that the government is getting to socialized, but they want more socialized hunting? Hunting in Minnesota isn't as good as it was 20 years ago. When is the last time a state record was broken? In our industry, it seems like our records are broken every year.

That's a great point! In my state all the people who hate commercial hunting all seem to want to hunt as close to the commercial operations as they can, imagine that, they know we manage better and have more and better wildlife. The thing they don't understand is value on wildlife is agreat thing, if the wildlife is worth a little something rather then a pest people will manage for it. Out here for every one commercial hunting operation several non-commercial adjacent landowners benefit from the habitat improvements.

Got this email today fromNADEFA, everyone should read.





Once again the leaders of QDMA have swung the hammer to drive the wedge deeper between all hunters. I will paste below the April editorial from the QDMA Chief Executive Officer, Brian Murphy.



Brian does make some key points that I would like to build upon. First is his point on the need for DNA markers. The key issue here is that the reason we are using DNA is to support the North American Deer Registry, which validates that these animals are indeed "our property " and not a "public resource".



He then tries to make a lame effort at describing the business aspect of our industry. The sad part is that if you take out the word "deer" and stick in bass, catfish, alligator, buffalo, quail, pheasant, or any other number of animals you will see that he is really is taking a shot at not only game farming as a form of diversified income, but he also is firing both barrels at personal property rights!



I think the only logical statement made in his editorial is when he draws a correlation between the wild deer with CWD in Missouri and the hunting ranch two miles away that also found CWD in a couple of their deer. Coincidence? He asks. Of course not, ask any Prion epidemiologist and they will tell you the trace backs and testing statistics of the hunting ranch, as well as the herds that supplied them with animals, will show that the disease was not moved there but more than likely contracted it from the surrounding environment. With little testing history in the surrounding area of the wild deer, it is impossible to determine if it is a low incidence disease that has always been there or maybe one that was brought back from out west years earlier in the countless elk and mule deer carcass that were brought home to be further processed and disposed of. The fact still remains that a CWD positive deer has never been moved from a farmed herd with more than five years of monitoring status!



I also agree with Brian when he states the power of memberships and then calls on everyone to get active to protect the future of hunting. I am going to ask all of you that are members of QDMA or know a member or a QDMA director to contact them personally and express your disapproval of QDMA actions that are tearing the deer hunting world apart and playing us right into the hands of the anti-hunters! The QDMA Mission Statement provides: "The time has come for all deer hunting enthusiasts, regardless of their choice of weapon or hunting technique, to unite and focus on the common thread that binds them all together". Their actions clearly are a violation of their Mission Statement which they owe to their membership to uphold. The QDMA Code of Conduct goes on to state: "Members should respect the activities and beliefs of other hunters, landowners, and the public." It is clear by these actions that the leadership of QDMA no longer feels they are responsible to follow the direction of their Mission Statement or Code of Conduct. Please look at the list of QDMA sponsors which follow the editorial and contact them and express your disappointment in the direction QDMA is going and your disapproval in their company for supporting them. I have heard that several sponsors have already taken action and pulled their support. I am going to leave everyone on the list, if a business tells you they have or are pulling their support, please take the time to thank those business' that have acted to insure the future of all hunting and make sure you support them in the future.



QDMA's slanderous acts will play right into the media's hands as they are looking for a story to spin during this legislative session. While all this plays out, the anti-hunting vultures are standing by licking their chops. This is a battle we cannot afford to lose!



Shawn Schafer





QDMA April 2012 Editorial

Inside QDMA

Imagine this - yearling bucks with more than 200 inches of antler and adult bucks exceeding 500 inches (that's larger than the current world record wild bull elk). While this may sound like fantasy land, it's reality today in captive whitetail breeding facilities. These bucks are touted to have "superior" genetics due to their enormous, often grotesque antlers. The reality, however, is that these bucks are the product of many generations of inbreeding (their owners prefer the term "line-breeding"), with many "lines" so closely related that genetics experts have had to increase the normal number of DNA markers just to separate individual animals.

This industry, often referred to as the captive cervid industry, has quietly proliferated in recent years, largely under the veil of deer farming or alternative livestock. To be clear, I am referring specifically to confined deer breeding operations rather than all high-fenced hunting facilities, especially large, well-managed ones containing native deer. Current estimates suggest there are nearly 10,000 deer breeding operations in North America, and the states of Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin are each home to more than 500 such facilities. Their business model is simple - create a core group of "breeder bucks" from which semen straws and inseminated does can be sold to the highest bidder. Any bucks not worthy of breeder status are typically sold as "shooter" bucks to high-fenced hunting operations, often released just days before a "hunter" enters a "preserve" to collect his "trophy." In general, the larger and more extreme a buck's antlers, the higher its value and, thus, the smaller the "hunting" area required to ensure success. Some argue this is an innocent endeavor with no negative impacts to wild deer or the everyday deer hunter/manager. As CEO of North America's leading whitetail conservation organization with a mission to ensure a sustainable future for wild white-tailed deer, I emphatically and unapologetically disagree. Not only does this industry undermine the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, it threatens the health of wild deer and the public's perception of hunting. In fact, just before this issue of Quality Whitetails went to press, Missouri joined the growing list of states with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in wild whitetails. Not surprising, the infected animals were discovered less than two miles from a captive whitetail facility that had previously tested positive for CWD. Coincidence? I think not.

Similar discoveries have occurred in other states. Despite the undeniable risks to wild deer and the future of hunting, the captive cervid industry is currently launching efforts to loosen regulations to enable expansion within or into many new states. In fact, at time of press, the QDMA was fighting captive cervid legislation and related efforts in seven states including Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. If you agree the health of wild white-tailed deer and the preservation of our deer-hunting heritage is more important than antlered freaks in pens, pick up the phone, write a letter, and get involved. Our association's strength lies in our membership, and there is no more important time or place to demonstrate this strength than right now in the legislative halls throughout North America. This is a battle we simply can't afford to lose.

Brian Murphy

CEO

QDMA Sponsors

Mossy Oak Biologic

Outdoor Underwriters

Purina

Jager Pro

A. Wilbert's Sons

Realtree Nursery

Tecomate Seed

Trophy Rock

Resource Management Services

Record Rack

Plum Creek Timber

Whitetail Properties

Cabelas

Big & J Industries LLC

Smart Scouter Cellular Servalance Systems

The Management Advantage

Parker Compound Bows

LaCrosse

Meadwestvaco

St. Joe

Cudde Back

Bass Pro

Remington



Shawn Schafer

NADeFA Executive Director



North American Deer Farmers Association

NADeFA Office

330-454-3944

Thanks Shawn and NADEFA for being the watchdog for these issues. We have a big task ahead of us, to dispel these lies and half-truths. This just shows that why we need everyone to join and support NADEFA. Those of you that are not NADEFA members, why aren't you? We can only win if we all unite are resources to protect the business we love - WT deer.

If anyone has addresses to the sponsors, please post them. we need to make our voice heard.

In a response to Mr.Murphy --- Apparently the breeding schemes we use are working. QDMA's plan doesn't work. When was the last time you set a state record? In Minnesota the state record is over 30 years old. The proof is in the pudding. Apparently QDMA does not work. All you are promoting is selling over-priced seed for your sponsors, with questionable results.

The so called "business model" you refer to is no different than all livestock business practices. "Breed with the best and cull the rest". This is the same we practiced in our dairy and beef herds on our farm for over 40 years. Its called genetic improvement or progress. This is something QDMA apparently can't show.



Gary Olson

Minnesota

I have emailed almost every single one..