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Committee advances CWD bill after lengthy debate over containment, testing and economic impact
Summary
A committee substitute for House Bill 700 moved out of committee after hours of testimony about chronic wasting disease; supporters urged preventive measures while deer farmers warned the measure could shutter businesses without additional testing or federal support.
Representative Josh Bray and Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Rich Storm told the committee that House Bill 700 is intended to limit the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Kentucky, a prion disease that affects cervids and has no cure.
Bray said Kentucky has recorded two CWD cases — one in a wild deer in Western Kentucky and one in a captive facility in Breckenridge County — and warned that "if we do nothing and CWD spreads across the state once it hits Interior Kentucky, we will forever wish we had done something today." Commissioner Rich Storm described the disease as "a hundred percent incurable, a hundred percent always fatal" and defended a "common sense approach" in the committee substitute.
Under the committee substitute described to the panel, the bill would create temporal and geographic restrictions on movement from known CWD areas: the presenters described a compromise of a 30-mile radius for oversight by the agency and a 10-mile radius applied to the captive-deer industry, with a five-year restriction period for affected zones. Deputy provisions discussed included a double-fencing exemption for facilities that preemptively erect an approved perimeter barrier.
Commissioner Storm and Representative Bray emphasized the inability to test live animals with currently approved diagnostic methods. As Bray explained, testing requires lymph node or brain tissue, so "the only time you can test these animals are after they've been harvested or after they're deceased." Bray said Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has tested about 60,000 deer to date.
Deer farmers, led by witnesses from the Kentucky Alternative Livestock Association and individual farm owners, opposed aspects of the bill and warned it could close businesses. Henry Woodard, on the association board, said many farms already participate in USDA programs and test all mortalities; Jake Anderson, a Meade County deer farmer, said HB 700 would likely "shut us down" because he could not export animals while a nearby positive case exists.
Physician assistant and deer farmer Mary Ann Hall told the committee that double fencing "has not been proven in any other state to benefit in stopping the spread of CWD" and raised multiple environmental and transmission concerns, citing avian and mammal scavengers and possible environmental persistence that complicate single-source policy solutions. Farm witnesses and Representative Josh Calloway said some operators have significant investments — one speaker described more than $500,000 invested in a farm — and stressed federal involvement is often the driver of mandatory herd depopulation and indemnity decisions.
Members raised questions about testing availability, business impacts and trade-offs for the hunting and tourism economy. Representative Lawrence noted the heavy cost of fencing for small businesses and said he would vote no on the committee motion; Representative Dodson said he lacked sufficient information and chose to pass rather than vote yes or no.
After discussion and recorded explanations of votes, the committee adopted the committee substitute and a title amendment and advanced HB 700 to the House floor. Chair King announced the motion passed and said the bill "is eligible for consideration on the House floor."
