Number: 2014-13
WHEREAS, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), which affects captive and wild Cervidae (e.g., deer, elk and moose); and
WHEREAS, CWD is highly transmissible by fluids, including saliva and blood; and
WHEREAS, CWD is fatal to the affected animal and long-lived in soils; and
WHEREAS, captive cervid herds are unnaturally concentrated, increasing the likelihood of CWD transmission; and
WHEREAS, CWD was first recognized as a syndrome in cervids in Colorado in 1967 and has since been detected in many other states likely via the movement of captive cervids and subsequent contact with wild individuals; and
WHEREAS, since 1967, authorities in Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New Mexico , Minnesota, Illinois, Utah, New York, West Virginia, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Virginia, Missouri, Maryland, Texas, Pennsylvania, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan have detected CWD in captive cervids, wild cervids or both; and
WHEREAS, the majority of states presently prohibit or heavily regulate the importation of live cervids from areas known to be endemic for CWD; and
WHEREAS, a growing number of states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Virginia, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina, have completely banned all importation of live cervids, or ban importation with very limited exceptions, due to the threat of CWD; and
WHEREAS, there exists at present no inexpensive test for CWD on live deer species and no live test for all other cervid species; and
WHEREAS, the presence of CWD in any state requires the expenditure of limited resources in order to contain the disease; and
WHEREAS, white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose and elk, which are impacted by CWD, are primary game species for America’s hunters; and
WHEREAS, the presence of CWD in any community may well depress hunter participation; and
WHEREAS, any reduction of hunter participation will have negative economic impacts on revenue for all wildlife management agencies and communities that rely on recreation and tourism; and
WHEREAS, the presence of CWD reduces the wild cervid herd locally, thereby negatively impacting the local areas’ ecosystem; and
WHEREAS, CWD is a national problem that impacts all continental states;
WHEREAS, some universities, extension offices and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) including the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provide expertise, financial support, and promote the commercialization of cervids (such as promulgating rules that facilitate interstate transport of captive cervids) and big game breeding operations;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled May 1–3, 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland, hereby urges the enactment of state laws or rules prohibiting the importation and exportation of live cervids, cervid carcasses, cervid reproductive materials, or unboned cervid meat; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation opposes the engagement of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) including Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), extension offices, universities, and other entities in activities which aid and abet big game breeding operations and the captive raising of cervids, and urges that their engagement in these activities be terminated.