The politics of deer farming in North Carolina—Lessons learned

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrior to 2015, white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were allowed to be raised and sold in‐state and out‐of‐state, but not hunted behind high fences in North Carolina, USA. As a result of the proliferation of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in other states, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) delayed a decision, requested by the state's deer farmers, to approve increasing the size of current deer farms, permitting new deer farms, or allowing importation of deer from other states. This led to a conflict among the deer farmer, hunting and conservation groups, the WRC, and the state legislature. Despite the appointment of a WRC task force to study the potential impact of such rules on the proliferation of CWD and substantial public and legislative opposition to such changes, the legislature approved the changes in the last hours of its 2015 session. In addition, regulatory authority over deer farms was transferred from the WRC to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The history of this recent conflict, the implications of these changes, and lessons learned should be of interest to all wildlifers. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.