Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By TOM LAVENTURE
Hurley — A draft ordinance to regulate the deer breeding industry was reviewed by the Iron County Comprehensive Planning, Land and Zoning Department Committee on Tuesday, with a reccomendation to be considered in June.
The ordinance is intended to protect the natural deer herd in Iron County from the spread of chronic wasting disease, according to the language of the draft. The ordinance regulates, enforces and sets penalties for violations regarding captive cervids, a term for artificial breeding techniques for larger game deer that are exported to captive hunting ranches or to meat processors.
Part of the ordinance is to protect natural herds from chronic wasting disease and other communicative diseases, according to Erika Roeder, planning, land and zoning administrator. The draft was modeled in part from the Bayfield and Douglas County captive cervid ordinances and then tailored to fit Iron County based on input and a court council review.
The ordinance establishes standards, inspections and requirements for importation and maintaining live cervids, according to the draft. The cervids must originate from certified herds with veterinary inspections and chronic wasting disease testing.
Animals may not be transported from a location within 10 miles of any documented farm-raised cervid or wild cervid have test positive for a communicable disease up to five years, the draft stated.
Committee member Anne McComas, of Sherman, asked that conflicting information on fencing be corrected before approval is considered. She also questioned if the veterinary inspection requirements are strong enough, and suggested fines for non-compliance be greater than the $200 noted in the draft.
Roeder said that currently the counties may not provide language that is more restrictive than what is provided by the state. If there are health issues with a herd then the game operation would be closed immediately to allow for a quarantine and inspection, she said.
Joseph Pinardi, chair of the Iron County Board of Commissioners, said the language could simply state “not less than $200.”
The ordinance would become effective upon passage by the County Board of Supervisors and publication.