8 Colo. Code Regs. § 1201-17, pt. 10
The statutory basis for this rule is §§35-50-10135 -50-106, 35-50-111, 35-50-144 C.R.S., Prevention and Eradication of Diseases; 35-53-111, C.R.S., Sanitary rules as to movement of livestock- quarantine-penalty.
Parts 1, 2, and 3 were previously approved by the Colorado Agricultural Commission on April 17, 1998 and July 22, 1998. The Commission approved these parts as rules also adopted by the State Board of Stock Inspection (Brand Board) on July 8, 1998. Part 5 was adopted by the Brand Board and is moved to Division of Animal Industry as the implementing agency for collecting and disbursing proceeds of the Cervidae Disease fund. Minor changes were made to Part 5 to delete portions repeated elsewhere in Brand Board rules. Portions of these rules were amended to implement the "Memorandum of Agreement Between the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife for Development of a Coordinated State Program to Address Chronic Wasting Disease" and to clarify the process by which approval is granted to import Alternative Livestock into and within the State of Colorado.
The statutory basis for this rule is §§35-50-10135 -50-106, 35-50-111, 35-50-144 C.R.S.(2002), Prevention and Eradication of Diseases; 35-53-111, C.R.S. (2002), Sanitary rules as to movement of livestock-quarantine- penalty.
This rule is amended to clarify the incorporation by reference of the Uniform Methods and Rules adopted by USDA regarding the control of tuberculosis in cervidae (subsection 2.4).
SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The specific statutory authority of this Rule is located in §§ 35-50-105(3)(a), (c), (d), (f), (h), (j), (p) and (q); and 35-53-111, C.R.S., which cumulatively grant authority to the Commissioner of Agriculture, upon approval by the Colorado Agricultural Commission, to adopt Rules related to designations of livestock disease for control and reporting purposes; health standards for importation of livestock; standards for livestock health certificates; livestock testing for contagious or infectious disease; standards for disease surveillance among and in livestock; standards and requirements for identification and traceability of livestock; and sanitary rules as to movement of livestock.
Purpose
The purpose of this rule-making is to provide revisions to portions of the Rules "Concerning the Prevention of Disease in Alternative Livestock" to make the Rules easier to read and understand while updating the Rules to reflect changes in disease detection, surveillance, testing, and monitoring. These changes in this rule-making reflect the efforts of the reviewers to achieve the dual goal of protecting Colorado's alternative livestock industry from disease while providing an environment where that industry may thrive.
The definitions within this Rule have been updated to bring consistency to all definitions used in the Animal Health Division of the Department of Agriculture. The reviewers sought to clarify sentences, update language, remove duplicative terms, and increase overall readability of the Rules in accord with the Department's Regulatory Efficiency Review Process.
Factual Policy and Issues
Since the last modification of these Rules, the Colorado Division of Wildlife has become the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. This name change and the division's acronym, "CPW," have been changed within this Rule. The reviewers noted that portions of the Rule were duplicative and unnecessary. Specifically, Part 2 of the Rules was removed and combined with what is now Part 3.
The United States Department of Agriculture now requires that tissue samples be submitted from all alternative livestock from certified herds that are 12 months of age and older. This Rule changes the previous requirement from 16 months to 12 months to comply with the USDA standard.
References to disciplinary actions that the Department might take were removed because the organic act controls such actions, and duplication of that information into the Rules is unnecessary.
Additionally, as knowledge and understanding of Chronic Wasting Disease has evolved, approaches to monitoring, testing, and prevention have changed. The changes to these Rules adopt those modifications where necessary.
SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The specific statutory authority of this Rule is located in §§ 35-50-105(3)(h) and (p), C.R.S., which grant authority to the Commissioner of Agriculture, upon approval by the Colorado Agricultural Commission, to adopt rules regarding standards for disease surveillance among and in livestock and standards and requirements for prevention of diseases in livestock.
Purpose
The purpose of this rule-making is to create a waiver process whereby an alternative livestock producer who has monitored his herd for the immediate past 60 months without any indication of CWD within that 60-month time period may apply for a waiver from the requirement to send specimens from every elk or fallow deer that dies on-premises to CSU for testing. The change permits alternative livestock producers to store their collected samples on-site, rather than ship the samples and pay for immediate testing.
The definition of "CWD Surveillance Status" adds the phrase "and retropharyngeal lymph nodes" to "brain specimen" to indicate all the parts of the animal that must be submitted for testing for CWD.
Factual Policy and Issues
The changes in this rule-making came about at the request of producers. The reviewers considered this change, analyzed it in comparison to national standards, and agreed to implement it as a means of reducing economic burden on producers whose under-surveillance herds do not pose a significant threat to future spread of CWD. Additionally, the reviewers conferred with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and received support.
SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The specific statutory authority of this Rule is located in § 35-50-105(3)(h) and (p), C.R.S., which grant authority to the Commissioner of Agriculture, upon approval by the Colorado Agricultural Commission, to adopt rules regarding standards for disease surveillance among and in livestock and standards and requirements for prevention of diseases in livestock.
Purpose
The revisions to these Rules incorporate changes as a result of the Department's Regulatory Efficiency Review Process, as well as the desire by the alternative livestock industry in Colorado to remove the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing requirement for fallow deer and the tuberculosis (TB) testing requirement for in-state animal movement.
Factual and Policy Issues
As of the date of this review, no research has proven that fallow deer can contract CWD under natural conditions. As such, the USDA does not consider fallow deer as a susceptible species and few states require CWD testing of fallow deer. For these reasons, the reviewers removed the requirement for captive fallow deer to be tested for CWD.
CDA received a request to remove the requirement of TB testing or certification prior to in-state movement of alternative livestock. After checking with the states of South Dakota, Utah, and Idaho none of those states requires TB testing prior to in-state movement of animals. Furthermore, CDA does not have any records of TB being transmitted via in-state movement of alternative livestock. For these reasons, the reviewers removed the TB testing or certification requirement prior to in-state movement.
Written comments were received requesting that the requirement in section 1.9 for the USDA Area Veterinarian in Charge to approve the herd plan be removed. Staff reviewed this requirement during the stakeholder process and noted that is included in a Memorandum of Understanding with the USDA and that it is also required in the Code of Federal Regulations.
Specific Purpose of the Rulemaking
In Part 1.2 the reviewers changed the definition of "alternative livestock" to reflect the language in § 35-41.5-102(1) C.R.S.
In Part 1.6, the reviewers updated the definition of "chronic wasting disease" to be consistent with CFR § 81.1.
The reviewers added additional clarification in Part 1.7. to define more clearly "CWD surveillance status."
A new definition of "domesticated elk" was added in Part 1.8. to be able to separate out domesticated elk from fallow deer which are also included in the definition of "alternative livestock". This new definition was needed since fallow deer no longer require CWD testing.
In Part 1.9, the reviewers added that the USDA Area Veterinarian in Charge must also sign herd plans per CFR §55.1 and the joint USDA/CDA Herd Certification Program Memorandum of Understanding.
The definition of "transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)" was removed as this term is only used in the definition of CWD.
In Part 2.1.1, the reviewers changed the term "alternative livestock" to "domesticated elk" indicating that only domesticated elk need to submit samples for CWD testing.
In Part 2.1.2, the reviewers added that all sample results, regardless of result, must be reported to the State Veterinarian's Office.
In Part 3. the reviewers created new categories for interstate import, interstate export, and instate movement to better clarify movement requirements.
In Part 3.1.1, the reviewers added language to clarify that the importing party must obtain a CVI from an accredited veterinarian and an import permit from the Colorado State Veterinarians Office. Previous language could have been misconstrued that the CVI would be obtained from the Colorado State Veterinarian's Office.
In Part 3.1.4, the reviewers updated the USDA Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules to the 2005 edition. Upon further consideration, the reviewers removed the incorporation of other standards deemed by the state veterinarian to be equivalent and noted that Part 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations incorporates only the 1999 edition of the UM&R and that USDA-APHIS had, in 2018, issued VS Bulletin 2018.02 to amend the 1999 edition of the UM&R. Thus, it was determined that the rules should continue to incorporate the 1999 UM&R as well as incorporating the amendment into these rules.
In Part 3.1.7.1.2, the reviewers added that acceptable surveillance shall include source-herd premises information.
The reviewers added Part 3.1.8. clarifying that all import requests must be accompanied by a statement or certificate by the exporting state's animal health official attesting that the herd of origin is Herd Certification Program (HCP) certified as directed by CFR § 81.3.
Part 3.2.1 was added to clarify interstate exports must comply with the UM&R.
The reviewers added Part 5. to establish enrollment requirements of the Herd Certification Program.
8 CCR 1201-17, pt. 10