DATCP officials looking into deer farmer's concerns

State animal health officials are looking into the situation of an Amish deer farmer who is under a five-year quarantine because he didn't file the right paperwork after moving his captive deer herd from Minnesota.

Wisconsin State Farmer reported last week on the situation of Eddie Gingerich and his wife Mary, who moved to Wisconsin with their nine children after their deer herd outgrew the family's land base in Minnesota.

He said he had built the herd into a viable business after starting 11 years ago with a few fawns. He was counting on the herd to support his family.

He told the board at the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection that his herd was fully accredited and tested in Minnesota and that he hadn't added to it or sold any animals since the move to Wisconsin.

A five-year quarantine on the herd will destroy all the work he has put into his business, he told board members.

Secretary Ben Brancel said he was having his staff review Gingerich's records on brucellosis and tuberculosis testing as well as those for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

"Once we sort out his status from the records we'll evaluate that and try to help him if we can," Brancel said.

When the Gineriches moved to Wisconsin, the department's Animal Health division got some of the regulatory information it needed but didn't get it all, Brancel said.

Animal Health administrator Dr. Bob Ehlenfeldt said there is added complexity to the situation because the family moved its herd from Minnesota.

"They have a completely different program in Minnesota," Dr. Ehlenfeldt told Wisconsin State Farmer. "Their brucellosis and TB programs are completely different."

Brancel said the governor's directive to force state government to get out of the way of business is already being addressed as it relates to the deer farming industry, through a hearing process on administrative rules.

Many of the concerns brought by Gingerich and other deer farmers are already being addressed through that rule process, the secretary said.

The Gingerich herd was fully accredited and tested under Minnesota rules, but the farmers failed to register their farm with the animal health division at DATCP in the first 90 days of operation.

They are in effect put out of business for five years - the period of a quarantine during which they can't sell any animals.

Gingerich said he realizes it was his mistake. His wife signed for a registered letter from the department informing him of the requirements. But in all the work to get their new farm ready, the letter was lost and he forgot about it.

Gingerich said he can't afford to feed his deer for five years without making any sales, adding that the regulation that tripped him up may cost him his business.

"I moved to Wisconsin to run a business and now my hands are tied," he told DATCP board members at their December meeting. "Eleven years of work will be going down the drain."