Introduction
In February 2002, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surfaced
among wild deer in southern Wisconsin and brought nationwide
attention to this mysterious brain disease which threatens
North American deer and elk populations. CWD is part of
a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSEs), which also includes mad cow disease, scrapie in
sheep, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. It
has been diagnosed in free-ranging deer and elk primarily
in Northeastern Colorado, Southeastern Wyoming, and adjacent
Nebraska, but has also been found in captive elk in Colorado,
Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, and South
Dakota. The spread of CWD in the last few years has spurred
some states to establish regulations to prevent the infection
of domestic cervids. Though only found to affect elk, mule
deer, and white-tailed deer, some legislation is applied
to all animals in the cervidae family, which includes deer,
elk, moose, caribou, reindeer, and related species and hybrids.
State Legislation
Georgia
SB
183, passed in 2003, mandates CWD reporting, and makes
intentional introduction of CWD into the state a misdemeanor.
Idaho
SB
1128, passed in 2001, restricts the out-of-state importing
of domestic cervidae; provides for movement of domestic
cervidae from one premises to another; creates Mandatory
Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Monitoring Programs and Voluntary
Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Certification Program surveillance
procedures; provides for testing and investigation of cervid
Chronic Wasting Disease-infected animals; and allows the
seizure, removal, and disposal of any unlawfully possessed
domestic cervidae.
Indiana
HB
1921, amended in 2003, requires the Natural Resources
Study Committee to study Chronic Wasting Disease and confined
deer hunting.
Iowa
HF
509, enacted in 2003, establishes a task force to investigate
risks and make administrative suggestions associated with
CWD in both captive and wild deer, and elk herds.
HF
624, passed in 2003, gives the House Committee on Agriculture
the authority to monitor game herds for contagious diseases,
including CWD.
Kentucky
SB
112, engrossed in 2003, allows import of live cervids
or carcasses from states that have documented CWD only if
they have been certified free of CWD for 5 years. The bill
also makes importers responsible for disease consequences
should CWD be brought into the state.
Louisiana
HB
1797, enrolled in 2003 and vetoed by the Governor, restricts
the import of cervids to those who have been certified as
free of CWD; holds importers responsible for costs imposed
by CWD brought into the state; gives the state quarantine
authority; identifies CWD as a reportable disease; requires
stringent containment practices, including fencing; and,
mandates testing of disease-suspected animals.
Maine
LD
1332, passed in 1999, clarifies that animal welfare
and disease control laws apply to animals kept at commercial
large game shooting areas; identifies Chronic Wasting Disease
as a reportable disease; requires the Commissioner of Agriculture,
Food, and Rural Resources to monitor reports of Chronic
Wasting Disease and progress in developing diagnostic tests
and vaccinations for the disease; requires the Commissioner
to develop a program to prevent introduction of the disease
into the State; and, prohibits commercial shooting areas
after 10-31-2002. The Commissioner may also prohibit the
importation of any susceptible animal from a region, state,
or country where infection by Chronic Wasting Disease has
been documented.
LD
1583, enacted in 2003, establishes a CWD monitoring,
public outreach, and surveillance program.
Michigan
EO
5, introduced in 2003, establishes a governor’s
task force to make recommendations on how to prevent CWD
from entering the state.
Minnesota
SB 905 and HB 967, enacted in 2003, impose an inventory
of gamed cervids; mandate CWD testing on all deceased farmed
cervids; and, restricts cervid import to herds that are
not from areas with endemic CWD or have been certified CWD-free
for three years.
Mississippi
In 2003, Mississippi passed three bills to prevent the
spread of CWD. The combined bills (SB
2528, SB
2780, and SB
2682) give wildlife personnel in several state agencies
the authority to impose CWD live or dead testing of diseased
animals if CWD is found within five miles of a white-tail
deer enclosure; give wildlife personnel the authority to
enter farms to destroy diseased animals; require owners
to maintain records; and, provide penalties for failure
to comply with enclosure restrictions. A moratorium is put
on cervid imports susceptible to CWD. The bills also direct
the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to develop
and implement a program for inventorying, inspecting, monitoring,
testing, and preventing CWD.
Missouri
HB
601, introduced in 2001, establishes a Chronic Wasting
Disease Certification Program in the Department of Agriculture
for the eradication of Chronic Wasting Disease in captive
elk herds in the state. Under the legislation, elk ranchers
would be required to watch for clinical signs of the disease.
Each animal would be identified with a tag and monitored
from birth to death for Chronic Wasting Disease. The brain
of any elk that dies after the age of 16 months would be
sampled and tested for Chronic Wasting Disease. Herds that
come into contact with an infected animal would be quarantined.
The state veterinarian could require extermination of the
herd if CWD is detected. The bill includes controls on elk
imported into Missouri from other states.
The CWD program is to include:
- Herd inventory and implementation of the official elk
identification system;
- An elk CWD surveillance identification program;
- Certification of elk herds;
- Regulation for the movement of captive elk;
- Mandatory death reporting, official elk CWD testing
of all dead captive elk, and authorized disposal methods
for captive elk that test positive for CWD; and
- Revocation of the official health certification of any
captive elk herd with an elk testing positive for CWD.
Montana
SB
7, passed in 2000, imposes a moratorium on new applications
for initial alternative livestock ranch licenses until a
live test for Chronic Wasting Disease is developed and approved
by the Department of Livestock.
A number of bills were introduced in 2003 including:
- D 1645 mandates that no new livestock ranch permits
will be issued until a live CWD test is effective.
- D 1582 prohibits importing cervids from states with
confirmed CWD cases unless the farm has been certified
as CWD-free.
- D 2158 creates an incentive program for voluntary CWD
testing.
- HB
486 prohibits the import of harvest deer or elk from
states that have confirmed cases of CWD unless they have
tested free of CWD.
- HB
752 establishes a mitigation program that provides
compensation for alternative livestock farms that voluntarily
forfeit their business; and, appropriates funds for surveillance
of CWD in wild herds.
- D 2169 institutes a CWD surveillance and prevention
program. It also designates compensation for ranches that
voluntarily participate in CWD testing.
- HB
759 creates a CWD surveillance, prevention, and research
program. It also provides compensation for ranchers who
voluntarily participate in CWD testing programs.
- HB
379 requires alternative livestock farms to pay $100
per harvested animal toward a governmental fund to research
a live test and cure for CWD. The bill also allocates
government funds for research.
Nebraska
The intent of LB 919, introduced in 2002, is to clarify
that facilities housing domesticated cervidae are still
subject to those provisions of the Domesticated Cervine
Animal Act pertaining to control and eradication of cervidae
diseases relating to the authority to:
- Quarantine infected animals or premises and prohibit
movements of infected animals;
- Adopt rules for the testing, control, and eradication
of diseases including, but not limited to, Chronic Wasting
Disease, and to establish regulations regarding interstate
change of ownership; and
- Develop and enroll facilities in herd certification
programs.
New Mexico
HB
560, enacted in 2003, gives authority to the state game
commission and requires: notification to the Department
of Game and Fish of the diagnosis or suspected presence
of CWD; examination by the state veterinarian or his designee
of suspected infected game animals; quarantine, treatment,
or destruction of an infected game animal; disinfection
and isolation of a licensed private park where an infected
game animal has been; and, indemnification and destruction
of a protected game animal.
North Dakota
SB
2323, passed in 2003, gives the Governor the authority
to restrict cervid imports from areas with suspected CWD
contamination.
Wisconsin
In a special session in May 2002, Wisconsin legislators
passed SB
1 to address the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in
the state, and have taken measures to establish an eradication
plan accompanied by continued efforts at monitoring and
testing Wisconsin’s deer population. Wisconsin’s
Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
has enacted emergency ruling that:
- Effectively shuts down imports of deer and elk into
Wisconsin;
- Requires strict monitoring of any herd if the herd owner
wants to move live animals within the state;
- Requires CWD testing of all animals 16 months or older
that die or are slaughtered from monitored herds, and
of animals from non-monitored herds if any part of their
carcass leaves the farm; and
- Calls for the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and
Consumer Protection to quarantine a herd wherein a captive
deer or elk tests positive for CWD, and to decide whether
to condemn the herd based on an epidemiological investigation.
In 2003, SB
44 was passed to provide additional funding for CWD
control.
AB
292, introduced in 2003, gives the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) the authority to designate CWD eradication
zones in which it can authorize hunting to control CWD.
In this zone, the DNR may also promulgate rules concerning
the transport, possession, control, storage, and disposal
of deer or elk. The DNR may also prohibit the import of
deer from states with confirmed cases of CWD.
AB
425, introduced in 2003, this bill prohibits the Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) from
promulgating rules to prohibit or regulate the recreational
and supplemental feeding of wild animals for purposes other
than hunting, except the DNR may promulgate such rules that
apply in the Chronic Wasting Disease eradication zone.
For more information regarding Wisconsin’s
approach to CWD, go to the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources web site. |
