Texas Administrative Code
Title 4 - AGRICULTURE
Part 2 - TEXAS ANIMAL HEALTH COMMISSION
Chapter 60 - SCRAPIE
Section 60.1 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 4 TX Admin Code ยง 60.1

Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) Accredited Veterinarian--a veterinarian approved by the Commission and the USDA in accordance with the provisions 9 CFR Part 161.

(2) Adjacent Flock--flock of sheep or goats on contiguous property.

(3) Administrator--the administrator of APHIS or any employee of USDA to whom the Administrator has delegated to act for the Administrator.

(4) Animal--a sheep or goat.

(5) APHIS--Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an agency of the USDA, or employees thereof.

(6) Approved Laboratory--a diagnostic laboratory approved by the TAHC and the USDA to conduct one or more scrapie tests, or genotype tests.

(7) Approved Test--a test for the diagnosis of scrape that is approved by the Administrator of APHIS for use in the scrapie eradication program or certification program.

(8) Blackfaced Sheep--any purebred Suffolk, Hampshire, Shropshire, or cross thereof, any non-purebred sheep known to have Suffolk, Hampshire, or Shropshire ancestors, and any non-purebred wool sheep of unknown ancestry with a black face. Hair sheep with black or dark faces are not considered to be in this category.

(9) Breed Associations and Registries--organizations that maintain the permanent records of ancestry or pedigrees of animals (including the animal's sire and dam), individual identification of animals, and/or ownership of animals.

(10) Certificate of Veterinary Inspection--a numbered interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection or a similar titled document that is a record of veterinary health inspection of one or more animals, issued on an official form by an accredited veterinarian from the state of origin. A Certificate of Veterinary Inspection shall be valid for 30 days following the inspection of the animals.

(11) Commercial Sheep or Goat--any animal from a flock from which animals are moved either directly to slaughter or through slaughter channels to slaughter or any animal that is raised only for meat or fiber production, or for commercial breeding purposes, and is not registered with a sheep or goat registry or used for exhibition.

(12) Commingle, Commingled or Commingling--animals grouped together having physical contact with female animal(s) during or up to 30 days after she (they) lambed, kidded, or aborted, or while visible vaginal discharge was present, including contact through a fence, but not limited contact.

(13) Consistent State--A state listed in RSA 79.1, that the APHIS Administrator has determined as conducting an active State scrapie control program.

(14) Designated Scrapie Epidemiologist--A State or Federal epidemiologist with a knowledge of scrapie epidemiology, and designated by APHIS to make decisions about the use and interpretation of diagnostic tests, field investigation data and the management of scrapie affected flocks.

(15) Destroyed or Destruction--animals that are:

(A) Euthanized by a means other than slaughter and the carcass disposed of by means authorized by the Administrator; or,

(B) in the case of exposed or high-risk animals that are not known to be infected, either euthanized or disposed of by slaughter; or,

(C) moved to a quarantined research facility, if Executive Director of TAHC and Administrator has approved the movement.

(16) Direct Movement to Slaughter--animals that are transported to a facility for slaughter without stop or unloading en route, other than for food and water, during which the animals are not commingled with any other animals.

(17) Epidemiological Investigation--an investigation to determine the risks or presence of a condition affecting a population of animals or animal products.

(18) Exposed Animal:

(A) Any animal that has been in a flock at the same time as a scrapie-positive animal excluding limited contact; or,

(B) any animal born in a flock after a scrapie-positive female animal was born into that flock or lambed in that flock, unless it has been after that flock completes the requirements of a flock plan; or,

(C) any animal that was commingled with a scrapie-positive female during or up to 30 days after she lambed, kidded, or aborted, or while a visible vaginal discharge was present, including during activities such as shows and sales or while in marketing channels; or, any animal in a non-compliant flock

(19) Exposed Flock--any flock in which a scrapie-positive animal was born or lambed. Any flock that currently contains a female high-risk, or suspect animal, or that once contained a female high-risk, or suspect animal that lambed in the flock and from which tissues were not submitted for official testing and found negative. A flock that has competed a post-exposure management and monitoring plan following the exposure will no longer be an exposed flock.

(20) Flock--all animals that are maintained on a single premises and all animals under common ownership or supervision on two or more premises with animal interchange between the premises. Changes in ownership of part or all of a flock do not change the identity of the flock or the regulatory requirements applicable to the flock. The term "flock" shall be interchangeable with the term "herd." More than one flock may be maintained on a single premise if:

(A) the flocks are enrolled as separate flocks in the Scrapie Flock Certification Program.

(B) a State or APHIS representative determines, based upon examination of flock records, that:
(i) no animals have moved between flocks

(ii) the flocks never commingle and are kept at least 30 feet apart at all times or are separated be a solid wall through which contact cannot occur;

(iii) the flocks have separate flock records and identification; the flocks have separate lambing facilities, including buildings and pastures, and a pasture or building used for lambing by one flock is not used by the other flock at any time;

(iv) the flocks do not share equipment without cleaning and disinfection in accordance with the guidelines published in the Scrapie Eradication UM & R standards.

(21) Genetic Risk determined by genotype at codon 171.

(A) High Risk: QQ

(B) No Risk: RR

(C) Low Risk: QR, HR

(22) Flock of Origin--the flock in which an animal most recently resided. The determination that an animal originated in a flock must be based either on the physical presence of the animal in the flock, the presence of official identification on the animal traceable to the flock, the presence of other identification on the animal that is listed on the bill of sale, or other evidence, such as registry records.

(23) Flock Plan--a written management agreement signed by the owner of the flock, the accredited veterinarian, if one is employed by the owner, and a State or APHIS representative in which each participant agrees to undertake actions specified in the flock plan for a flock that contains high-risk or an exposed animal. As part of a flock plan, the flock owner must provide the facilities and personnel needed to carry out the requirements of the flock plan. The flock plan must include the requirements in RSA 54.5.

(24) Goats--Animals of the genus Capra.

(25) High-Risk Animal--

(A) a sexually intact female, that has tested QQ at codon 171 or AA at codon 136.

(B) the progeny of a scrapie-positive dam; or,

(C) born in the same flock during the same lambing season as progeny of a scrapie-positive dam, unless the progeny of the scrapie-positive dam are from separate contemporary lambing groups; or,

(D) born in the same flock during the same lambing season that a scrapie-positive animal was born, or during any subsequent lambing season, if born before that flock completes the requirements of a flock plan; or,

(E) an exposed female sheep that has not tested QR, HR, or RR at codon 171; or,

(F) designated as a high-risk animal by the Designated Scrapie Epidemiologist.

(26) Infected Flock--the flock of origin of a female animal that a representative of the TAHC or USDA has determined to be:

(A) A scrapie-positive animal; or,

(B) A flock that a scrapie-positive animal has resided unless an epidemiological investigation conducted by a representative of the TAHC or USDA shows that the animal did not lamb or abort in the flock.

(C) A flock will no longer be considered an infected flock after it has completed the requirements of the Flock Plan.

(27) Interstate Commerce--trade, traffic, transportation, or other commerce between a place in a State or any place outside of that State, or between points within a State but through any place outside of that State.

(28) Limited Contact--incidental contacts between animal off the flock's premises such as:

(A) at fairs, shows, exhibitions, and sales; or,

(B) between ewes being inseminated, flushed, or implanted; or,

(C) between rams at ram test or collection stations; or,

(D) as determined by the Designated Scrapie Epidemiologist;

(E) do not include any contact, incidental or otherwise, with an animal during or up to 30 days after she has lambed, kidded, or aborted, or when there is any visible vaginal discharge.

(F) do not include any activity where uninhibited contact occurs, such a sharing an enclosure, or residing in other flocks for breeding or other purposes, except as allowed by the Scrapie Flock Certification Program standards. Note: Embryo transfer, artificial insemination equipment, and surgical tools must be sterilized between animals for these contacts to be considered to be limited contacts.

(29) Live-Animal Screening Test--any test for the diagnosis of scrapie in a live animal that is approved by the APHIS Administrator but not necessarily definitive for diagnosing scrapie, and is conducted in an Approved Laboratory.

(30) Low-Risk Commercial Sheep--animals that are identified with an official eartag that are commercial whitefaced, whitefaced cross, or commercial hair sheep, from a flock with no known risk factors for scrapie, including any exposure to female blackfaced sheep and that are not scrapie-positive, suspect, high-risk, or exposed animals and are not animals from infected, source, or exposed flock. Low-risk commercial sheep may exist in a State where scrapie has not been diagnosed in the previous 10 years in commercial whitefaced, whitefaced cross, or hair sheep that had not commingled with female blackfaced sheep.

(31) Low-Risk Goat--A goat that is not scrapie-positive, high-risk, or exposed, and that has not been commingled with sheep, except low-risk commercial sheep, and/or that is from:

(A) A state in which scrapie has not been identified in a goat during the previous 10 years.

(B) A state in which scrapie has been identified in a goat during the previous 10 years, but the scrapie-positive goat was not born in the state and had resided in the state for less than 72 months and did not kid while in the state; or,

(C) A state in which scrapie has been identified in a goat during the previous 10 years, and the scrapie-positive goat was commingled with sheep, but flock records allowed an epidemiological investigation to be completed and all resulting infected, source, and exposed goat herds have completed flock plans and are in compliance with post-exposure monitoring plans.

(32) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL)--The National Veterinary Services Laboratories of USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services, and its cooperating and contract laboratories.

(33) Non-Compliant Flock:

(A) Any source or infected flock whose owner declines to enter into a flock plan or post-exposure management and monitoring plan agreement within 30 days of being so designated, or whose owner is not compliant with either agreement;

(B) Any exposed flock whose owner fails to make animals available for testing within 60 days of notification, or mutually agreed date, or whose owner fails to submit to required postmortem samples;

(C) Any flock whose owner has misrepresented, or who employs a person who has misrepresented, their scrapie status of an animal or any other information on a certificate, permit, owner statement, or other official document within the past 5 years; or,

(D) Any flock whose owner or manager has moved an animal in violation of this chapter within the past 5 years, or who employs a person who has moved an animal in violation of this chapter within the past 5 years.

(34) Official Genotype Test--Any test to determine the genotype of a live or dead animal that is conducted at an Approved Laboratory, when the animal is officially identified and the samples used for the test are collected and shipped to the laboratory by either an accredited veterinarian or a State or USDA representative.

(35) Official Identification--Identification approved by APHIS and TAHC for use in the scrapie eradication program.

(36) Official Test--Any test for the diagnosis of scrapie in a live or dead animal that is approved by the Administrator of APHIS for that use and conducted either at an approved laboratory or at the NVSL.

(37) Owner--a person, partnership, company, corporation, or any other legal entity which has legal or rightful title to animals, whether or not they are subject to a mortgage, or his or her agent.

(38) Permit--The VS Form 1-27, an official document issued in connection with interstate movement of animals, that is issued by an APHIS or TAHC representative, State representative, or an accredited veterinarian authorized to sign the permit. The permit lists:

(A) Owner's name and address

(B) Points of origin and destination

(C) Number of animals in the consignment

(D) Purpose of the movement

(E) Statement of whether the animals are scrapie-positive, high-risk, exposed, or scrapie suspect

(F) The license number of the transporting vehicle.

(G) The seal number (if the shipment is under seal)

(H) Official identification numbers (individual or premise) Note: This definition does not pertain to the movement of healthy unexposed animals.

(39) Post-Exposure Management and Monitoring Plan--A written agreement signed by the owner of the flock, an accredited veterinarian employed by the owner, and a State or APHIS representative in which each participant agrees to undertake actions specified in the agreement to monitor for the occurrence of scrapie in the flock for at least 5 years after the last high-risk or scrapie-positive animal is removed from the flock or after the last exposure of the flock to a scrapie-positive animal, unless otherwise specified by a State or APHIS representative. The flock owner must provide the facilities and personnel needed to carry out the requirements of the plan. The plan must include the requirements specified in RSA 54.8.

(40) Premises Identification Eartag--An identification eartag approved by the TAHC and APHIS as being sufficiently tamper-resistant for the intended use and providing unique identification for each premise of origin (officially assigned premise identification number.

(41) Program--The cooperative State-Federal-Industry program administered by APHIS and Consistent States to control and eradicate scrapie.

(42) Scrapie--A non-febrile, transmissible insidious degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats.

(43) Scrapie Control Pilot Project--A pilot project authorized by the APHIS and TAHC in writing, designed to test or improve program procedures or to facilitate research, in order to control and eradicate scrapie.

(44) Scrapie Eradication Program--The cooperative State-Federal program administered by APHIS and Consistent States to control and eradicate scrapie.

(45) Scrapie Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules (UM&R)--Cooperative procedures and standards adopted by APHIS and Consistent States for controlling and eradication scrapie.

(46) Scrapie Flock Certification Program:

(A) a voluntary State-Federal-Industry cooperative effort established and maintained to reduce the incidence and spread of scrapie, and which contributes to the eventual eradication of scrapie; and,

(B) a monitoring program to identify individual flocks that have been free of evidence of scrapie over specified time periods.

(47) Scrapie Flock Certification Program Standards--Cooperative procedures and standards adopted by State and APHIS scrapie certification boards for reducing the incidence and spread of scrapie, and to identify flocks which have not exhibited clinical signs of scrapie over specified periods of time.

(48) Scrapie-Positive Animal--An animal for which a diagnosis of scrapie has been made by the NVSL or another laboratory authorized by the Administrator to conduct official scrapie tests in accordance with RSA 54, through:

(A) histopathological examination of central nervous system (CNS/brain stem) tissues from an animal with characteristic microscopic lesions of scrapie; or,

(B) the use of protease-resistant protein analysis methods including but not limited to live or dead animal for which a given method has been approved by the Administrator and TAHC on that tissue; or,

(C) bioassay (inoculation of laboratory animals for the diagnosis of infection); or,

(D) scrapie associated fibrils (SAF) detected by electron microscopy; or,

(E) any other test method approved by the Administrator in accordance with RSA 54.10.

(49) Sheep--Animals of the genus Ovis.

(50) Slaughter Channels--Animals in slaughter channels include any animal that is sold, transferred, or moved either:

(A) Directly to a slaughter facility; or,

(B) To an individual for custom slaughter; or,

(C) For feeding for the express purpose of improving the animals' condition for movement to slaughter.

(51) Source Flock--A flock in which a TAHC or APHIS representative has determined that at least one animal was born that was diagnosed as a scrapie-positive animal at the age of 72 months or less. The determination that an animal was born in a flock must be based on either:

(A) the presence of official identification on the animal that is traceable to the flock; or,

(B) the presence of other identification on the animal that is listed on the bill of sale; or,

(C) registry records showing that the scrapie-positive animal originated from the flock

(52) State -Texas, or any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Island, Puerto Rico, and all territories or possessions of the United States.

(53) State Representative--An individual employed in animal health activities by the TAHC, or that is authorized by the State of Texas to perform functions related to the Program.

(54) Suspect Animal:

(A) An animal exhibiting clinical signs of scrapie and that has been determined to be suspicious for scrapie by an accredited veterinarian or a State or APHIS representative:
(i) weight loss despite retention of appetite

(ii) behavioral abnormalities

(iii) pruritis (excessive itching)

(iv) wool pulling

(v) biting at legs or flanks

(vi) lip smacking

(vii) motor abnormalities such as incoordination:
(I) high-stepping gait of forelimbs,

(II) bunny hop movement of rear legs,

(III) swaying of back end.

(viii) increased sensitivity to noise and sudden movement

(ix) tremors

(x) head pressing

(B) An animal that has tested positive for scrapie or for the prion protein associated with scrapie on the live animal screening test, or any other test, unless the animal is designated as a scrapie-positive animal.

(C) An animal that has had a suspicious or inconclusive test result on an official live-animal test for scrapie.

(55) Terminal Feedlot:

(A) A dry lot approved by a State or APHIS representative or an accredited veterinarian authorized to perform this function where the animals are separated from all other animals by at least 30 feet at all times or are separated by a solid wall through, over, or under which fluids cannot pass and contact cannot occur and from which animals are moved only to another terminal feedlot or to slaughter; or,

(B) A pasture approved by a State or APHIS representative or an accredited veterinarian in which only non-pregnant animals are permitted, where there is no direct fence-to-fence contact with another flock, and from which animals are moved only to another terminal feedlot or directly to slaughter.

(56) TAHC--Texas Animal Health Commission, or representatives thereof.

(57) USDA--United States Department of Agriculture, APHIS, ARS, or representatives thereof

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