Tag: Chronic Wasting Disease

House DFL Lawmakers urge resignation of Minn. Board of Animal Health President

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls), Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley), Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL – Minnetonka), Rep. Ami Wazlawik (DFL – White Bear Township), Rep. Kelly Morrison (DFL – Deephaven), Rep. Todd Lippert (DFL – Northfield), Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL – Plymouth), Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL – Saint Paul), Rep. Heather Keeler (DFL – Moorhead), Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL – Roseville), Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL – Brooklyn Center), Rep. Fue Lee (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Peter Fischer (DFL – Maplewood), Rep. Steve Sandell (DFL – Woodbury), Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL – Coon Rapids), Rep. Liz Reyer (DFL – Eagan), Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL – Spring Lake Park), Rep. Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield), and Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL – Minneapolis) issued the following statement calling for the resignation of Minnesota Board of Animal Health (BAH) President Dean Compart: 

“Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) poses a critical threat to Minnesota’s wild white-tail deer population, and the Board of Animal Health has the responsibility to hold cervid farms in our state accountable for their role in its spread. Unfortunately, by failing to act, the BAH and its leadership have continued to let down those who enjoy deer hunting. Worse, future generations potentially won’t be able to enjoy these cherished traditions if CWD is allowed to spread, and based on the frequency at which the disease is identified in new areas of the state, unless urgent action is taken, it almost certainly will.

“All Minnesotans deserve a healthy deer herd and comprehensive solutions to protect it. If the deer farms won’t be accountable to the BAH, and the BAH won’t be accountable to Minnesotans, it’s time for BAH President Dean Compart to do the honorable thing and resign.”

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Klobuchar, Wicker Call for Examination of Increased Number of Chronic Wasting Disease Cases by U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior

In a bipartisan letter, the senators ask Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, and Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, to conduct an extensive examination of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease is a contagious neurological disorder that affects deer and elk, posing a serious threat to deer populations across the country

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue and Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, urging the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior to conduct an extensive examination of chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a contagious neurological disorder that affects deer, elk, and other cervids and already poses a serious threat to deer populations across the country. The frequency of CWD has grown and now been identified in as many as 25 states and three Canadian provinces.

“We suggest that your two departments assign senior staff to expand the examination of CWD, particularly as an issue for deliberation with the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council (HSSCC),” the senators wrote.

“The HSSCC is co-chartered by U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It is an ideal venue to assess current efforts at the Department of the Interior with respect to surveillance mapping and at the Department of Agriculture for developing standards for interstate transport of deer and elk. We believe your agency experts, representatives from states and tribes, and the HSSCC can identify needs for national policy on this matter.”

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