Missouri Captive Deer Bill Fails by One Vote

Last week the Senate attempted to override Missouri governor Jay Nixon’s veto of Bill 506, which would re-designate captive deer as livestock and transfer their management from the Department of Conservation to the Department of Agriculture.

The bill came down to one vote, narrowly failing to pass when Representative Jeff Roorda of Bamhart changed his vote as the ballot was closing. 

The real head-scratcher is how the “yay” votes came so close, actually briefly gaining the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the veto. 

Representative T.J. McKenna is just as perplexed as we are. “The Department of Conservation and the Department of Agriculture both testified against this bill,” he told Missourinet.com. “I don’t know why we as a legislature continue to do what the people that take care of things tell us is not the right thing to do.”

Our thoughts exactly.

The bill’s failure comes just after proposed new regulations from the Department of Conservation for deer farmers, aimed at preventing the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to wild populations, according to the Kansas City Star.