Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A. Prior to
entering Louisiana, all alternative livestock, except those being transported
directly to a state or federally approved slaughter facility, shall:
1. meet the general health requirements
promulgated in
§501 of this Part
2. have an entry permit number issued by the
state veterinarian's office no more than 15 days before entry into Louisiana
which entry number shall be included on the certificate of veterinary
inspection;
3. have written proof
of a negative test for Brucellosis in accordance with the
Brucellosis Eradication in Cervidae Uniform Methods and Rules
as and when published by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service. Until such time as the Brucellosis
Eradication in Cervidae Uniform Methods and Rules are published, all
alternative livestock six months of age and older entering Louisiana, except
those being transported directly to a state or federally approved slaughter
facility, shall be tested negative for Brucellosis within 30
days prior to entry into Louisiana, and written proof thereof shall be
provided, unless the alternative livestock originate from a herd which has been
officially declared a certified Brucellosis free herd by the
state of origin;
4. have written
proof of a negative tuberculin skin test or a serological test for tuberculosis
that meets the following requirements:
a. the
tuberculin skin test or serological test for tuberculosis is one of the
official tuberculosis tests approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for
use on the species of alternative livestock for which permission to enter the
state is being sought;
b. the test
was administered and read in accordance with the USDA requirements for the
administering and reading of that test.
5. prior to any person importing any
alternative livestock into Louisiana, LDWF shall be provided by the department
a copy of the entry permits or other applicable documents which describe the
alternative livestock by species, sex, age and place of origin.
B. Any alternative livestock which
has been exposed to Brucellosis or tuberculosis shall be
quarantined and tested for the diseases to which it has been exposed within 60
days of the date of the quarantine. The quarantine shall remain in effect until
removed, in writing, by the State Veterinary Office.
C. Elk, black-tailed deer, mule deer, red
deer, white-tailed deer, and any imported exotic deer as defined in LAC
7:XXI.1705 (collectively referred to in this Section as "deer") shall not be
admitted or readmitted (collectively referred to as "admitted") into this state
without specific written authorization from the commissioner or his designee.
1. Deer being transported through this state
in interstate commerce shall be exempt from the provisions of this Section if
there are no scheduled stops for offloading the deer or if such stops would
reasonably place the deer in contact with other deer or cattle.
a. If deer being transported through this
state in interstate commerce must be offloaded due to a mechanical breakdown or
an emergency situation then the state veterinarian shall be immediately
notified of the situation.
b. No
deer shall be offloaded without authorization from the state veterinarian to
offload the deer.
c. The deer shall
be offloaded, confined, and quarantined in strict compliance with the
instructions provided by the state veterinarian and shall be kept confined,
quarantined and re-loaded under the direct supervision of the state
veterinarian's representative.
2. Deer within this state that are moved or
transported out of this state, even temporarily, shall not be admitted back
into this state without the specific written authorization of the commissioner
or his designee.
D. A
person must provide the state veterinarian the following documentation or
information as to each animal in order to obtain the authorization necessary
for admission of the deer into this state.
1.
A request stating the number and type of deer to be admitted, the origin of the
deer, the destination of the deer, any stops made or anticipated to be made
between the origination point and the final destination where the deer will be
offloaded or held in proximity to other deer, the name and address of the
requestor, the name and address of the owner of the deer and the reason for the
admission of the deer.
2. A
certificate of veterinary inspection issued within the preceding 30 days by an
accredited veterinarian on the deer listed in the written request which
includes a permit number obtained from the department's office of animal health
services.
3. A statement by the
owner of the deer that he will reimburse all costs incurred by the commissioner
or the department for feeding, sheltering, caring, and disposing or destroying
of any deer seized and quarantined by the department for violation of any
conditions, quarantines, or restrictions placed on deer admitted to the
state.
4. Written and signed
certification, whether signed jointly or separately, by both the owner of the
deer and the inspecting veterinarian of the following information:
a. the distance to the nearest confirmed case
of CWD if the deer are to be admitted from any state that has reported a CWD
case within the last five years;
b.
whether the facility the deer are coming from is enclosed by a single fence or
double fence;
c. that each deer:
i. is from a herd that has participated in a
recognized CWD surveillance and monitoring program for at least 60
months;
ii. has been in the herd
from which the deer is being moved for at least 60 months, or has been in the
herd for its entire life if younger than 60 months of age, or was placed in the
herd from a herd that had participated in a recognized CWD surveillance and
monitoring program for at least 60 months prior to the removal of the deer from
the second herd and placement in the first herd;
iii. comes from a herd that is not within 25
miles of a confirmed case of CWD occurring within the previous 60 months if the
facility that the deer is coming from is a single fenced facility; or
iv. comes from a herd that is not within five
miles of a confirmed case of CWD occurring within the previous 60 months if the
facility that the deer is coming from is a double fenced facility.
5. Documentation that
shows that each deer meets the health requirements set out in LAC 7:XXI.501 and
7:XXI.1717.
E. The
commissioner or his designee shall have the discretion to refuse to authorize
the admission of deer into this state, even if all the criteria set out in
Subsection D have been met, if in his informed opinion based on advice and
recommendations from accredited veterinarians on staff with the department or
employed by the federal government or from reliable veterinarian research or
other credible information, he believes that admission of the deer may
jeopardized the health of the deer population in this state or run the risk of
bring CWD into the state.
F. The
commissioner or his designee may, at his discretion, impose conditions,
quarantines, and restrictions on the admission of any deer into this state if
he believes that such conditions, quarantines, and restrictions are necessary
to protect the health of this state's deer population or to control the risk of
bringing CWD into the state.
1. Deer admitted
into the state subject to any condition, quarantine or restriction may be
seized by the department and placed in quarantine on order of the commissioner,
at the owner's expense, for any violation of any condition, quarantine or
restriction.
2. The commissioner,
on behalf of the board, may take any legal action necessary to obtain a court
order to dispose of or destroy any such deer seized by the
department.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
3:3101.
