The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission continues to express serious concerns regarding House Bill 3270. The bill, which provides for specific, statutory authorization of co-mingling of captive deer into wildlife populations, could be presented in the Senate Agriculture and Wildlife Committee next Monday morning. The Committee’s chairman, Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, is the Senate author. 

The bill would allow captive deer with certain genetic “resistance” to be released into wild populations and would transfer authority to sell permits to private landowners wanting to stock game farm deer from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF). 

The bill’s original language creates a pilot program for deer with the SS allele at codon 96 under the premise that they are genetically “resistant” to chronic wasting disease (CWD).  

Dr. Jennifer Malmberg, project leader for CWD research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said during the April 6 Commission meeting, “Taking all studies into consideration, 96SS deer are not resistant to CWD. They still get the disease and that is a really important point to make.” Studies also show deer with the SS allele die from the disease. 

Dr. Malmberg also shared there have been no studies that have researched the logistical feasibility of introduction programs in wild white-tailed deer populations for the control of CWD. She went on to say introduction of captive-bred deer isn’t feasible and isn’t an effective management option. 

Additionally, Commissioners believe that decisions with the potential to significantly impact Oklahoma’s wild deer population should remain under the authority of the Commission and ODWC, consistent with the agency’s responsibility to manage the state’s wildlife resources for the benefit of all Oklahomans. 

The Commission emphasizes that wildlife management decisions should be guided by sound science and the expertise of trained wildlife professionals responsible for stewarding the state’s natural resources. They released a position statement against House Bill 3270 on March 2 and met with the bill’s author Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City, and several House members, including Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, a deer breeder himself. Ultimately, they were unable to secure any amendments to the language in the bill, and it passed the House and was sent to the Senate.  

The Commission has a constitutional and statutory duty to manage and regulate the state's wildlife resources for the benefit of all Oklahomans. For over a century, the stewardship of wild deer has been guided by professional science and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. This model dictates that wildlife is a public trust that should not be commercialized or managed by private interests. 

This legislation would make Oklahoma the only state in the nation to currently allow stocking of captive, game-farm deer into the wild under state law. The Commission believes risks should be fully understood before considering something that could permanently change Oklahoma's wild deer herd. Oklahoma is currently recognized as a top-five deer hunting destination in the United States, reaching a record harvest of over 134,000 deer in recent years.

Introduction of captive, selectively bred animals could jeopardize this reputation and have unknown consequences that could negatively impact native deer. It could also lead to the disqualification of Oklahoma deer from prestigious record books like those of the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young clubs, which would significantly diminish land values and hunting lease markets. 

Implementation of an ongoing, state-endorsed program that puts captive-bred deer on the landscape could also expose Oklahoma to legal disputes with neighboring states that are committed to maintaining strictly free-ranging, wild herds. The shift toward the monetization of wildlife resources is viewed as a threat to the integrity of the public trust. 

While CWD has been detected in the state, current data show it has not caused population-level declines or reduced hunting opportunities. The Commission argues that the current situation does not constitute a crisis that justifies such a fundamental and risky shift in wildlife management policy. The Commission maintains that legislative intervention of this magnitude is premature and scientifically unsupported. 

Dr. Mark Ruder, director of the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, said in the April 6 Wildlife Commission meeting, “There is no scientific justification for the release of farmed white-tailed deer into free-ranging populations for the purpose of CWD prevention or management”. 

The potential risks of releasing captive deer include: 

• Unintentional release of CWD(+) deer into the wild. 

• The introduction of novel diseases into the wild, including emergence of novel CWD strains. 

• Increased susceptibility to existing and more common threats like blue tongue and EHD (epizootic hemorrhagic disease). 

• Disruption of established herd dynamics and the creation of genetic weakness. 

• Stocking additional deer into areas that are near or at carrying capacity could lead to additional agricultural depredation, deer/vehicle collisions and potential liability for those who have sold or released the deer. 

• It could alter deer density and resource selection. Deer that are released from captivity into the wild are going to use human-provided resources and that could increase risk of disease transmission.

During the April 6 meeting, Dr. Grant Woods referenced multiple published research studies demonstrating that captive-raised white-tailed deer released into the wild typically experience first-year survival rates of 50 percent or lower, primarily due to predation and other environmental pressures. Furthermore, these deer generally make little to no meaningful contribution to the wild population through reproduction. To illustrate the severe disadvantages they face, Dr. Woods compared the release of captive-raised deer to placing an untrained, unprepared person in a war zone and expecting them to survive the harsh, unfamiliar conditions.

“The unintended consequences could be devastating to our thriving deer herd," said ODWC’s Chief of Wildlife Bill Dinkines. “Based on what we heard from some of the nation’s leading CWD experts, the release of captive white-tailed deer into free-ranging populations for the purpose of CWD prevention or management is not justified and is not worth the risk.”