1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to agriculture; allowing the importation of live Cervidae to certain 
1.3 	accredited facilities;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 35.155, subdivision 
1.4 	12.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 35.155, subdivision 12, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subd. 12.Importation. (a) A person must not import live Cervidae into the state from 
1.8 	a state or province where chronic wasting disease has been detected in the farmed or wild 
1.9 	cervid population in the last five years unless the animal has tested not detected for chronic 
1.10 	wasting disease with a validated live-animal test.
1.11 	(b) Live Cervidae or Cervidae semen must originate from a herd that has been subject 
1.12 	to a state-, federal-, or provincial-approved chronic wasting disease herd certification program 
1.13 	and that has reached a status equivalent to the highest certification.
1.14 	(c) Cervidae imported in violation of this section may be seized and destroyed by the 
1.15 	commissioner of natural resources.
1.16 	(d) This subdivision does not apply to the interstate transfer of animals between two 
1.17 	facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums or between a facility 
1.18 	accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and a facility that:
1.19 	(1) is a United States Department of Agriculture-licensed exhibitor of regulated animals;
1.20 	(2) houses animals owned by institutions accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium 
1.21 	Association; and
1.22 	(3) participates in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association Species Survival Plan.
2.1 	(e) Notwithstanding this subdivision, the commissioner of natural resources may issue 
2.2 	a permit allowing the importation of orphaned wild cervid species that are not susceptible 
2.3 	to chronic wasting disease from another state to an Association of Zoos and Aquariums 
2.4 	accredited institution in Minnesota following a joint risk-based assessment conducted by 
2.5 	the commissioner and the institution.