MONTGOMERY — After brief debate, the Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation designed to protect Alabama's game breeders from allegedly "punitive" actions by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) and other agencies.
House Bill 509, sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Sorrells (R-Geneva), would prohibit state agencies from killing and testing deer and transferring deer due to disease except under specific circumstances. The bill would clarify that the deer owned by a licensed game breeder are the private property of that breeder and not the state.
The bill received 25 co-sponsors in the House.
Sorrels presented the bill, telling lawmakers it stemmed from ADCNR's unilateral action in testing game breeders' animals.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a neurological condition that affects multiple deer species. Though fatal for deer, it has no observed effects on humans. The first case of CWD in Alabama's deer herd was detected in Lauderdale County in January 2022. However, no positive CWD cases were reported in a breeding facility.
Sorrells told the House that the ADCNR has used its rules for testing CWD to confiscate or kill privately owned deer in the state.
"The Alabama Department of Conservation has carried out an unprecedented taking of an Alabama farmers' deer without regard to disease connection," Sorrells said. "To my knowledge, no other state has proposed or acted upon such a punitive measure without regard to an actual disease connection.
He continued, "This has all taken place under an emergency [order] by Conservation on Dec. 30, 2024. Under this rule, Conservation will draw a radius of 25 miles around the positive result around where the animal was located, which they say gives them the authority to go into a game breeding facility and take out 10% of those animals for testing. The only way to test, they say, is through killing the deer and testing after that."
Supporters of the bill claim it will remove burdensome restrictions on game farmers. They also say that excessive killing of deer bred with heightened CWD resistance would eventually halt efforts to breed out the disease.
Under the bill, the ADCNR or any other agency would be prohibited from doing any of the following:
- Require the killing of a cervid due to a disease.
- Require the antemortem disease testing of a cervid.
- Prohibit or restrict the transfer of a cervid from the premises of a licensee to another person due to disease.
The prohibition would apply unless a specific disease has been detected in another animal owned by the licensee or if it was transferred to the licensee from another licensee and is epidemiologically linked to a diseased animal.
Opponents of the bill, such as ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship, claimed that the legislation could lead to the transfer of untested deer across the state, potentially damaging the state's hunting industry.
The bill passed the House without much pushback. However, multiple lawmakers used debate time to voice support or ask questions.
"We're not talking about killing pets here; we're talking about killing someone's livelihood," said State Rep. Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville). "There's 16 deer breeder farms in Franklin County. We're not a large county. So, it's very impactful to a county like ours to be able to breed, grow and sell these deer just like other breeders breed, grow and sell chickens, cows, horses or whatever else they're selling."
The bill passed 84-8 with nine abstentions. It now goes to the Senate for deliberation.
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