On Wednesday, the House Agricultural Affairs committee took a look at a series of rules on domestic cervidae farms — that is farms that raise elk, fallow deer and reindeer. The Legislature reviews state agency rules every year. A slew of bills in the 2007 Legislature sought to regulate elk ranches in the state, but all of them failed. A review of last year’s elk politics can be found here.

The rules are available here (large .pdf file, changes underlined) and recent changes would:

• Define “harvest” as “domesticated livestock killed by a person if any portion of the carcass is salvaged” and ban leaving harvested animals to decompose naturally.
• Delete the definition of an elk feedlot
• Require domestic cervidae to have two forms of identification including at least one bangle or “lamb tag” that is visible from 150 feet.
• Require state and federal inspectors to comply with ranch biosecurity so long as it allows access and examination of records.
• Require domestic elk imported to Idaho to be treated with a paraciticide to prevent giant liver flukes.

John Chatburn, an administrator at the Department of Ag, who also works for the governor’s office as a special assistant and is a state Racing Commissioner (and has to carry three different name tags at the Legislature) told me that new rules also allow a Canadian government seal of approval on cervidae imported into the U.S.

While two southwest Idaho elk breeders were at the Ag Committee meeting Wednesday, groups representing sportsmen who were active on the issue last year were not aware of the changes.

The rules are before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday morning.