Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment will allow new cervid
facilities to be permitted by the department within a certain distance of a
Chronic Wasting Disease positive cervid if a double fence is constructed and no
cervid occupies the area between the interior and exterior
fences.
(1) Except as
otherwise provided in
3 CSR
10-9.352, Class III wildlife may be propagated,
bought, sold, reared, or held in captivity by the holder of the appropriate
Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit only at the specific location identified on
the permit. Applicants for a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit must qualify
with a score of at least eighty percent (80%) on a written examination provided
by the department to test their knowledge of these regulations. The privileges
and requirements of this rule shall apply only to those species (including
their hybrids) listed on the Approved Confined Wildlife Species List in
3 CSR
10-9.105 for Class III Wildlife Breeders.
(2) Such Class III wildlife shall be moved,
transported, or received by the holder of Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit in
accordance with the following:
(A) Only the
holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit with movement qualified status
may receive or move permitted Class III wildlife within and outside of the
state; in addition to any certificates required by the importing state. Class
III Wildlife Breeder Permit holders will attain and maintain movement-qualified
status if they 1) maintain a complete and accurate inventory (including
identification requirements) as required in this chapter, 2) conduct Chronic
Wasting Disease testing as required in this chapter, and 3) maintain all fences
as required in this chapter. The holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit
will lose movement qualified status if, after issuance of a notice of
discrepancy by the department specifying the violation of any of the
requirements in this section, the permit holder fails to correct the deficiency
within thirty (30) days. Movement qualified status will be reinstated when the
permit holder receives notice from the department that the discrepancy has been
corrected;
(B) Class III wildlife
transported within the state must be accompanied by a Movement Certificate
issued by the department prior to movement and transported on the date
specified on the Movement Certificate for transfer. The Movement Certificate
must be complete, accurate, and contain the official identification, age,
gender, species, complete address of both the origin and destination, complete
name and address of both the buyer and seller, and the permit numbers of all
parties to the transaction. The original Movement Certificate must accompany
the shipment. A complete copy showing acceptance of the shipment by the buyer
shall be submitted to the department within fourteen (14) days of shipment, and
a copy shall be maintained by the herd of origin for at least five (5) years,
unless otherwise documented in a department-provided database. Movement of
Class III wildlife within the state may only occur between movement-qualified
Class III breeders or from movement-qualified Class III breeders to
hunt-qualified licensed big game hunting preserves; and
(C) Movement of any Class III wildlife
without an approved Movement Certificate or maintaining non-movement qualified
status for over ninety (90) days, except as otherwise provided, shall be
sufficient cause for permit suspension or revocation.
(3) Applications for a Class III Wildlife
Breeder Permit may be granted after satisfactory evidence by the applicant that
stock will be secured from a legal source that is the holder of a Class III
Wildlife Breeder Permit with movement-qualified status; that the applicant will
confine the wildlife in facilities that meet the standards specified in
3 CSR
10-9.220; and that the applicant will prevent all
other hoofed wildlife from becoming part of the enterprise. Any person applying
for a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit shall complete an application involving
an on-site inspection by a conservation agent of the area prior to and
following construction activities to determine that all provisions of this rule
are met before a permit is issued.
(4) The holder of a Class III Wildlife
Breeder Permit may not hunt its stock but may kill animals within its herd for
purposes of herd management only with written authorization from a conservation
agent.
(5) The holder of a Class
III Wildlife Breeder Permit shall report escaped or otherwise missing animals
or the entry of any free-ranging animals immediately to a conservation
agent.
(6) Animal identification
requirements for Class III wildlife.
(A) All
permitted Class III wildlife must be identified with two (2) unique animal
identification numbers for each animal. One (1) of the animal identification
numbers must be from the United States Department of Agriculture-approved
animal identification numbering system that uniquely identifies individual
animals. The second animal identification number must be a dangle tag that is
unique for the individual animal within the herd and linked to the same animal
and herd. The unique animal identification numbers may be used on two (2)
separate identification devices on the same animal to fulfill the
identification requirements.
(B)
Natural additions to the herd must be identified by March 31 each year. At
least one (1) animal identification device must be visible or readable from a
distance during herd inventories.
(C) Removal of official identification
devices is prohibited, unless otherwise approved by the state wildlife
veterinarian.
(7) Testing
requirements for Class III wildlife.
(A) For
purposes of this section, an eligible mortality means any mortality of a cervid
at least twelve (12) months of age. The permit holder must test all eligible
mortalities for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy. Samples must be collected by an accredited veterinarian or
department-certified collector. Samples must be submitted to a diagnostic
laboratory approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for
CWD testing within thirty (30) days of death. For purposes of this section, an
ante-mortem CWD test is not valid unless it is performed by an accredited
veterinarian on retropharyngeal lymph node, rectal mucosa, or tonsillar tissue
with at least six (6) lymphoid follicles submitted within thirty (30) days of
collection on an animal that is at least eighteen (18) months of age and has
not been a source of antemortem testing within the prior twenty-four (24)
months. The department reserves the right to require additional sampling and
testing during disease investigations or morbidity/mortality events.
(B) At least eighty percent (80%) of samples
submitted during the permit year must produce valid results by the diagnostic
laboratory.
To be considered a sample that produced a valid result, the
sample must have been suitable, testable, and not rejected for any other
reason. If less than eighty percent (80%) of samples are valid, then the permit
holder must provide sufficient replacement samples to achieve this requirement.
Replacement samples may consist of either postmortem sample(s) at a one to one
(1:1) ratio taken from other animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility,
if possible; or antemortem samples at a three to one (3:1) ratio taken from
other animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility, if possible; or valid
post-mortem sample results obtained from a licensed big game hunting preserve
for any cervid that can be traced to the Class III permit holder's facility
within the past twelve (12) months.
(C) Class III wildlife breeders possessing
more than ten (10) cervids on March 31 of any year must submit a minimum number
of valid CWD sample(s) during the subsequent twelve (12) months (April 1 to
March 31 of the following year). The minimum sample requirement equals the
number of cervids on March 31 multiplied by two and five tenths percent (2.5%),
with the result rounded up. If valid samples submitted during this period do
not meet the minimum requirement, valid replacement samples shall be provided.
If needed to achieve the minimum requirement, replacement samples may consist
of either post-mortem sample(s) at a one to one (1:1) ratio taken from other
animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility, if possible; or ante-mortem
samples at a three to one (3:1) ratio taken from other animal(s) of similar age
and time in the facility, if possible; or valid post-mortem sample results
obtained from a licensed big game hunting preserve for any cervid that can be
traced to the Class III wildlife breeder's facility within the past twelve (12)
months. Class III wildlife breeders possessing ten (10) or fewer cervids on
March 31 for two (2) consecutive years shall submit a minimum of at least one
(1) valid CWD sample from an eligible mortality for testing by the end of the
second year. Class III wildlife breeders with five (5) or fewer cervids that do
not meet this minimum requirement shall lose their movement-qualified status,
but shall not have their permit suspended or revoked solely for noncompliance
with this requirement.
(D) Samples
in which the infectious CWD prion is detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC)
or is confirmed at the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory will be
considered a CWD positive. Any facility with a positive sample will immediately
be quarantined by the state wildlife veterinarian, and no Movement Certificates
allowing movement into or out of the facility will be issued except as
authorized by the state wildlife veterinarian in accordance with an approved
herd disease response plan. Additionally, any facility that is or has been in
possession of a cervid that was in a CWD positive facility shall be
quarantined, and no Movement Certificates allowing movement into or out of the
facility will be issued until it is determined that the facility is not
epidemiologically linked to the CWD positive cervid, or further testing
determines that the suspect cervid is not a confirmed positive.
(E) In the event of a mass casualty/death
event, the director of the department may exempt the holder of a Class III
wildlife breeder permit from the CWD testing requirements. For an exemption to
be granted, the following conditions apply:
1. All mass casualty/mortality event
exemption requests must originate from an accredited veterinarian, be submitted
in writing to the state wildlife veterinarian, and accompanied by appropriate
confirmatory laboratory tests; and
2. The department will have access to collect
and submit disease samples from all known cases of mortality for cervids
associated with the mass casualty/mortality event. The Class III wildlife
breeder must take reasonable steps to ensure that the carcasses and/or heads
are sufficiently preserved in order to allow disease samples to be
taken.
(F) The holder of
a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit must ensure that all CWD test results
required by this section shall be submitted to the state wildlife veterinarian
by the USDA-approved diagnostic laboratory within seven (7) days of completion
of testing.
(8) In the
event of confirmed positive results from a Chronic Wasting Disease test, the
permit holder shall comply with a herd disease response plan approved by the
department. The plan may include, but not be limited to, quarantine
requirements, testing requirements, partial or total depopulation, premises
cleaning and disinfection, additional fencing requirements, and restocking
guidelines. Failure to comply with an approved herd disease response plan may
result in the suspension or revocation of permit privileges.
(9) All other provisions of this chapter
shall apply, including confinement standards as specified in
3 CSR
10-9.220.
(10) Within thirty (30) days from the
revocation or expiration of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit for any reason
and prior to removing any fencing, the permit holder must remove all animals
from the premises prior to removing any fencing either by depopulation with
approval by an agent of the department, transfer to another Class III permit
holder, or transfer to a licensed big game hunting preserve. Facilities with a
CWD positive within the past five (5) years must depopulate upon revocation or
expiration of their permit.
(11)
New permits for Class III wildlife breeding facilities for white-tailed deer,
white-tailed deer hybrids, mule deer, or mule deer hybrids will not be issued
for a period of five (5) years within twenty-five (25) miles of a location
where Chronic Wasting Disease-positive animal(s) have been confirmed by the
department except as follows:
(A) New permits
may be issued during this time period for the existing location of a Class III
wildlife breeding facility with a valid permit; and
(B) New permits may be issued during this
time period for a Class III wildlife breeding facility located more than ten
(10) miles and less than twenty-five (25) miles from a location where Chronic
Wasting Disease-positive animal(s) have been confirmed by the department,
provided-
1. The perimeter of the facility is
enclosed by a double fence having a minimum distance of ten feet (10') between
the interior and exterior fences;
2. The interior and exterior fences are
constructed and maintained in accordance with
3 CSR
10-9.220;
3. For facilities subject to double fencing
requirements as a condition of their permit, all applicable measurements for
determining compliance with the minimum enclosure space requirements of
3 CSR
10-9.220 will be based on the interior fence;
and
4. No cervid may be confined in
the area between the interior and exterior fences in facilities subject to
double fencing requirements as a condition of their permit.