PEARL RIVER, La.–Chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis, the two reasons bringing white tail deer into Mississippi is illegal. Now three men from Louisiana and their business are in trouble after federal prosecutors say that’s just what they did in 2011 and 2012, and a federal grand jury indicted them this week.
The reasons it’s critical not to import the deer, according to the CDC, if a deer population gets chronic wasting disease, it can spread quickly and wipe out whole herds. In fact, in some places, thousands of deer have had to be put down to stop it from spreading.
The law the men are accused of violating is called the Lacey Act.
Brian Reine, 44, Ronald Reine, 67, and Bruce Swilley, Jr., 27 were indicted, along with their Pearl River, La.-based company Omni Pinnacle, LLC.
The feds say the three men were bringing deer in from Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania to their land in Lamar and Pearl River counties, to breed them for trophy bucks. The men would breed the deer in enclosures and let clients hunt on the land.
“The importation of white-tailed deer into Mississippi is a growing problem with the potential for a devastating impact on our native deer herd,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.
