Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) General Provisions. Fallow deer farming
is defined as the rearing of fallow deer for commercial sale of meat and other
parts or for sale of live fallow deer pursuant to these regulations. No person
shall engage in any deer farming activity except as provided by the Fish and
Game Code and regulations provided herein. Only fallow deer (Dama
dama) may be possessed for deer farming purposes.
(b) Permit Information.
(1) Application. Application for a fallow
deer farming permit shall be made on Fallow Deer Farming Application, LRB 1676
(3/97), which is incorporated by reference herein. Application forms are
available from the Department of Fish and Game, License and Revenue Branch,
3211 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816. A new applicant shall complete the
application form in its entirety, including information on the plan of
operation, source of fallow deer, testing protocol and contingency plans for
recapture of escaped fallow deer.
(2) Residency Requirement. Applicants shall
be at least 18 years old and be residents of California.
(3) Inspection of Facility. No new fallow
deer farming permit shall be issued until the applicant's facility is inspected
and approved by the department. The department shall charge a fee pursuant to
Section
2150.2
of the Fish and Game Code in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of the
inspection.
(4) Term of a New
Fallow Deer Farming Permit. Nontransferable, new fallow deer farming permits
issued under the provisions of this section shall be valid for a term of one
year. A permanent permit number shall be issued to the permittee for marking
slaughtered fallow deer for transport.
(5) Fallow Deer Farming Permit Renewal.
Fallow deer farming permits must be renewed by January 1 of each year. An
inspection is required for the renewal of a fallow deer farming permit and may
be accomplished by the department pursuant to the provisions of subsection
(b)(3) above. In lieu of a department inspection, the department may approve a
renewal application when a veterinarian, or other person who has obtained a
degree in veterinary medicine from a college or university accredited by the
American Veterinary Medical Association, certifies in writing that he/she has
inspected the facility and found it to be in compliance with this section. If a
veterinarian inspects the facility, he/she must certify that each of the
permittee's fallow deer have been observed at least once during the prior year
and that they have been appropriately cared for and appear healthy. No person
shall falsely certify that the facility has been inspected and that such
facility is in compliance.
(6)
Terminating a Fallow Deer Farming Permit. Any fully or partially certified
fallow deer farm permitted pursuant to this section shall notify the department
within 45 days of its intended termination of fallow deer farming operations.
The permittee shall identify the number of fallow deer under his/her possession
and the disposition of fallow deer upon termination of operations. Upon
termination of operations, fallow deer shall be slaughtered for meat
consumption or, with proper health certifications, sold to another permitted
fallow deer operation in California or sold and transported out of
state.
(7) Denial. The department
may deny the issuance of a fallow deer farming permit for failure to comply
with the terms and conditions of a permit or the provisions of this section.
Any person denied a permit under these regulations may request a hearing before
the commission to show cause why their permit should not be denied.
(8) Revocation. Any fallow deer farming
permit issued pursuant to these regulations may be revoked or suspended at any
time by the commission for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of
the permit or for failure to comply with these regulations, after notice and
opportunity to be heard, or without a hearing upon conviction of a violation of
these regulations by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(9) Fees. Pursuant to sections
2150
and
2150.2
of the Fish and Game Code, the following fees have been established to offset
costs of administering and enforcing the associated laws and regulations.
(A) Application Fee. The application fee for
a new fallow deer farming permit shall be $30.00 and shall be annually adjusted
pursuant to Section
713 of
the Fish and Game Code to offset the department's administrative costs of
processing an application.
(B)
Permit Fee. The fallow deer farming permit fee shall be $200.00. This fee shall
be annually adjusted (base year 1997) pursuant to Section
713 of
the Fish and Game Code.
(C)
Inspection Fee. The annual fallow deer farming inspection fee shall be an
amount sufficient to cover the department's cost of inspection. If, in lieu of
a department inspection, a qualified veterinarian performs the inspection
pursuant to subsection (b)(5) above, the annual fallow deer farming inspection
fee shall be waived.
(c) Certification. All new fallow deer
farming facilities shall be fully certified by the department. Fallow deer
farms allowed to operate under partial certification when the fallow deer
regulations were initially adopted in 1994 may satisfy the requirements for
full certification set forth in this section.
(1) Full Certification. Fully certified
fallow deer farms shall comply with the following requirements:
(A) Marking. All fallow deer shall be marked
in such a manner that they are individually identifiable as stock of the
permittee.
(B) Testing. All fallow
deer six months of age or older shall undergo two tests, at least 12 months
apart, for tuberculosis and one test for brucellosis within three years of the
owner being granted a fallow deer farming permit, unless the fallow deer were
obtained from a fully certified herd in the state. Tests shall be administered
and interpreted by a U.S. Department of Agriculture accredited veterinarian
approved by the department.
(C)
Negative Herd Status. Full certification will not be granted unless negative
herd status (not having a significant possibility of being infected) is
determined by the department.
(D)
Movement of Live Fallow Deer. Only fully certified fallow deer farms in full
compliance with the provisions of subsection (f) of this section may serve as
sources within California for stock for new fallow deer farms. Fully certified
fallow deer farms may sell, trade or transport live fallow deer to any person
in California in possession of a valid fallow deer farming permit issued by the
department. Permittees shall maintain records of such transactions, including
the number of fallow deer transferred, identification of individual fallow deer
and the name and address of the person receiving the fallow deer. The
provisions of subsection (e) of this section shall be complied with when
importing fallow deer stock from outside of California.
(2) Existing Partially Certified Fallow Deer
Farms. Existing partially certified fallow deer farms must comply with the
following requirements:
(A) Marking. All
fallow deer should be marked in such a manner that they are individually
identifiable as stock of the permittee.
(B) Prohibition on Movement of Live Fallow
Deer. Partially certified fallow deer farmers shall not sell, trade or
transport, except to slaughter, live fallow deer in California.
(d) Sale of Meat.
Fallow deer farmers may sell the meat of slaughtered fallow deer to persons
within or outside of California. A receipt shall be prepared and included with
each shipment of meat. This receipt shall show the date of the transaction,
identify the quantity of meat sold and bear the name and permit number of the
fallow deer farmer selling the meat. A copy of the receipt shall be retained by
the permittee for a period of one year after the date of transaction. Any
person may obtain meat from a fallow deer farmer and sell it to the ultimate
consumer. No permit is required of persons reselling meat obtained from fallow
deer farmers. (Note: Fallow deer shall be humanely slaughtered in compliance
with Penal Code Section
597.)
(e) Importation of Fallow Deer for Farming.
Fallow deer shall not be imported into California for the purposes of farming,
except as provided by this section.
(1)
Importation Application Requirement. A Cervidae Importation Application as
described in subsection 681(c) shall be completed in its entirety by permittees
wishing to import fallow deer stock from outside California. The application
and documentation identified in subsections
676(e)(2) and (3)
shall be submitted to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Health
Laboratory, 1701 Nimbus Road, Suite D, Rancho Cordova, California 95670, or
emailed to WHLab@wildlife.ca.gov. Application forms are available at
WHLab@wildlife.ca.gov. The approved Cervidae Importation Application form must
accompany the imported fallow deer stock.
(2) Health Certificate/Certificate of
Veterinary Inspection. Pursuant to Section 681 of these regulations, Cervidae
Importation Applications shall be submitted with a Certificate of Veterinary
Inspection issued by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
accredited category II veterinarian licensed in the state the fallow deer is to
be imported from. The Certificate of Veterinary Inspection shall accompany the
imported fallow deer and shall include any disease test(s), the results of that
testing, and individually identifying tags or markings on the tested fallow
deer.
(3) Copy of Official Test
Results Required. A copy of the official results from tests conducted in the
state of origin shall be submitted with the Cervidae Importation Application as
defined in subsection 681(c)(1) of these regulations, obtainable by contacting
the department's Wildlife Health Lab at WHLab@wildlife.ca.gov or (916)
358-2790. Information on the tests used and results for each fallow deer tested
shall be included.
(4) Disease
Tests Required.
(A) Bovine tuberculosis (bTB)
testing. The herd of origin must have undergone official testing for bovine
tuberculosis within 24 months of importation of cervid(s), using a single
cervical tuberculin (SCT) test or other USDA-approved bTB screening test for
cervids. All cervids six months of age or older shall be tested for
tuberculosis within 90 days prior to entry into California and shall have been
classified negative for tuberculosis based upon an official test. However,
cervids originating from a USDA bTB Accredited herd do not require testing for
importation. (Note: It is recommended that imported fallow deer be tested
90-120 days after importation.)
(B)
Brucellosis testing. The USDA-accredited veterinarian issuing the Certificate
of Veterinary Inspection shall attest that the cervid(s) being imported into
California are not known to be infected with brucellosis and have not been in
contact with animals of unknown brucellosis status. Sexually intact cervids six
months of age or older shall be tested for brucellosis within 30 days prior to
entry into California utilizing an official brucellosis laboratory test for
Cervidae as determined by USDA. However, cervids originating from Certified
Brucellosis-Free cervid herds do not require testing for importation.
(C) Other Disease Testing. The department
shall reserve the right to require additional testing prior to importation when
there is reason to believe other diseases, parasites or other health risks are
present. The department shall provide written notification if such testing is
required.
(f)
Disease Prevention and Control.
(1) Herd
Testing for Bovine Tuberculosis. Testing is not required if no fallow deer have
been added to the herd except by birth and if imported fallow deer have been
properly tested.
(2) Issuance of
Hold Order if Herd Test is Positive. If a herd is found positive for bovine
tuberculosis, a hold order will be issued by the State Animal Health Official,
(the chief veterinarian or official for a state animal disease control
program), and an epidemiologic evaluation of all fallow deer in the herd must
be conducted by a State or USDA veterinarian. If the epidemiologic evaluation
indicates a negative herd status, the hold order shall be removed. If the
epidemiologic evaluation indicates a positive herd status (having a significant
possibility of being infected), the herd shall be classified as infected.
Positive status fallow deer shall be identified, and the department shall issue
a hold order for the herd. The permittee shall immediately prepare a written
plan for eliminating bovine tuberculosis from the herd. When this plan is
approved by the department it shall constitute a memorandum of understanding
between the permittee, the state and appropriate federal agencies to eliminate
bovine tuberculosis from the infected herd. The department shall make every
reasonable effort to minimize economic loss to the impacted permittee. (Note:
The state has no indemnification for depopulation of an infected
herd).
(3) Other Disease Testing.
The department shall reserve the right to additional testing when there is
reason to believe other diseases, parasites or other health risks are present.
The department shall notify the permittee in writing if such testing is
required.
(4) Retention of Health
Records. The permittee shall maintain all health records of individual fallow
deer for a minimum of three years.
(g) Facility and Maintenance Requirements.
The following general housing and maintenance provisions shall be complied with
in rearing fallow deer for fallow deer for farming:
(1) An enclosure shall provide no less than
800 square feet of area for one animal and another 200 square feet for each
additional fallow deer.
(2)
Perimeter fences shall be eight feet in height and shall be constructed of a
minimum of 12.5 gauge woven wire or equivalent. Posts shall be of structurally
sound 4 x 4 wood or equivalent.
(3)
Natural or artificial shelter from the elements shall be provided for all
animals.
(4) Potable water shall be
provided for fallow deer at all times.
(5) Fallow deer shall be observed every day
by the person in charge of the care of the animals or by someone working under
his/her direct supervision. Sick or diseased, stressed, injured or lame fallow
deer shall be provided with veterinary care or humanely destroyed.
(h) Availability of Records and
Inspection of Facility by Department. Any person holding a fallow deer farming
permit authorized under this section shall allow the department's employees to
enter his/her premises upon request at a reasonable hour, to inspect
facilities, fallow deer restraining equipment and fallow deer possessed by the
permittee, or to inspect records required to be maintained by these regulations
or federal regulations relating to fallow deer farming.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 1002,
2120, 2150, 2150.2 and 2355, Fish
and Game Code. Reference: Sections 2116.5,
2120, 2124, 2150, 2150.2, 2150.4,
2150.5, 2151, 2185, 2186, 2187, 2189, 2190, 2350 and 2355, Fish and Game
Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
1002,
2120,
2150
and
2150.2,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
2116.5,
2120,
2124,
2150,
2150.2,
2150.4,
2150.5,
2151,
2185,
2186,
2187,
2189,
2190,
2350
and
2355,
Fish and Game Code.
