Pennsylvania Deer illegally transferred to CWD-contaminated farm
Deer illegally transferred to CWD-contaminated farm
Gary Blockus Gary Blockus September 10, 2013
As if it wasn't bad enough that chronic wasting disease (CWD) hit
Pennsylvania farm-raised captive deer last fall, news has surfaced that one of
the quarantined farms in Adams County transferred three deer to a contaminated
farm in Adams County last month in direct violation of the quarantine.
Troy Luckenbaugh of East Berlin, Adams County, illegally transferred three
deer to the farm owned by Ronald Rutters in Straban Township, Adams County,
according to the Department of Agriculture. Rutters' deer pens were the first in
the state discovered to have deer that tested positive for CWD.
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture fined Luckenbaugh just $300 for his
actions — just $100 per deer — for the illegal activity.
"He was on the quarantined list," Dept. of Agriculture press secretary
Samantha Elliott Krepps said last week. "No cervid [deer, moose or elk] could go
on or off his farm, and no CWD-susceptible animals are allowed to go on or off
those farms because the prions for CWD are still on the ground in that farm."
Carl G. Roe, the executive director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, has
declared two executive orders for areas with confirmed cases of CWD, declaring
Disease Management Areas in approximately 1,500 square miles because of specific
threat to the indigenous wild deer.
Farm-raised captive deer do not fall under the game commission's domain
thanks to legislative action that transferred that power to the Department of
Agriculture several years ago. When the game commission did have control over
those deer, it demanded that double fencing be used for the deer enclosures. The
Department of Agriculture does not.
Four farms were quarantined last fall, with Roe declaring a 600-square mile
DMAin Adams and York counties. The Dept. of Agriculture could not re-erect a pen
on one of the sites, and the game commission ended up doing so, according to PGC
commissioner Dave Putnam.
Rutters had two deer on his property test positive for CWD last fall, and
another, called Pink 23, escaped when Department of Agriculture personnel came
to euthanize and test the remaining deer.
"You cannot test for CWD in live animals," Krepps said. She added that the
three deer in question will be euthanized and tested for CWD.
According to Rick Watts from the state advisory council of the Quality Deer
Management Association, when an Adams County Wildlife Conservation Officer who
observed two doe and a buck in his contaminated farm last month, Rutters claimed
that he had paperwork from the Department of Agriculture that allowed him to
bring deer into the quarantined area. Krepps denied that and said that only
non-cervids could be allowed on the farm because CWD is not known to cross
beyond the genetics of the cervid family.
Despite bringing the deer onto his contaminated property, no charges were
brought against Rutters because no cash was exchanged in the transaction.
That's a pretty disturbing occurrence for anyone who loves the outdoors,
whether as a passive observers who just loves the beauty of the natural world or
an avid hunter or angler.
It's even more disturbing that some state legislators are still trying to
strip the game commission and the fish and boat commission of their authority
when it comes to wildlife. Most recently, state representative Jeff Pyle
R-Armstrong and state senator Joe Scarnati R-Jefferson have proposed bills to
hand the power to authorize the threatened and endangered species in the state
to the lawmakers review process.
The bills are being opposed by PGC, PFBC, the Pennsylvania Chapter of Trout
Unlimited and Penn Future as bills that are aiming at a problem that doesn't
exist while putting unnecessary delays — up to two years — while turning
decisions based on science into political debate.
State Rep. Steve McCarter, D-Montgomery/Philadelphia, condemned the
proposed bills.
"Think of our natural history as a grand tapestry," McCarter said in a
statement. "If you remove one strand it causes a negative chain reaction on
every other fiber. Industries that rely on our natural resources should be
fighting against these bills, not championing them."
McCarter said that the state stands to lose almost $20 million in federal
wildlife management funding if the bills pass.
"The Pennsylvania Game Commission has been scientifically managing wildlife
in this commonwealth for nearly 120 years," he said. "Why the makers of these
bills want to throw away 120 years of knowledge, remove scientific experts and
replaces them with bureaucrats and politicians is baffling."
Many, like PennFuture, fear that the bills will allow industries a greater
voice in developing Penn's Woods into Marcellus Shale gas pads and
pipeline.
"It's no surprise that outdoors groups are opposed to this bill as it would
trade the welfare of wildlife for the interests of big business," PennFuture
communications manager Elaine Labalme said in a statement.
gary.blockus@mcall.com
610-820-6782
Copyright © 2013, The Morning Call
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
PA Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
Sunday, January 06, 2013
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE "it‘s no longer its business.”
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD quarantine Louisiana via CWD index herd
Pennsylvania Update May 28, 2013
6 doe from Pennsylvania CWD index herd still on the loose in Louisiana,
quarantine began on October 18, 2012, still ongoing, Lake Charles premises.
Monday, June 24, 2013
The Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease on the Pennsylvania Cervid Industry
Following its Discovery
Saturday, June 29, 2013
PENNSYLVANIA CAPTIVE CWD INDEX HERD MATE YELLOW *47 STILL RUNNING LOOSE IN
INDIANA, YELLOW NUMBER 2 STILL MISSING, AND OTHERS ON THE RUN STILL IN LOUISIANA
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
Thursday, August 08, 2013
***PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS
Characterization of the first case of naturally occurring chronic wasting
disease in a captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) in North America
Sunday, August 25, 2013
***PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS
Prion2013 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats,
blood, and mother to offspring transmission
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Review and Updates of the USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) National
Chronice Wasting Disease (CWD) Program 2012-2013
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild...
TSS
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1:05 AM
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