Rules published with this register and final regulatory flexibility analyses
The following administrative rule orders have been adopted and published in the May 31, 2003, Wisconsin Administrative Register. Copies of these rules are sent to subscribers of the complete Wisconsin Administrative Code and also to the subscribers of the specific affected Code.
For subscription information, contact Document Sales at (608) 266-3358.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(
CR 02-054)
An order affecting chs.
ATCP 10 and
11, relating to animal diseases, animal imports and livestock markets. Effective 6-1-03.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The rule modifies current animal health rules, including rules related to animal disease, animal movement and livestock markets. This rule updates a number of current rules. Among other things, this rule:
•Modifies current disease testing and reporting requirements to reflect the fact that DATCP no longer operates Wisconsin's animal health laboratories (the labs are currently operated by the University of Wisconsin).
•Makes technical changes to the definition of herd, making it consistent in all chapters.
•Modifies current import testing requirements for fish, eliminating a whirling testing requirement for salmonid eggs (because no reliable test exists). The testing requirement still applies to live fish.
•Updates bovine tuberculosis import requirements to reflect new federal terminology (no substantive change).
•Makes technical changes to current testing requirements for equine infectious anemia (EIA).
• Modifies current rules related to cervids (including deer and elk):
- Modifies pre-import brucellosis testing requirements to make them consistent with federal Uniform Methods and Rules.
- Modifies pre-import tuberculosis testing requirements to create an exemption for cervids originating from certified tuberculosis-free herds.
- Modifies current TB testing requirements for intrastate movement of captive deer. This rule extends the current testing requirement to white-tail deer (current rules exempt white-tails).
- Requires veterinarians and diagnostic laboratories to report any findings of chronic wasting disease within one day.
• Modifies current testing, identification and classification procedures under voluntary programs to certify poultry flocks fee of pullorum-typhoid and mycoplasma-gallisepticum.
•Modifies current rules related to poultry quarantines. Under this rule, a permit must accompany quarantined birds moved to slaughter. This rule repeals current requirements for quarantine release (2 negative flock tests at least 21 days apart). Instead, the quarantine order will spell out quarantine release terms, based on surrounding circumstances.
•Changes current poultry disease reporting requirements, consistent with the national poultry improvement plan:
- Under current rules, a veterinarian who diagnoses pullorum in poultry must report it to DATCP within 10 days. This rule shortens the reporting deadline from 10 days to one day.
- This rule adds a reporting requirement for mycoplasma meleagridis. A veterinarian who diagnoses this disease must report it to DATCP within one day.
- Modifies current rabies vaccination requirements for imported dogs and cats, based on recent statutory changes. Under this rule, if an imported dog or cat has never been vaccinated, or is due for re-vaccination, it must be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian within 30 days after it enters the state or before it reaches 5 months of age, whichever is later.
This rule will have a slight impact on small business. This rule eliminates some unnecessary burdens by making Wisconsin rules more consistent with federal rules. In some cases, this rule imposes slight additional record keeping and reporting requirements on veterinarians, but these requirements are necessary to protect Wisconsin livestock.
This rule creates more consistency between state and federal requirements. It improves regulations to protect the Wisconsin livestock industry from disease. It eliminates some unnecessary requirements, and streamlines disease control programs where possible.
This rule will not, by itself, have a major impact on small business. For the most part, this rule merely implements requirements already mandated by state and federal law.
Summary of Comments of Legislative Standing Committees
On January 6, 2003, this agency transmitted the above rule for legislative committee review. On January 15, 2003, the rule was referred to the Assembly Committee on Agriculture for review. The Assembly Committee on Agriculture did not take any action on the rule during its review period.
On January 10, 2003, the rule was referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Financial Institutions and Insurance. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Financial Institutions and Insurance did not take any action during its review period.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(
CR 02-078)
An order affecting chs.
ATCP 10,
11 and
12, relating to farm raised deer and chronic wasting disease. Effective 6-1-03.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Rule Description
This rule affects farm-raised deer keepers. It includes general registration requirements and provisions related specifically to chronic wasting disease. This rule does the following:
•Includes white-tail deer farmers in the registration requirements that already exist for farm-raised deer keepers. This implements the new captive wildlife law
(2001 Act 56) which will be effective January 1, 2003.
•Changes requirements for persons keeping 2 or more farm-raised deer herds.
•Increases recordkeeping requirements for farm-raised deer keepers.
•Prohibits farm-raised deer keepers from accepting into his herd, on a permanent or temporary basis, any cervid from a wild herd.
•Imposes import restrictions specifically related to reducing the likelihood that chronic wasting disease will be imported to a farm-raised deer herd.
•Imposes restrictions on movement of farm-raised deer within Wisconsin. Requires participation in CWD herd monitoring program before any live cervid can be moved off farm-raised deer premises in Wisconsin.
•Requires CWD testing of every farm-raised deer over the age of 16 months that dies or is taken to slaughter.
•Requires official identification on all farm-raised deer before the deer or deer carcass leaves the registered premises.
•Requires. that a farm-raised deer herd be either an accredited tuberculosis free herd or a tuberculosis qualified herd before any live farm-raised deer is allowed to leave the farm-raised deer premises.
Small Businesses Affected by this Rule
Currently there are approximately 985 persons who are either registered as farm-raised deer keepers or licensed by DNR as game farms. After January 1, 2003, all of these people will be required to register with DATCP as farm-raised deer keepers. Most of these people qualify as a small business and will be affected by this rule.
Effects on Small Business
This rule will have a substantial impact on registered farm-raised deer keepers. It increases costs by requiring the farm-raised deer keeper to have CWD testing done on any cervid over 16 months of age that dies on the registered premises. It also requires CWD testing of any cervid over 16 months of age that is shipped directly to slaughter. All costs of testing are the responsibility of the farm-raised deer keeper. It is not clear how much the testing will cost, but it is estimated it could cost as much as $100 per test.
If the farm-raised deer keeper plans to move any live animal off the registered premises, the herd will have to be enrolled in the CWD herd monitoring program. The farm-raised deer keeper whose herd is enrolled in the CWD herd monitoring program under this rule will incur additional costs. Every cervid in the herd must be identified with official individual identification before it reaches 1 year of age, or before it leaves the premises whichever occurs first and any carcass that leaves the herd premises must bear official identification. If the herd owner applies the identification herself or himself, it could be done for $1.00 or less per animal. If a veterinarian is used to apply the identification, the costs could be substantially more. As part of the CWD herd monitoring program, the herd owner will have to maintain more detailed records and file an annual census with the department. Under this rule, the requirement that cervids moving off registered premises must originate from a herd that is enrolled in the CWD monitoring program is effective immediately. The requirement is gradually increased so that effective in 2008, the herd of origin must have been in the herd monitoring program for 5 years prior to movement of animals from the herd.
Under current rules, a farm-raised deer may not be removed from the herd premises unless a certified veterinarian completes a certificate of veterinary inspection and the cervid has tested negative for tuberculosis. This rule prohibits moving any farm-raised deer of the herd premises unless the herd of origin is either an accredited tuberculosis free herd or a tuberculosis qualified herd. If the herd of origin is a tuberculosis qualified herd, the herd or the individual animal must have been tested for tuberculosis within 90 days prior to the movement. To be a tuberculosis qualified herd, the herd must undergo a whole herd tuberculosis test every 12 months. After three successive negative whole herd tests, the herd will qualify to become an accredited tuberculosis free herd. To maintain the accredited tuberculosis free herd status, the herd must undergo a whole herd tuberculosis test once each 24 months. Each tuberculosis test costs approximately $8 - $10, and if the deer must be anesthetized that cost would be additional. The increased cost to individual deer farmers depends on the number of deer in the herd. This increased cost will only apply to deer farmers who do not currently have whole herd tuberculosis tests performed and will be moving live deer from the herd.
In addition to the costs to obtain a certificate of veterinary inspection and to complete the tuberculosis tests, many keepers of farm-raised deer will find that efficiency in completing the tuberculosis tests requires the keeper to purchase new animal handling equipment that will permit testing of the deer without anesthetization. The rule does not require installation of animal handling equipment, only completion of the test. We estimate this type of animal handling equipment could cost about $3000 – 5000.
Under this rule a farm-raised deer keeper may register more than one herd at a location if the fences and facilities are adequate to maintain a “medically significant separation" between the herds. One instance where this would be necessary is if the farm-raised deer keeper maintains a breeding herd that he wants to ship live animals out of, and a hunting herd at the same location. If the keeper ships live animals out of the breeding herd, he or she must either enroll all the animals in both herds in the herd monitoring program, including applying official individual identification to all the animals and maintaining an accurate census, or maintain and register two separate herds. If the keeper maintains two separate herds at one location, he or she will incur the additional registration fee and an inspection fee of $150 per inspection for a DATCP employee to inspect the premises to assure that the fences and/or facilities are adequate to maintain a “medically significant separation."
Under this rule, cervids may not be imported into Wisconsin unless they originated from a herd that has been under surveillance or monitored for CWD for a period of 5 years. A herd that is under surveillance for CWD is being watched by an accredited veterinarian to determine whether animals in the herd show clinical signs of CWD. A herd that is being monitored for CWD is being watched for clinical signs of CWD and animals that die are being tested for CWD. In addition, the herd owner identifies each animal, maintains in depth records of each animal and makes those records available to the animal health officials in the state of origin. This rule immediately requires that any cervid being imported originate from a herd that has been under surveillance for 5 years. The rule gradually phases in a change from 5 years of surveillance to 5 years as a monitored herd. This requirement reduces the number of potential sources for a farm-raised deer farmer to purchase animals for addition to the herd. Because the number of sources is reduced, the price of the cervids may increase. It is not possible to determine how much of a price increase might occur.
Steps to Assist Small Business
For purposes of controlling this disease threat, it is essential that cervids be identified with official individual identification and records maintained of their movements. Prior to this rule, official individual identification generally required a veterinarian to insert an official eartag in the ear of the animal. This could become very costly and caused extreme stress for some of the animals. This rule recognizes a new form of official individual identification called a “chronic wasting disease registration tag." The herd owner will register with DATCP and receive a premises ID. The herd owner then is allowed to contact an approved manufacturer to obtain eartags that will include both the premises ID and an individual ID number that the owner will assign to each individual animal. The owner will be able to apply these tags to the cervids and will probably be able to do so at a cost of less than $1.00 per animal.
The department would like to require that any cervid moving interstate or within Wisconsin originate from a herd that has been participating in a CWD monitoring program for at least 5 years. However, the department recognizes that imposing such a restriction at this time would be onerous. Therefore, the department is phasing in the restriction to allow people to get enrolled in the program and meet shipment requirements as the requirements increase. By 2008, the requirements for 5 years of participation in the herd monitoring program will be fully implemented.
During public hearings on this rule, several deer farmers requested that the department permit a person who is assembling a new herd to assume the CWD herd monitoring history of the herd from which the animals are obtained, thereby allowing the new herd to fulfill the requirement of 5 years participation in the herd monitoring program sooner. This rule allows a new herd to assume the CWD herd monitoring history of the herd of origin. This will allow the owner of the new herd to move live animals from the herd sooner than would otherwise be allowed.
Conclusion
