- To an animal dealer, provided the animal dealer ships the animal directly to slaughter or has the animal tested for EIA within 10 days after its consignment or sale to the dealer, or arrival at the premises. Until the negative EIA test results are obtained, the dealer may not consign, sell, or move the animal from the premises or allow the animal to commingle with other animals.
- To an animal market, provided that the animal market operator ships the animal directly to slaughter or has the animal tested for EIA within 4 days after it arrives at the premises. Until the negative EIA test results are obtained, an equine animal may not leave the premises or be commingled with any other animal.
Equine Animal Imports
The current rule specifies equine import requirements. With some exceptions, no person may import an equine animal unless the animal has tested negative on an equine infectious anemia test (EIA) conducted within a certain timeframe.
One of those exceptions is to obtain an import permit which will allow the animal to be imported if samples are collected from the animal prior to import, and the animal is confined to the premises and not commingled upon import until negative test results are received. The proposed rule deletes this exception.
Poultry and Farm-Raised Game Birds
Enrollment requirements. The current rule requires poultry and eggs used for breeding, hatching, or exhibition to originate from a certified flock or be individually tested for certain diseases. A certified flock includes a flock enrolled in the national poultry improvement plan (NPIP), a Wisconsin tested flock, or a Wisconsin associate flock.
The proposed rule will no longer require persons to enroll their flock in a Wisconsin tested flock or Wisconsin associate flock with the department. Instead, a flock owner must provide documentation of being a Wisconsin tested flock or Wisconsin associate flock by completing a department approved form that requires certain information to be listed. This new form will include the same information as the application currently used to apply for flock certification from the department. The Wisconsin tested flock form will be valid for one year from the date the disease testing was conducted. The Wisconsin associate flock form will be valid as long as all birds or eggs introduced to the flock are acquired directly from a Wisconsin tested flock, a Wisconsin associate flock, or a flock enrolled in the National Poultry Improvement Plan.
The proposed rule requires that poultry and eggs exhibited at fairs or poultry shows (rather than those used for breeding, hatching and exhibitions) to either: reside in a flock that is certified under NPIP; have a completed, valid Wisconsin tested flock form or Wisconsin associate flock form; or be an individual sexually mature bird tested for certain diseases.
The current rule requires a person who sells poultry or eggs from certified flocks (or individually tested birds) to provide a copy of the flock certification (or individual bird test) to the buyer and to report the sale to the department.
The proposed rule requires these persons to provide a copy of a current NPIP flock certification, a Wisconsin tested flock form, a Wisconsin associate flock form, or individual bird tests to the buyer and to maintain poultry sale information (rather than report the information to the department). Sale information must be maintained for at least 3 years and be made available to the department for inspection and copying upon request.
The current rule provides an alternative method for youth exhibiting poultry at county fairs. The proposed rule deletes this provision as it is rarely, if ever, used.
National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). The current rule specifies that the department may certify a flock as U.S. pullorum typhoid clean or Mycoplasma gallisepticum clean, or both, according to standards set forth in the national poultry improvement plan.
The proposed rule deletes this provision as it is already described under the NPIP standards and does not need to be repeated in the rule.
The current rule establishes fees to be paid for enrollment in the program and is ambiguous as to when the $40 fee or the $80 fee applies. The proposed rule clarifies that the $40 fee applies to a flock consisting of not more than 200 breeders, and the $80 fee applies to a flock consisting of more than 200 but not more than 1,000 breeders.
The proposed rule specifies that the department may, rather than shall, inspect enrolled flocks and take other actions as appropriate, based on plan requirements.
Poultry Imports. The current rule requires that live poultry, eggs used for hatching, farm-raised game birds, and farm-raised game bird eggs used for hatching that are imported to Wisconsin be accompanied by a federal bureau form VS 9-3 or a valid certificate of veterinary inspection. These documents must certify that the birds/eggs originate from flocks meeting specified requirements or a plan that the department determines to be equivalent to Wisconsin requirements.
The proposed rule requires a person who imports poultry to keep the federal bureau form VS 9-3 or certificate of veterinarian inspection (whichever is applicable) for at least three years, and to make them available to the department for inspection and copying upon request.
The proposed rule replaces the term originate with are directly imported from to clarify that the document accompanying the birds/eggs must certify the most recent location from which the birds were imported and not the original location from which the birds were purchased. Also, the proposed rule eliminates the equivalent plan as determined by the department as it has never been used.
The current rule prohibits the import of turkey poults from hatcheries that hatch eggs, other than turkey eggs. It also prohibits the import of started poultry, other than turkey poults, from hatcheries that hatch turkey eggs. The proposed rule eliminates this prohibition as it cannot be justified based on disease risk.
Farm-Raised Deer
Farm-raised deer herd registration. The current rule specifies that no person may keep farm-raised deer at any location in this state unless the department has issued a current annual farm-raised deer herd registration certificate authorizing the person to keep farm-raised deer at that location. There is an exception for persons who own less than 50% of a farm-raised deer or group of farm-raised deer, if certain requirements are met. The proposed rule eliminates this exemption, as it is not being used. The proposed rule creates two new exemptions as follows:
- Licensed animal dealers who purchase farm-raised deer from a keeper whose herd is currently registered, and who move those deer directly to slaughter, are not required to obtain a farm-raised deer herd registration, if certain requirements are met. One such requirement mandates the dealer to keep certain records for that deer, including chronic wasting disease test results.
- Temporary farm-raised deer exhibits, if certain requirements are met.
The current rule specifies March 15 as the expiration date of any farm-raised deer herd registration. The proposed rule changes the expiration date to August 31. The new expiration date will first apply to the 2020-2021 registration year. Most registrations for that year will be effective March 16, 2020 through August 31, 2021 (17.5 rather than 12 months). License fees for that registration year only will increase proportionally to reflect the longer period of time for which the registration is effective. The regular registration fee will apply to initial applicants who apply for a 2020-2021 registration after August 31, 2020, as that license will be effective for the standard 12 months.
When applying for a farm-raised deer herd registration certificate, an applicant must include a breakdown by species, age, and sex of the farm-raised deer in the herd. The proposed rule requires only the breakdown of species of deer to be included on the application while eliminating the breakdown by age and sex.
The proposed rule allows a farm-raised deer keeper to maintain ownership of a deer that is moved to another premises as long as the owner at the new premises has a valid farm-raised deer herd registration certificate, and movement requirements are met. In addition, certain records must be kept by both parties, as follows:
- A person who receives a farm-raised deer but does not own the deer must keep records relating to deer that enter the herd, leave the herd, escape, are killed, etc. He or she must test the deer for CWD upon death and keep those CWD test results for at least 5 years.
- A person who provides a farm-raised deer to another premises (including a hunting ranch), but who retains ownership of the deer, must keep records relating to that deer leaving the herd and when that deer dies, is killed, or slaughtered. He or she must also keep the CWD test results for at least 5 years.
Prohibitions. The current rule prohibits persons keeping farm-raised deer from commingling deer with bovine animals on the same premises, building, enclosure, or vehicle unless all the animals go to slaughter. The proposed rule will allow these animals to be on the same premises without having to send them all to slaughter if one of the following requirements is met:
- The herds of the two species are medically separated.
- The herds of both species are certified by the department as accredited Tuberculosis-free.
- The herds of both species meet the testing requirements to become a TB qualified herd, and the animal to be moved has been classified negative to an official TB test that was conducted within 90 days prior to the date of movement for farm-raised deer and 60 days prior to the date of movement for bovine animals. If the herd test was administered and the herd qualified (within 90 days prior to the date of movement for farm-raised deer and 60 days prior to the date of movement for bovine animals), the animal to be moved does not require an additional individual test.
The proposed rule creates the following prohibitions:
- Prohibits a keeper from intentionally releasing farm-raised deer to the wild or taking no action to prevent recurring escapes.
- Prohibits a keeper from feeding or baiting in a manner that may attract wild deer to the fence of the farm-raised deer herd.
Chronic Wasting Disease Testing (CWD). The current rule requires farm-raised deer to be tested for CWD. In most cases, 25 percent of deer sent to a slaughtering establishment must be tested for CWD. The proposed rule includes deer slaughtered on the farm within the 25% mandate, provided that the department conducts an ante mortem inspection of the deer and a post-mortem inspection of the carcass(es).
The proposed rule also requires a farm-raised deer keeper whose herd is enrolled in the CWD herd status program, and who moves a deer to another location owned by the keeper, to test that deer for CWD upon death.
The current rule requires a person who is qualified to collect a CWD test sample to label the test sample with the animal’s official individual identification, or if the official individual identification is not available, with the back tag, official slaughter identification, or carcass tag. The proposed rule changes the term “carcass tag” to “dead tag” for consistency throughout the rule. It also requires that all identification tags and numbers from the animal accompany the test sample.
The current rule requires a person who is qualified to collect a CWD test sample to submit a CWD sample to a veterinarian within 2 business days. The proposed rule allows that submission to occur within 9 calendar days after the farm-raised deer dies or is killed or slaughtered. The proposed rule clarifies that a veterinarian who accepts the CWD sample must submit the sample to an approved laboratory within 10 days of receipt.
The current rule allows the department to disqualify a person from collecting CWD test samples, including a veterinarian. The proposed rule clarifies that if a veterinarian is disqualified from taking CWD test samples, he or she will not be allowed to accept or submit CWD test samples.
Farm-Raised Deer Identification. The current rule specifies farm-raised deer identification requirements under the “Farm-raised deer; chronic wasting disease herd status program” section of the rule. The proposed rule moves the identification requirements to the “Farm-raised deer; identification” section of the rule as it is a more logical area to look for identification requirements. The cross-references relating to farm-raised deer identification requirements throughout the rule have been changed to reference its new location.
The current rule requires farm-raised deer in herds enrolled in the chronic wasting disease herd status program to have two individual identifications. One must be an official individual identification, and the second identification must be either an official individual identification or individual identification unique to the herd.
Under federal law, a person may not apply an official individual identification to any animal that already has an official individual identification, except that: An “840” tag may be applied to an animal that has a national uniform ear tagging system ear tag; a brucellosis vaccination tag may be applied when vaccinating an animal for brucellosis (although this would not apply to farm-raised deer); or an official individual identification may be applied as approved by the department.
The proposed rule has been modified to meet federal requirements. Thus, whenever a farm-raised deer is required to have two individual identifications, one must be an official individual identification, and the second must be an individual identification unique to the herd or an official individual identification that meets one of the following:
- It was applied prior to the effective date of this rule.
- An “840” tag was applied to an animal that has a national uniform ear tagging system ear tag.
- An official individual identification as approved by the department.
A person who applies additional official individual identification specified above must keep a record of the existing and newly applied official identification numbers.
