EQUINUNK, PA – On Saturday, November 1, the owner of the MoonShine Ranch in Equinunk, Pennsylvania reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s regional veterinarian that nine elk had escaped from the department-regulated hunting preserve through a fence that had been cut.

All escaped animals, a bull elk, six cows, and one male and one female calf were put down — one by Pennsylvania Game Commission and the others by the business owner, according to Shannon Powers, Press Secretary for the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture.

MoonShine ranch was contacted but said, “We have no comment, but thanks for calling.”

Deer, elk, and other cervid farms  –    which include   hobby farms, hunting preserves, breeding farms, and those that sell antler velvet, lures, and other products for hunters — are regulated by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture, in order to better manage the spread of chronic wasting disease, a progressive, fatal disease of deer, elk, and other cervids. 

The farm owner fulfilled a program requirement by promptly reporting the escaped animals. 

The Pennsylvania Game Commission manages wild deer, elk and other wildlife.

According to Adam Hill, owner of Adam Hill Hunting Adventures in Equinunk, PA., “It’s the biggest concern [escaped animals]. It’s truly a concern.”

Hill said, “We live in an area where we are extremely blessed to have such great natural resources. Our biggest concern is if they [the escaped animals from MoonShine Ranch] were subjected to positive chronic wasting disease animals.”

Hill said Elk can travel a great distance in a day and “the biggest concern would be if they were exposed to the native herd.”

Hill said the fences at his hunting preserve are 10 feet high and buried 20 inches into the ground.

“We are good, we don’t have any Elk that got out,” he said. “We check our fences all the time – sometimes three times a day.

“We take this very seriously. We live here and this is a full-time endeavor,” Hill said.