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MO deer hunters, you better listen up...

14K views 369 replies 28 participants last post by  Vikestand 
#1 ·
Yesterday was a sad day for Missouri deer hunters and all of those who enjoy watching the plethora of whitetails that we now have in this state. Legislation was passed in both the Missouri House and Senate that contained language which reclassifies “captive cervids†(pen-raised deer) as livestock. What does this mean? It means that the regulatory jurisdiction over these animals has been taken away from the Missouri Department of Conservation and transferred to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

While this rearrangement of power may seem trivial to you, its implications are huge. This all has to do with Chronic Wasting Disease, MDC’s proposed regulations to fight the spread of CWD and the deer farmers’ fight to be left virtually unregulated. You have to admit that this was a pretty smart move on the farmers’ part. Why quibble over the language in the regulations? Instead, let’s take the authority away from the agency championing these regulations, therefore, killing the new regulations altogether.

Now you may not like the way MDC has been handling the CWD crisis in our state. You may not like MDC for a million other reasons. However, they are the only government entity doing ANYTHING to prevent the spread of this disease and now their hands have been tied. The new sheriff in town, the Missouri Department of Agriculture, is a lion without teeth. They have no enforcement statutes so they couldn’t enforce any of the regulations MDC proposed even if they wanted to. What baffles me the most about all of this is the MDA testified in both houses of the Assembly that THEY DID NOT WANT the responsibility of regulating the captive cervid industry yet our politicians decided to give it to them anyway.

Fellow deer hunters, we were outfought on this one and it’s our own dang fault. We were quiet and complacent when we should have been raising all kinds of hell with our legislators to not let this happen. At last check, there are around 600,000 of us. There are a little over 200 deer breeding facilities in Missouri and 39 high-fence hunting operations. We had the overwhelming odds but let our apathy and the deer farmers’ determination (and money) win out. So what can we do?

What we can do is fight, and I mean really fight this time. We need to lean on Governor Nixon to veto this legislation and, if it is vetoed, we need to lean on our legislators to not override the veto. I know a lot of you think I’m being melodramatic but the future of our wild deer herd hangs in the balance here.

Several legislators are on record for downplaying the importance of fighting the spread of CWD. They are on record for questioning the link between CWD and pen-raised deer. They continue to spread lies about the regulations MDC had proposed regarding pen-raised deer. They are sorely misinformed and/or blinded by the money dumped into their coffers by the captive cervid industry. We, as deer hunters and stewards of the land, need to get off our lazy backsides and set them straight.

Please contact Governor Nixon’s office and tell him to veto any legislation that will take away the authority of the Missouri Department of Conservation over captive cervids.

Contact the Governor's office

CWD and the captive cervid industry

Darren Haverstick
Avid Hunter
Concerned Citizen
President - United Bowhunters of Missouri
 
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#3 ·
#4 ·
What baffles me the most about all of this is the MDA testified in both houses of the Assembly that THEY DID NOT WANT the responsibility of regulating the captive cervid industry yet our politicians decided to give it to them anyway.

that line pretty much says it all, the politicians only care about money! I like CJ's thought, shoot them all, and let the law or MDA prove you killed them
 
#8 ·
I just don't see how any hunting of these animals can be allowed if they are classified as livestock.Just a bad name for hunting all together.But hey nothing surprises me anymore with this country.They spit in the face of our veterans and applaud people like Michael Sam for liking boys.My the world has changed so fast in my 27 years on earth.
 
#9 ·
What baffles me the most about all of this is the MDA testified in both houses of the Assembly that THEY DID NOT WANT the responsibility of regulating the captive cervid industry yet our politicians decided to give it to them anyway.

that line pretty much says it all, the politicians only care about money! I like CJ's thought, shoot them all, and let the law or MDA prove you killed them
I think this would be a much better argument if MDA didnt first say that they wanted to regulate penned deer, then change their minds for some "unknown" reason.

Lilke I stated when these amendments were added, focus needs to be turned to MDA. I can almost guarantee you that they dont want to deal with a bunch of deer hunters at their door everyday. :wave:
 
#10 ·
I think this would be a much better argument if MDA didnt first say that they wanted to regulate penned deer, then change their minds for some "unknown" reason.

Lilke I stated when these amendments were added, focus needs to be turned to MDA. I can almost guarantee you that they dont want to deal with a bunch of deer hunters at their door everyday. :wave:
You are right, they won't want to deal with a bunch of deer hunters so they won't. They never listened to deer hunters before, just always cared about livestock. Nothing will change, and that aint good!
 
#11 ·
You are right, they won't want to deal with a bunch of deer hunters so they won't. They never listened to deer hunters before, just always cared about livestock. Nothing will change, and that aint good!
When have they ever had to deal with deer hunters in the past?

If you arent going to move to MDA, then I guess you ust give up, right?
 
#14 ·
The first "deer hunter" we need to focus on is Jay Nixon.... Use the link in the OP and let him know how you feel.
he is a deer hunter, and along with NWTF initiated the governors youth hunts. doesn't mean though that he won't vote in favor of this due to the other parts of the bill. just pretty sad that they play their little games to pad their pockets and don't care about who they represent. I have said it before, a career politician is not in it for your best interest, only to get where they want to be and do whatever it takes to get there.
 
#15 ·
When have they ever had to deal with deer hunters in the past?

If you arent going to move to MDA, then I guess you ust give up, right?
he is a deer hunter, and along with NWTF initiated the governors youth hunts. doesn't mean though that he won't vote in favor of this due to the other parts of the bill. just pretty sad that they play their little games to pad their pockets and don't care about who they represent. I have said it before, a career politician is not in it for your best interest, only to get where they want to be and do whatever it takes to get there.
I have been told he was opposed to the stand alone captive cervid legislation. I have also been told Nixon is why the MDA switched their position on the issue in the committeee meetings.
 
#18 ·
MDA gets a lot of pressure from insurance companies. Deer have always been a hot topic, especially for Farm Bureau.
True, but have hunters ever shown up at their doors, offices, emails, phones, etc??
 
#19 ·
Good to know, thanks!
I seriously doubt he vetoes a bill for scholarships, and if he does the override will come right away. And there are still what, 5-6 more bills with this language attached??

Move to MDAs doors...:wave:
 
#20 ·
True, but have hunters ever shown up at their doors, offices, emails, phones, etc??
I seriously doubt he vetoes a bill for scholarships, and if he does the override will come right away. And there are still what, 5-6 more bills with this language attached??

Move to MDAs doors...:wave:
You sure are a stubborn feller... One thing at a time... Nixon is where we need to focus on for now. Then IF he does veto it, hammer the legislators NOT to override.

If we lose the fight, then we can start pestering the Dept of Ag but folks who dont rely on being elected are a whole lot more likely to ignore phone messages, e-mails and letters than those who are elected.
 
#21 ·
You sure are a stubborn feller... One thing at a time... Nixon is where we need to focus on for now. Then IF he does veto it, hammer the legislators NOT to override.

If we lose the fight, then we can start pestering the Dept of Ag but folks who dont rely on being elected are a whole lot more likely to ignore phone messages, e-mails and letters than those who are elected.
Im not stubborn, Im realistic. If you want this to get shot down, hit MDA NOW. If they start getting hammered BEFORE this is finished they might make it known to these people that they dont want to deal with all these hunters. As of now you guys are chasing this thing... not a good position to be in.

No one is saying to not call Nixon etc, but if thats the only thing you do you are setting yourself up for getting shot down.

You dont have to listen, but has any of the letter, email writing etc worked yet?? Maybe its time for a different tactic???

This is the legislature thumbing its nose at MDC. They dont really care what we think, they are proving a point...
 
#22 ·
Im not stubborn, Im realistic. If you want this to get shot down, hit MDA NOW. If they start getting hammered BEFORE this is finished they might make it known to these people that they dont want to deal with all these hunters. As of now you guys are chasing this thing... not a good position to be in.

No one is saying to not call Nixon etc, but if thats the only thing you do you are setting yourself up for getting shot down.

You dont have to listen, but has any of the letter, email writing etc worked yet?? Maybe its time for a different tactic???

This is the legislature thumbing its nose at MDC. They dont really care what we think, they are proving a point...
While you are writing the Dept of Ag you may as well write the Dept of Revenue and ask for a little extra on your tax return...
 
#23 ·
While you are writing the Dept of Ag you may as well write the Dept of Revenue and ask for a little extra on your tax return...
So you are saying that if dept of ag was flooded with all these angry emails, calls, showing up at thier door etc. it wouldnt matter??? Arent they a govt agency?

You dont think that 50k hunters could piece them off enough to make it known that they dont want to deal with it and make some calls? Have a group of hunters go into each MDA office and voice their opinions to the secretary, then work their way up. They will get involved real quick.

But, I guess doing the same thing we have that hasnt worked is also a good idea....
 
#24 ·
So you are saying that if dept of ag was flooded with all these angry emails, calls, showing up at thier door etc. it wouldnt matter??? Arent they a govt agency?

You dont think that 50k hunters could piece them off enough to make it known that they dont want to deal with it and make some calls? Have a group of hunters go into each MDA office and voice their opinions to the secretary, then work their way up. They will get involved real quick.

But, I guess doing the same thing we have that hasnt worked is also a good idea....
Think about what you are suggesting. You want the same folks who did contact or did nothing and didn't contact their legislators to now hurry up and contact non-elected government employees and expect it to have better results than it had with people who rely on being elected and re-elected.

It may be worth a shot but until the bill is law there is a chance to kill it.
 
#25 ·
Think about what you are suggesting. You want the same folks who did contact or did nothing and didn't contact their legislators to now hurry up and contact non-elected government employees and expect it to have better results than it had with people who rely on being elected and re-elected.

It may be worth a shot but until the bill is law there is a chance to kill it.
Yes, thats exactly what Im suggesting. Other than getting more people involved, which isnt going to happen. Take the people that are already invovled in this and hit MDA. Will it work? Possibly. You wont know til you try. Whats happening now obviously isnt working...

I guess the question is, is this a serious enough issue to actually take drastic measures...????

Who do you think has more influence on congress? Us calling or a POed MDA calling??
 
#26 ·
I think the problem is they know that hunters are usually made up of people who actually work and pay taxes.Most can't afford to take off and spend days protesting.Notice most protestors are people who don't have jobs or at least a lot of free time ;) So until we get 50k hunters on their steps they will keep doing what they want.But I did send emails anyway but I think it would take a mass protest to show them that they have lost many votes and they should plan on not getting re-elected unless they do something.
 
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