Joyce Moves To Provide Solution For 13th District’s Hunting Community

Congressman John Joyce (PA-13) today moved to offer a solution to an ongoing issue between the 13^th District hunting community and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, by cosponsoring legislation that would implement a federal study of Chronic Waste Disease (CWD).

The appropriate response to CWD has recently become a contentious issue in the counties of Blair and Bedford. In late January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced the launch of a pilot study, which aimed to enlist U.S. Department of Agriculture sharp shooters to eliminate thousands of deer in the region. The goal of the pilot study was to examine if lowering the deer population can control the spread of CWD, which has no known cure at this point.

The study was halted due to the timely intervention of State Rep. Jim Gregory (R-Blair) and the lack of support from landowners in the region. Sharpshooters needed permission to access private land in order to set up baiting stations that would help them as they eliminate the deer.

However, The Altoona Mirrorthis weekend reported that the sharpshooters may have to return next year to finish the study. The possibility of the continuation of the Gaming Commission's study brought more complaints from hunters in the 13^th District, prompting Joyce to get involved.

"Representative Gregory has kept me well informed on this issue and I was glad he was able to put a temporary stop to the Game Commission's study on behalf of our constituents," said Congressman Joyce. "That said, the Game Commission is also correct, and we cannot just let Chronic Waste Disease continue to expand its footprint in our region without addressing it. The legislation I am cosponsoring today will allow us to devote all the possible resources necessary into studying this disease and developing a strategy to combat it, but will do so at no detriment to the hunters in PA-13. It is very possible that having the USDA remove thousands of deer from our region is unnecessary, making the federal study a more prudent course of action."

The measure, HR 837, instructs the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to partner with the National Academies of Science to study and identify the ways CWD is transmitted between wild, captive and farmed cervids (deer, caribou, elk and moose).

Joyce is calling for the House to take up the legislation immediately so the Pennsylvania Game Commission no longer feels compelled to take matters into its own hands on CWD.

The 13^th District lawmaker continued, "I urge House leadership to take up this measure as quickly as possible so we can begin the federal study and provide the Game Commission with the assurance that we have an alternative approach. The hunters in our region have made it clear that they are against the Game Commission's response to CWD and this legislation is a better way forward for all parties involved."

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