West Virginia Senate passes bill that reclassifies deer as livestock, allows farm-raised venison to be sold to groceries, restaurants

Andrew Rogers

CHARLESTON, West Virginia , February 29, 2012 (Associated Press) – Deer would be treated as livestock and farm-raised venison would be sold to groceries and restaurants under a bill advancing through the Legislature.

The Senate voted 26-8 to pass a deer farm bill Tuesday that gives the Department of Agriculture sole authority over the farms, replacing the Division of Natural Resources.

DNR officials argue the change could leave wild deer herds vulnerable to disease and threaten the state's $200 million hunting and tourism industry.

For a decade, deer farmers have been trying to persuade the Legislature to consider their animals as livestock so they can sell the meat. Resorts in the state want to sell West Virginia white-tailed deer venison to their guests and farmers believe even grocery chains would sell the meat, said Marcel Fortin, a lobbyist for the Deer Farmers Association.

"The public has told us they would love to buy it. It's a good, healthy meat, low in calories and low in cholesterol," Fortin said.

The farms raise deer for shooting preserves, which prefer large bucks. Any remaining deer that does not meet the needs of the preserves are typically euthanized because the DNR limits the number of animals the farms can maintain, Fortin said.

Instead, those leftover animals could be slaughtered like cows or pigs and be considered a U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified, disease-free cut of meat, he said.

The DNR argues that confined deer can cause disease that may spread to native herds, especially if deer were imported from other states to West Virginia farms, which is not allowed today under DNR oversight, said Chris Ryan, supervisor of game management services at the DNR.

If wild herds are infected with chronic wasting disease, it would scare off hunters who are reluctant to eat the meat of sick animals, Ryan said.

"Don't jeopardize the $200 million economic impact that white-tail deer has on the state," Ryan said.

About 37 deer farms operate in the state. They are allowed to sell venison from animals that are not native to West Virginia like red deer or elk. Allowing the sale of venison from white-tailed deer, which are native to the state, could result in poaching, he said.

White-tailed deer should be protected for the public, not marketed as a commodity to a few wealthy individuals, Ryan said.

Sen. John Fanning, D-McDowell, voted against the bill. He said deer are wild animals, not livestock and should continue to be regulated by the DNR. He also questioned whether consumers would want to buy farm-raised venison.

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