New Hampshire has enacted HB119 that would allow the sale of meat derived from farmed red deer and elk without USDA inspection.  The law allowing deer farmers to slaughter and process animals on-site is intended to promote deer farming in this state.

The law, although well-intentioned, represents a potential danger to consumers.  There is concern that farming cervids is associated with emergence of chronic wasting disease, a prion condition analogous to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and scrapie in sheep.  Although at this time there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease can be transmitted to humans, the parallel with BSE is self-evident.  The system of surveillance for BSE in abattoirs and packing plants under the jurisdiction of the USDA identifies potentially affected cattle during ante-mortem inspection resulting in diversion from processing for food and with application of appropriate diagnostic procedures.

Given the long pre-clinical period before emergence of symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in humans, recognition of mortality due to prion-induced encephalopathy would be delayed, at which time, many potential cases would await diagnosis.

If commercial production of cervids is to be undertaken, there should be appropriate controls to protect against foodborne infections caused by Shiga-toxin producing E.coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella and specifically for elk and deer, the potential emergence of prion-induced encephalopathy.