Deer

Committee to Vote on Scrapping Chronic Wasting Disease Rules

Republicans on the Legislature’s rules committee debated whether to break with Gov. Scott Walker and scrap his new emergency chronic wasting disease regulations for deer, calling the rules too expensive and cumbersome. Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow told the committee during a hearing on the regulations that the rules are “dumb” and “stupid” and Walker brought the rules forward in an effort to win votes.

October 1, 2018 | Source: Associated Press News | by Todd Richman

Republicans on the Legislature’s rules committee debated whether to break with Gov. Scott Walker and scrap his new emergency chronic wasting disease regulations for deer, calling the rules too expensive and cumbersome.

Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow told the committee during a hearing on the regulations that the rules are “dumb” and “stupid” and Walker brought the rules forward in an effort to win votes.

“What has changed in the last three months or six months or nine months that requires an emergency response? I submit to you nothing has changed in that time,” Jarchow said. “Well, one thing has changed. There’s an election in a month. It’s a political stunt masquerading as policy.”

Walker has taken pointed criticism for doing little to nothing to contain CWD and protect Wisconsin’s beloved whitetail deer during his eight years in office. With re-election looming, the governor earlier this year ordered the Department of Natural Resources to require deer farmers to upgrade fences and ban hunters from moving deer carcasses out of CWD-affected counties.