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The American Deer & Wildlife Alliance (ADWA) works to grow the deer and wildlife industries through leadership, education and public awareness. We serve as a national voice for companies, organizations and industry professionals who promote industry growth and support the advancement of wildlife and habitat.
ADWA and Texas Youth Pig Out
 With all the recent talk of pork bill spending in Washington, nearly two dozen young boys and girls with their fathers enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and the taste of pork without deficit spending. The American Deer & Wildlife Alliance recently hosted its 1st Annual Pigapalooza Youth Hog Hunt at DB Hunting Ranch in Bertram, Texas, and sponsored hog hunting opportunities for 20 children, ages eight to 15.
The two-day event provided a fun and affordable hunting opportunity as well as a seemingly endless supply of pork sandwiches and educational activities by volunteers from the Kids Outdoor Zone and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
“Hunting affordability and accessibility are important issues for today’s sportsmen, and we were excited to bring this fun, youth event to the Texas Hill Country,” says John Meng, president of the American Deer & Wildlife Alliance. “Children are the future of our industry and for land and wildlife conservation. For most of the kids attending the Pigapalooza, this was their first time to sit in a blind and watch the sun come up; their first time to see a large red deer up close and to watch a bunch feral hogs feed. I know each and every one these kids will remember this experience.”
In its other activities, the American Deer & Wildlife Foundation will publish Spikes Magazine, host and sponsor numerous outdoor educational classes and events, and organizes ‘first hunts’ and affordable hunting opportunities through its New Hunterz™ program.
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Harkness Wins TFB National Championship
 Robert Harkness of Elizabeth, W.V, a 50-year-old health care purchasing manager, is now “Living the Dream” after catching a five bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces on the final day of The Bass Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard Saturday on Bull Shoals Lake. He captured the TBF National Championship title with a three-day total catch of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 13 ounces.
The victory earned Harkness a $100,000 prize package that includes automatic entry into the $1 million Walmart Bass Fishing League All-American presented by Chevy on the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa, May 28-30 and automatic entry into the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in Pittsburgh, Pa., July 30-Aug. 2, where the top pro can pocket as much as $1 million – the biggest award in bass fishing.
“I really didn’t think I had a prayer when I went out this morning,” said Harkness. “I told my partner that I was going to go out and fish and do the same thing I have done the past two days and see what happens. This lake is a great lake and you could get five bites and they could all be four or five pounds apiece, and I said it’s not over until it’s over.” Harkness, who caught all his fish this week on a stickbait, is looking forward to the Forrest Wood Cup. He said, “Pittsburgh is almost home. I have fished the area many times.”
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ADWA Product Spotlight
 Lynch knows what hunters want, and they apparently know what turkeys want too, because Lynch makes one of the world’s most successful turkey calls. Lynch’s new World Champion Box Turkey Call reproduces quality hen sounds on one side and gobbler sounds on the other side. It produces a full range of calls, making it a favorite of both spring and fall hunters. Constructed from premium mahogany and hand-tuned for peak performance. For more information, visit www.lynchworldwide.com.
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Student Chefs Compete in Venison Cooking Competition
By Laurie Prasnicki, Executive Director of the Cervid Livestock Foundation
The excitement of the students was an obvious observation at the recent venison culinary competition as they competed for cash prizes totaling over $2000. Students from the Sullivan University Arts Program recently tested their cooking skills in the second annual venison culinary competition hosted by the Cervid Livestock Foundation (CLF), the research and educational foundation of the North American Deer Farmers Association (NADeFA). This event was scheduled in conjunction with the NADeFA’s annual convention held in Lexington, Ky., on March 5, 2009.
The competition was limited to six teams comprised of two or three students, each having three hours to plan and prepare two courses, one appetizer and one entrée, incorporating venison as the primary protein source in the entrée. Cash awards were given to the top teams on Friday evening at the NADeFA conference.
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Deer Farmers Land in Lexington
 Horses may have helped make Kentucky famous, but it was another four-legged creature that recently took center stage in Lexington, Ken. — whitetail deer. More than 1,000 deer farmers and whitetail enthusiasts from more than a dozen states, Canada and Mexico converged in the “Horse Capital of the World’ for the 20th Annual North American Deer Farmers Association (NADeFA) Conference.
The event raised more than $560,00 for the association and provided attendees with a wide array of entertainment, networking and educational opportunities. Industry experts presented various seminars in agriculture, animal health, research, nutrition, EHD, marketing, insurance opportunities and much more. The Saturday night consignment sale sold nearly $1 million worth off deer.
Representing alternative livestock breeders throughout North America, NADeFA serves individuals who raise deer, elk and other cervids for commercial purposes. NADeFA is dedicated to the promotion of deer farming and ranching as an agricultural pursuit.
For more information on joining NADeFA, call 651-345-5600 or visit www.nadefa.org.
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ADWA Special Report:
Nine years of litigation ended today as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear New York City’s request to continue a lawsuit that sought to hold firearms manufacturers responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms.
In 2000, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani filed the original lawsuit against several gun manufacturers and the suit was continued by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. A federal judge threw out the lawsuit after the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was passed by Congress in 2005, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld that decision in April 2008, declaring that federal law protected the manufacturers from such suits.
According to the law, most suits against firearms industry are banned, however, there is a narrow exception that allows suits when a gun maker or dealer has knowingly violated state or federal statutes in their sales and marketing practices — by knowingly selling a weapon to someone who fails a criminal background check, for example.
Ultimately, New York appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but today the court refused the case without public comment.
Beretta USA Corp., Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., Colt's Manufacturing Co. LLC, Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Glock GmbH were among the manufacturers sued in the case.
"We are very pleased by the U.S. Supreme Court decision to not review lower appellate court rulings that dismissed cases based on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms industry. "These baseless lawsuits against responsible, law-abiding companies are the type that Congress intended to prevent by passing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act."
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West Virginia Deer Farmers Push for Ag Department
West Virginia lawmakers are again considering a controversial bill that would transfer bureaucratic control of deer farming in the state from the Division of Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture (DNR). For deer breeders, the battles lines are clear — free agricultural enterprise versus the DNR and some sportsmen.
Del. Bill Anderson, R-Wood, has supported the transfer of control for several years.
"I've sponsored this bill in the past and I favor that transfer of control. I view these farms as an agriculture activity,” said Anderson. “ I believe that if people own a piece of property, they ought to be able to have a deer farm if they want to. I believe in capitalism and free enterprise."
Opponents, however, argue that captive deer can spread disease, such as chronic wasting disease, into wild herds and that the DNR should manage the deer farms because its primary duty is to protect the state's wildlife. A similar bill was introduced several years ago and drew an outcry from many hunters in the state who saw it as a threat to the state's $233 million deer-hunting industry.
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Cottonseed Studied as Deer Food
 By Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News
Whole cottonseed, with its protein and fiber content, is thought by some to be the next big food source for white-tailed deer. Two years of study by the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute indicates it is a viable supplemental feed, but it does have its limitations.
The good news is pigs and coons won’t eat it except as a last resort. Then they might get sick and even die. Most landowners don’t mind that. But white-tailed deer can and do eat whole cottonseed (WCS) without ill effects, according to the studies.
The researchers have been looking to evaluate the health and production of captive white-tailed deer on a diet of up to 50 percent WCS, as well as digestibility and utilization of WCS and gossypol concentrations.
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From the Field ... |
» Texas Deer Association Hosts Spring Gala Banquet
» GMS® Introduces New Off-Site Data Protection Service
» U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation: Right Call on Wolf Delisting
» USSA and Partners Block Arizona Kennel Bill
» ADWA Pledges Support for BoatUS ANGLER Program
» Frigid Forage Expands Reach to Michigan
» How To Get A Boat Loan In A Tough Economy
» New Online BoatUS Angler Bait Shop Locator
» USSA and United Taxidermist Association Develop Partnership
» Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Work with ADWA to Grow Deer Industry
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