Chronic wasting disease is arguably the number one threat to deer populations in North America today and a pair of Louisiana men put additional animals at risk when they imported live deer from Pennsylvania to game farms in Mississipi and Lousiana.
Following a lengthy investigation, officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that the two men, Edward L. Donaldson Jr., 75, and John Jared Oertling, 42, both of Pearl River, Louisiana, conspired to illegally smuggle deer. According to court documents, Oertling executed promissory notes in excess of $200,000 to buy over 55 deer for delivery to Louisiana holding pens.
After learning that the deer from Pennsylvania were infected with chronic wasting disease, Obertling requested that all of the deer at the Turkey Trott Ranch in Mississippi be released into a 1.6-square mile enclosure.
The pair are facing federal charges for Lacey Act violations, but an official court appearance has yet to have been scheduled.
H/T: Sun Herald