Who really runs the DNR?

Wisconsin's new DNR secretary says to Billy Ray Bozo - Ya'all come to Southern Wisconsin to shoot ya' some deer, drink some beer, and win some Baig' prizes.

Apparently not enough people have bought the DNRs repeated offerings of "best available science" and a year and half of media blitzkrieg on all the reasons why hunters and landowners ought to eradicate deer in the designated CWD zone. On September 18, 2003 DNR Secretary Hassett announced a comprehensive Deer Bounty monetary reward program to encourage the shooting of deer in the 1150 square mile designated CWD deer eradication zone.

When reason fails, hysteria prevails.

So what's wrong with a Bounty Program?
Its purpose is to bring more shooters into the action. People for whom all the appeals to date have not worked.

Under the Bounty Program, combined with the Free Deer Removal Permits, any Bozo with a gun can participate. You don't need a license. You don't need to know how to handle a gun, or how to dress out a deer, or know your terrain (including property lines), or how to conduct yourself in the field. You need know nothing about hunting. Just get out there and start shooting and if you are lucky you might kill a winning deer. Your mantra is "if its brown, its down."

It promotes indiscriminate shooting when you don't have a good shot or a clear view of the target - because letting that deer get away may cost you $400.

What makes the program especially appealing to the shooter-wannabe is that unlike hunting you don't have to go through that messy job of gutting and dressing out the deer. Just drag 'er to a registration station and the DNR folks will dispose of it. No muss, no fuss.

The landowner prize-sharing component of the program encourages money-motivated landowners to flood his/her land with unregistered and unlicensed shooters. Gun safety and adjacent property owner rights take a back seat to winning some cash.

In summary, what's wrong with the Bounty?

• Compromises Safety & Property Rights. It encourages the wrong people to pick up a gun, for the wrong reasons, and encourages unsafe shooting in rural residential areas - where bullets don't understand property lines.
• Wastes More Money & Resources. And like all of the other DNR CWD programs, it will fail to accomplish its stated objective. After wasting more money and manpower on this program, CWD will remain in the deer herd and will be discovered in new areas.

Deer Hunters are already on board
Experienced deer hunters need no special incentives other than the reasons the DNR has repeatedly offered them. If you trust the DNR or trust the validity of their story, you are going to help out - because you believe the future of deer hunting in Wisconsin is on the line.

While I'd like to think only the intellectually challenged among deer hunters have swallowed the DNR story, that's not the case. Last year a number of ethical hunters - who value the sport and its traditions - shot extra deer and donated them to the DNR program. It was tough for many of them because the idea of wasting deer for the dumpster goes against the grain. Yet for these people it was the lesser of two evils. They were convinced the long term survival of the animal was on the line.

Is Support Among Deer Hunters Eroding?
So what gives? Why do we now need to gamble on an experimental, untested bounty program to get the job done? Does the DNR fear the hunting community won't stand with them this year? Has the CASE for doing the program significantly weakened so the loyalist ranks are thinning? So we have to pay them to keep them in the service?

Last year there were a great many hunters who didn't buy the doom and gloom prophecy. They found the "best science" and common sense reasoning of the DNR woefully deficient. Are there now more hunters in this camp? Does the DNR think that prize money can make these people change their common sense conclusions or principled stand on the issue? I've heard from hundreds of hunters who don't buy the CWD hysteria fable. I can't think of one who if offered $400 bucks to change his mind wouldn't tell the DNR to stick it where the sun don't shine.

Did Landowners Ask for this Program?
The DNR publicity release states the Bounty program was created in response to popular demand offered at public meetings they held last year. I attended the meeting held in our township. We were specifically instructed that discussion of opposition to the eradication program was off-limits. The agenda was to brainstorm ideas for "how we could kill as many deer as possible" within the zone.

The topic was custom-made for shooters - people for whom "killing as many deer as possible" is innately attractive. And we do have "shooters" who live in our township. These guys shoot deer on their home turf. They have never been to a real deer camp, wouldn't bother going to a deer convention like the Deer & Turkey Expo, nor would they waste their time reading a magazine on deer hunting. The sport of hunting doesn't interest them. They are shooters who kill deer for fun. Their mantra is "if its brown, its down."

It was the shooter crowd who taunted the DNR meeting leader with "pay us, if you really want to see some deer killed." The stated discussion objective - "How can we kill as many deer as possible?" was not a topic that would inspire the participation of hunters unsure of whether or not this was a good idea. I and others offered no suggestions and did not vote - our alternatives weren't on the ballot. The election was rigged to get only the answers the DNR wanted.

Our DNR facilitator was hunting clueless; likewise she didn't understand our good ole' boys were playing games with her when they challenged the DNR to pay them to shoot deer. They didn't really expect the DNR to seriously consider that. To prove my point, the "if it's brown, it's down" crowd proceeded to kill alot of deer last winter - for free. They had a little contest among themselves to see how many they could kill. The winner stacked up over 100 deer, fawns included. These local shooters will be out there again this year and now they will get paid for what they willingly do for free.

Public Safety takes a Back Seat
Last year the DNR suspended a number of hunting safety regulations to enhance their kill rate. The Deer Removal Permit system allows further compromises to safety and common sense. It lacks the customary system of hunter accountability. The Permits are given to landowners who may give them to anyone he or she desires. The shooter need not have a deer hunting license, need not have taken a hunter safety course, and in fact need not even know how to use a gun. The shooter is out there without a back tag and does not have his name recorded in a database. The chain of accountability for ones actions is broken.

The DNR has deflected the safety criticisms by noting that these unsafe practices are taking place on the property of a willing landowner. Fact #1. Bullets do not respect property boundaries. Fact #2. There is now a monetary incentive to trespass on adjacent lands for the purpose of taking a deer.

Insuring Your Safety & Protecting your Property
Of great interest to the DNR are the lands (over a 100,000 acres and rising) of those of us who have signed petitions opposing the DNR. Our lands are referenced by the DNR staffers as "deer refusia" as they imagine that's where all the deer are. The Bounty, it is hoped, will motivate the Bozos to find ways to get the deer in these refuges. So now we have to patrol our property to keep Bozo out?

Anyone who feels intimidated by the presence of nearby shooters or suspects trespassing should call their County Sheriff. Unlike the DNR, they have not lost sense of their mission. They are there to serve and protect.

Chronic wasting of deer, chronic wasting of taxpayer dollars, chronic wasting of common sense. When will it end?

--Ross Reinhold, Vemont Township Landowner

The Science of CWD

"Where's the Beef II?" The political management of Data and Statistics continues

Articles and Papers on Wisconsin Chronic Wasting Disease and DNR proposals

Contact Information

Chronic Wasting Disease - CWD Links and Other Resources