HF 2814

1st Engrossment - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/28/2022 06:41pm

A bill for an act
relating to animal health; modifying requirements for certain owners of farmed
Cervidae; requiring live-animal testing for chronic wasting disease; transferring
certain duties from the Board of Animal Health to the commissioner of natural
resources; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section
35.155, subdivisions 1, 4, 6, 10, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2021
Supplement, section 35.155, subdivision 11.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 35.155, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Running at large prohibited.

(a) An owner may not allow farmed
Cervidae to run at large. The owner must make all reasonable efforts to return escaped
farmed Cervidae to their enclosures as soon as possible. The owner must new text begin immediately new text end notify
the commissioner of natural resources of the escape of farmed Cervidae if the farmed
Cervidae are not returned or captured by the owner within 24 hours of their escape.

(b) An owner is liable for expenses of another person in capturing, caring for, and
returning farmed Cervidae that have left their enclosures if the person capturing the farmed
Cervidae contacts the owner as soon as possible.

(c) If an owner is unwilling or unable to capture escaped farmed Cervidae, the
commissioner of natural resources may destroy the escaped farmed Cervidae. The
commissioner of natural resources must allow the owner to attempt to capture the escaped
farmed Cervidae prior to destroying the farmed Cervidae. Farmed Cervidae that are not
captured by 24 hours after escape may be destroyed.

new text begin (d) A hunter licensed by the commissioner of natural resources under chapter 97A may
kill and possess escaped farmed Cervidae in a lawful manner and is not liable to the owner
for the loss of the animal.
new text end

new text begin (e) Escaped farmed Cervidae killed by a hunter or destroyed by the commissioner of
natural resources must be tested for chronic wasting disease at the owner's expense.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective September 1, 2022.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 35.155, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Fencing.

Farmed Cervidae must be confined in a manner designed to prevent
escape. new text begin Except as provided in subdivision 4a, new text end all perimeter fences for farmed Cervidae must
be at least 96 inches in height and be constructed and maintained in a way that prevents the
escape of farmed Cervidae deleted text begin or deleted text end new text begin , new text end entry into the premises by free-roaming Cervidae new text begin , and physical
contact between farmed Cervidae and free-roaming Cervidae new text end . deleted text begin After July 1, 2019, deleted text end All new
fencing installed and all fencing used to repair deficiencies must be high tensile. deleted text begin By
December 1, 2019, deleted text end All entry areas for farmed Cervidae enclosure areas must have two
redundant gates, which must be maintained to prevent the escape of animals through an
open gate. If a fence deficiency allows entry or exit by farmed or wild Cervidae, the owner
must repair the deficiency within a reasonable time, as determined by the Board of Animal
Health, not to exceed 45 days. If a fence deficiency is detected during an inspection, the
facility must be reinspected at least once in the subsequent three months. The farmed
Cervidae owner must pay a reinspection fee equal to one-half the applicable annual inspection
fee under subdivision 7a for each reinspection related to a fence violation. If the facility
experiences more than one escape incident in any six-month period or fails to correct a
deficiency found during an inspection, the board may revoke the facility's registration and
order the owner to remove or destroy the animals as directed by the board. If the board
revokes a facility's registration, the commissioner of natural resources may seize and destroy
animals at the facility.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective September 1, 2023.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 35.155, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4a. new text end

new text begin Fencing; commercial herds. new text end

new text begin In addition to the requirements in subdivision
4, commercially farmed white-tailed deer must be confined by two or more perimeter fences,
with each perimeter fence at least 120 inches in height.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective September 1, 2023.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 35.155, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Identification.

(a) Farmed Cervidae must be identified by means approved by
the Board of Animal Health. The identification must include a distinct number that has not
been used during the previous three years and must be visible to the naked eye during
daylight under normal conditions at a distance of 50 yards. new text begin The identification for white-tailed
deer must also include contact information with a phone number or address that enables the
reader to readily identify the owner of escaped deer. This contact information does not need
to be visible from a distance of 50 yards. new text end White-tailed deer must be identified before October
31 of the year in which the animal is born, at the time of weaning, or before movement from
the premises, whichever occurs first. Elk and other cervids must be identified by December
31 of the year in which the animal is born or before movement from the premises, whichever
occurs first. As coordinated by the board, the commissioner of natural resources may destroy
any animal that is not identified as required under this subdivision.

(b) The Board of Animal Health shall register farmed Cervidae. The owner must submit
the registration request on forms provided by the board. The forms must include sales
receipts or other documentation of the origin of the Cervidae. The board must provide copies
of the registration information to the commissioner of natural resources upon request. The
owner must keep written records of the acquisition and disposition of registered farmed
Cervidae.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective September 1, 2023.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 35.155, subdivision 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 10.

Mandatory registration.

(a) A person may not possess live Cervidae in
Minnesota unless the person is registered with the Board of Animal Health and meets all
the requirements for farmed Cervidae under this section. Cervidae possessed in violation
of this subdivision may be seized and destroyed by the commissioner of natural resources.

(b) A person whose registration is revoked by the board is ineligible for future registration
under this section unless the board determines that the person has undertaken measures that
make future escapes extremely unlikely.

new text begin (c) The board must not allow new registrations under this section for possessing
white-tailed deer.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2021 Supplement, section 35.155, subdivision 11, is amended
to read:

Subd. 11.

Mandatory surveillance for chronic wasting disease; depopulation.

(a)
An inventory for each farmed Cervidae herd must be verified by an accredited veterinarian
and filed with the Board of Animal Health every 12 months.

(b) Movement of farmed Cervidae from any premises to another location must be reported
to the Board of Animal Health within 14 days of the movement on forms approved by the
Board of Animal Health. new text begin A person must not move farmed white-tailed deer from any premises
to another location.
new text end

(c) All animals from farmed Cervidae herds that are over 12 months of age that die or
are slaughtered must be tested for chronic wasting disease.

(d) The owner of a premises where chronic wasting disease is detected must:

new text begin (1) allow and cooperate with inspections of the premises as determined by the Board of
Animal Health and Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and wildlife
managers;
new text end

deleted text begin (1) deleted text end new text begin (2) new text end depopulate the premises of Cervidae after the federal indemnification process
has been completed or, if an indemnification application is not submitted, within a reasonable
time determined by the board in consultation with the commissioner of natural resources;

deleted text begin (2) deleted text end new text begin (3) new text end maintain the fencing required under deleted text begin subdivision deleted text end new text begin subdivisions new text end 4 new text begin and 4a new text end on the
premises for deleted text begin five deleted text end new text begin ten new text end years after the date of detection; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end new text begin (4) new text end post the fencing on the premises with biohazard signs as directed by the board deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end

new text begin (5) not raise farmed Cervidae on the premises for at least ten years;
new text end

new text begin (6) prior to any sale or transfer of the premises, test the soil for evidence of chronic
wasting disease using a method approved by the board and report the results to the board;
and
new text end

new text begin (7) record with the county recorder or registrar of titles a notice, in the form required by
the board, that includes the location and legal description of the premises, the date of
detection, the date of depopulation, the landowner requirements under this paragraph, and
any other information required by the board.
new text end

new text begin (e) The Board of Animal Health must treat a state with chronic wasting disease in its
wild Cervidae or farmed Cervidae populations as a chronic wasting disease endemic area.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin WHITE-TAILED DEER TESTING REQUIRED; CHRONIC WASTING
DISEASE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Live-animal testing. new text end

new text begin No later than October 1, 2022, an owner of farmed
white-tailed deer registered with the Board of Animal Health under Minnesota Statutes,
section 35.155, must have each farmed white-tailed deer tested for chronic wasting disease
using a real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) test and report the results to the
Board of Animal Health in the form required by the board. If a white-tailed deer tests
positive, the owner must have the animal tested a second time using an RT-QuIC test.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Postmortem testing. new text end

new text begin If a farmed white-tailed deer tests positive twice under
subdivision 1, the owner must have the animal destroyed and tested for chronic wasting
disease using a postmortem test approved by the Board of Animal Health.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Herd depopulation. new text end

new text begin If a farmed white-tailed deer tests positive for chronic
wasting disease under subdivision 2, the owner must depopulate the premises of farmed
Cervidae as required under Minnesota Statutes, section 35.155.
new text end

Sec. 8. new text begin TRANSFER OF DUTIES; FARMED CERVIDAE.
new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the responsibilities for administering and
enforcing the statutes and rules listed in clauses (1) and (2) are transferred pursuant to
Minnesota Statutes, section 15.039, from the Board of Animal Health to the commissioner
of natural resources:
new text end

new text begin (1) Minnesota Statutes, sections 35.153 and 35.155; and
new text end

new text begin (2) Minnesota Rules, parts 1721.0370 to 1721.0420.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 15.039, subdivision 7, the transfer of
personnel will not take place. The commissioner of natural resources must contract with
the Board of Animal Health for any veterinary services required to administer this program.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 9. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $250,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the Board of Animal
Health for purposes of section 7. The board must issue a request for proposal for the RT-QuIC
testing required. This is a onetime appropriation.
new text end

Sec. 10. new text begin REVISOR INSTRUCTION.
new text end

new text begin The revisor of statutes must recodify the relevant sections in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
35, and Minnesota Rules, chapter 1721, as necessary to conform with section 8. The revisor
must also change the responsible agency, remove obsolete language, and make necessary
cross-reference changes consistent with section 8 and the renumbering.
new text end