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32.4.1302    REQUIREMENTS FOR MANDATORY SURVEILLANCE OF MONTANA GAME FARM CERVIDAE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE

(1) The licensee must present his entire herd annually for inspection by a designated agent of the department. The department will verify each game farm animal's identification and the game farm animal inventory must reconcile with the department's records.

(2) The licensee must report all game farm animal deaths to the department (Helena office) within 1 day of the discovery of death as required by 87-4-415, MCA.

(3) Upon the discovery of dead cervids, the licensee must immediately request an inspection of the game farm animal as required by ARM 32.4.307. At the time of the inspection of the dead animal, the alternative livestock veterinarian shall remove the currently required tissue samples and/or specimens and submit them to a department approved laboratory for testing for chronic wasting disease (CWD) .

(a) Tissue samples and/or specimens must be submitted from all CWD test eligible game farm cervids unless a waiver to tissue sample and/or specimen submission has been granted by the state veterinarian in accordance to (3) (b) .

(b) The state veterinarian may, at his discretion, grant a waiver to tissue sample and/or specimen submission from game farm cervids if the following conditions are met:

(i) The licensee's herd is of CWD monitored herd status level I or greater (or the equivalent thereof) , as required by ARM 32.4.1303, and the animal has not had contact with animals of lesser status.

(ii) The animal for which a waiver is requested must have resided on the licensee's game farm for 12 months or have resided in the herd from which it is transported for a period of 12 months.

(iii) The licensee must be in compliance with all requirements of Title 87, chapter 4, part 4, MCA and rules promulgated pursuant to this part.

(iv) The licensed game farm must have no documented cases of ingress of wild cervids or egress of game farm animals within the 18-month period immediately preceding the request for a waiver. If it is determined by the state veterinarian there has been no compromise in the surveillance status of the herd, this criteria may be waived in the application for a waiver to CWD surveillance.

(v) There have been no breaches in perimeter fence integrity that may have compromised the CWD surveillance status on the game farm herd.

(c) The state veterinarian may grant a waiver with stipulations that may include, but is not limited to, additional whole herd inspections. A waiver from CWD surveillance does not exempt the licensee from any other requirements for inspection or testing of game farm animals.

(d) The state veterinarian may not grant a waiver to the mandatory surveillance required in this rule for an entire herd or for a cervid from a herd that has been identified as a CWD affected, exposed or trace herd.

(e) The licensee is responsible for all costs incurred for the examination of game farm cervids, the inspection services, the collection and submission of tissue sample and/or specimens, and the laboratory diagnostic costs.

(4) Failure to comply with the requirements of this rule may result in the following:

(a) The monitored status of the herd may be reduced to "monitored, status unknown."

(b) The cervid herd may be placed under a hold order for 48 months.

(c) The department may consider failure to comply with this rule as a violation of 87-4-427, MCA.

(5) Any person having knowledge that a game farm cervid has been diagnosed as affected with CWD or exposed to CWD must report that knowledge to the department as required by ARM 32.4.1001.

History: Sec. 81-2-103, 87-4-422, MCA; IMP, 81-2-103, 87-4-422, MCA; NEW, 1999 MAR p. 652, Eff. 4/9/99.

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