ODA Regulates Deer Farms

The Department of Agriculture's rules outlining licensing and chronic wasting disease testing requirements for deer farmers cleared JCARR with support from the industry.  The rules, authorized by legislation that passed the General Assembly earlier this year (HB 389), are aimed at safeguarding the captive whitetail deer farming industry in the state, according to ODA documents filed with the Common Sense Initiative Office.  "The licensing and testing costs are at the behest of the captive whitetail deer industry and their access to the interstate market. Even one instance of chronic wasting disease could have a dramatic impact on the ability of this industry to market its product," ODA said. "This is an industry that raises over 15,000 deer and is an estimated $59.2 million industry in Ohio providing over 1,250 jobs."  Ohio's deer farming industry has grown rapidly in Ohio, where about 684 whitetail deer farms and 29 hunting preserves are now located, according to the Legislative Service Commission. ODA estimates the impact of new CWD testing requirements would total less than $18,000 a year.