Death of Minnesota deer farms 'just a matter of time' under new laws, group president says

The president of the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association said herd owners across the state are reeling from a sweeping change in regulations adopted last month by the state Legislature.

"It's just a matter of time before our businesses and our industry is dead," Scott Fier said. "People are just sick over this."

A herd owner himself near Minneota in southwestern Minnesota, Fier started working with captive whitetails 23 years ago, with his parents. He stayed in the business, along with a larger cattle operation, and now specializes in selling trophy bucks to private hunting preserves. On average, 150 deer make up the core of his whitetail herd.

In an interview with the Star Tribune, Fier shared his views on the law changes that were fashioned at the Capitol to help Minnesota fight the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild deer. Some wildlife officials and public health experts fear that escalation of the fatal, neurologic disease in wild deer could undermine hunting — a cultural hallmark of Minnesota, a powerful economic engine and the primary tool used by natural resource managers to control deer populations.

Q: What new regulations are most harmful to deer herd owners?

A: There are many, but the law prohibits the establishment in Minnesota of any new deer farms. And, if you currently own a registered farm, you can only sell or transfer it to an immediate family member. Even worse, the chosen family member can't pass it on. ("A valid registration may be sold or transferred only once," the law says.)

Q: What's the fallout for deer farmers?

A: It sets up a downward spiral. We need new farms. A lot of times, that's who we sell our animals to. Now we're heading into a shrinking market as herds phase out. It's pretty bleak. What family members want to get into deer farming now? Our businesses are suddenly valued at nothing. You can't sell a business that has no value.

Q: Some lawmakers wanted to mandate double-fencing of deer farms to guard against nose-to-nose contact between captive deer and wild deer, potentially spreading CWD. Instead, the new law says the state "may determine whether the construction and maintenance of fencing is adequate to prevent physical contact or escape." If regulators find fencing to be "inadequate," they may compel corrective action, the law says.

A: This language about a barrier fence is another reason that it's all unjust, unfair. What do they mean by "adequate?" That could mean a single-wire electric fence or a 12-foot-high brick wall. We honestly don't know. Also, how can you seriously expect a herd owner to invest in a new fence when the business has no future? If an agency wants better fencing around deer herds, they should pay for it. Keep your wild deer away from us. We'll put up a fence if they pay for it.

Q: There are new restrictions on importation of captive deer from other states to ensure the imported animals are not from a known chronic wasting disease-endemic area and that the herd in question has been subject to approved chronic wasting disease monitoring. Why do you see that as a negative for Minnesota deer farmers?

A: It's another factor that will choke our business because states will reciprocate and cancel us as business partners. It kills the market for animals. There's not one organization that wants to get rid of CWD more than deer farmers. We have answers but they won't sit down with us. We can slow it, if not stop it. It seems like they are only concerned with data that supports their agenda. We have boots on the ground every day… a lot of blood sweat and tears. We have herd owners breeding deer to be genetically resistant to CWD. They (regulators) think we are just prolonging the spread.

Q: The new law shifts deer farm oversight responsibility from the Board of Animal Health to the Department of Natural Resources. Your thoughts?

A: DNR in total control is very concerning to us. There's a lot of questions that need to be answered. Supposedly the Board of Animal Health didn't do a good enough job, yet the DNR wants the board to work with them and handle some of the work? Board of Animal Health always did an excellent job, whether it's cattle or pigs or poultry or whatever. I think this is a little taller task than what the DNR was thinking or hoping or wanting.

Q: Minnesota wildlife biologists have linked a few CWD outbreaks in wild deer to CWD-tainted deer farms that were poorly managed. In 2020, the Board of Animal Health caught the operator of a CWD-infected deer farm dumping deer carcasses on public land, creating a still-active hazard. Are deer farms to blame for the spread of CWD in wild deer?

A: Obviously, no. We've had some bad apples and the Beltrami herd owner gave us a huge black eye and he should be prosecuted to the fullest. The deer farm has become an easy finger point. But there's always solid contrary evidence that gets discounted. How about some realization that CWD-infected wild deer are carrying CWD to deer farms? Or that prions from infected deer are moved by wind, birds, scavengers and not always deer-to-deer? I just wish we were given more time to do some more research and generate more data.

Q: Other thoughts?

A: At one point, deer farming in Minnesota was having a $60 million economic impact in our state. That's quite an impact. Now it's a lot less, obviously. (Note: According to state records, the number of registered farms for deer, elk or reindeer has fallen 61% in the past decade, from 526 in 2013 to 206.) Now we are destroying the rest of these family farms and you will still have the same problem with CWD. We're still going to fight as an industry. What else can we do?