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AN ACT relating to cervids. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 150.740 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) There shall be a ban on the importation of live members of the animal family 4
Cervidae into the Commonwealth that have not been subject to a program of 5
surveillance and identification for cervid chronic wasting disease (CWD) that meets 6
or exceeds: 7
(a) The requirements of the Kentucky Cervid CWD Surveillance and 8
Identification (CCWDSI) Program set forth in this section and in 9
administrative regulations promulgated by the Kentucky Department of 10
Agriculture; and 11
(b) Any other health requirements as regulated by the Kentucky Department of 12
Agriculture or the United States Department of Agriculture for cervids. 13
(2) The Kentucky Department of Agriculture shall be responsible for authorizing 14
importation of the members of the animal family Cervidae into the Commonwealth 15
that have been subject to a program of surveillance and identification for cervid 16
CWD that meets or exceeds: 17
(a) The requirements of the Kentucky CCWDSI Program set forth in this section 18
and in administrative regulations promulgated by the Kentucky Department of 19
Agriculture; and 20
(b) Any other health requirements as regulated by the Kentucky Department of 21
Agriculture or the United States Department of Agriculture for cervids. 22
(3) Members of the animal family Cervidae shall not be eligible for importation into 23
the Commonwealth unless the program of surveillance and identification for cervid 24
CWD to which they have been subject: 25
(a) Has been certified by the exporting state's state veterinarian or agency having 26
jurisdiction over that state's surveillance and identification program; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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(b) Has been approved by the Kentucky state veterinarian as meeting or 1
exceeding the standards imposed under the Kentucky CCWDSI Program; and 2
(c) Meets, at minimum, the following requirements: 3
1. The program shall require cervid owners to obtain identification and 4
laboratory diagnosis from brain tissue as directed by the exporting 5
state's state veterinarian or agency with jurisdiction for cervids twelve 6
(12) months of age or greater that: 7
a. Display clinical signs of CWD; 8
b. Die, including deaths by slaughter or by hunting, including 9
hunting on hunting preserves; or 10
c. Are ill or injured regardless of whether the illness or injury results 11
in death; and 12
2. The program shall require cervid owners to obtain cervids from herds 13
that have been monitored for at least five (5) years and that have 14
complied with the standards contained in the Kentucky CCWDSI 15
Program. 16
(4) Cervids originating from a state that has reported a confirmed case of CWD in wild 17
or captive cervids shall not be imported into Kentucky until The United States 18
Department of Agriculture approves: 19
(a) Regulations that allow importation from those states; and 20
(b) A live test for CWD that is available for live testing of cervids. 21
(5) Importation of members of the animal family Cervidae into the Commonwealth 22
shall be consistent with this section and with administrative regulations 23
promulgated by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the 24
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. 25
(6) A person shall be guilty of a Class D felony upon conviction for violating this 26
section. Upon conviction of a second violation of this section and in addition to all 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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other penalties, a person shall be permanently ineligible for renewal of a captive 1
cervid permit. On or before November 1 of each year, the Department of Fish and 2
Wildlife Resources and the Department of Agriculture, Office of the State 3
Veterinarian, respectively shall issue reports to the Interim Joint Committee on 4
Agriculture and the Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and 5
Environment on the status of chronic wasting disease, and the reports may include 6
the status of other animal or wildlife diseases in Kentucky and the United States. 7
The reports shall be used for the purpose of determining the need for modifications 8
to the statutory ban on the importation of cervids into the Commonwealth. 9
(7) The Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources shall have the authority to 10
immediately, and without compensation to the owner, seize captive cervids that 11
have been imported into the Commonwealth contrary to this section. The individual 12
whose cervids were seized may request an administrative hearing pursuant to KRS 13
Chapter 13B within thirty (30) days of the department's seizure and may appeal the 14
final decision to Franklin Circuit Court in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B. 15
Pending the final outcome of all appeals, the seized cervids may be disposed of by 16
the department without compensation to the owner. 17
(8) The department shall have the authority to immediately, and without compensation 18
to the owner, seize and destroy captive cervids that are in the process of being 19
imported into the Commonwealth contrary to this section. 20
(9) A captive cervid originating from outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky which is 21
in transit, as defined in KRS 150.725 and which is being transported through the 22
Commonwealth to another state or nation of destination shall meet the entry 23
requirements of the state or nation of destination. 24
(10) A person intending to transport a captive cervid through Kentucky shall, prior to the 25
captive cervid entering Kentucky, obtain a transportation permit from the Office of 26
the State Veterinarian. This permit shall specify that: 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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(a) A captive cervid being transported through Kentucky shall not remain in 1
Kentucky for more than twenty-four (24) hours from the time of entry and, if 2
this requirement cannot be met once the animal is in Kentucky, the Office of 3
the State Veterinarian shall be contacted to secure a variance to the permit; 4
(b) A captive cervid being transported through Kentucky shall not leave the 5
transport vehicle while in Kentucky; and 6
(c) The person transporting the captive cervid through Kentucky shall follow the 7
routes specified in the transport permit, if this requirement cannot be met once 8
the animal is in Kentucky, the Office of the State Veterinarian shall be 9
contacted to secure a variance to the permit. 10
(11) (a) A county that encompasses any portion of a thirty (30) mile radius from a 11
CWD positive detection shall be designated a CWD surveillance zone. 12
(b) Except as provided in subsection (14) of this section, it shall be unlawful to 13
export outside of any CWD surveillance zone any portion of a cervid 14
carcass where a cervid has tested positive for CWD using 15
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing. 16
(c) Any county that encompasses less than ten percent (10%) of that radius 17
shall be exempt from the prohibition in paragraph (b) of this subsection. 18
(12) (a) A county that encompasses any portion of a thirty (30) mile radius from a 19
CWD positive detection shall be designated a CWD surveillance zone. 20
(b) Except as provided in subsection (14) of this section, it shall be unlawful to 21
export any wild cervid outside of any CWD surveillance zone where a wild 22
cervid has tested positive for CWD using immunohistochemistry (IHC) 23
testing. 24
(c) Any county that encompasses less than ten percent (10%) of that radius 25
shall be exempt from the prohibition in paragraph (b) of this subsection. 26
(13) Except as provided in subsection (14) of this section, it shall be unlawful to export 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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any captive cervid outside of an area that encompasses any portion of a ten (10) 1
mile radius from a CWD positive captive cervid facility. 2
(14) Subsections (11) to (13) of this section shall not apply to the following: 3
(a) Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, or cleaned skulls where no 4
tissue is attached to the skull; 5
(b) Cleaned teeth; 6
(c) Finished taxidermy and antler products; 7
(d) Hides and tanned products; 8
(e) Boneless meat; and 9
(f) Tissue collected and handled by an agent of the state for the purposes of 10
CWD testing as required by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife 11
Resources and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. 12
(15) Subsection (13) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the breeding of 13
captive cervids if the breeding occurs inside the facility in which the captive 14
cervids are housed and every captive cervid is tagged in accordance with 15
administrative regulations promulgated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and 16
Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. 17
(16) The provisions of subsections (11) to (14) of this section shall remain in effect for 18
a period of five (5) years from the latest CWD positive detection in an area 19
identified as CWD positive and shall only expire when the area has remained 20
CWD free for the entirety of a five (5) year period. 21
(17) The provisions of subsections (11) to (14) of this section shall not apply to any 22
CWD positive detections prior to the effective date of this Act. 23
Section 2. KRS 257.550 is amended to read as follows: 24
(1) There shall be a ban on the importation of live members of the animal family 25
Cervidae into the Commonwealth that have not been subject to a program of 26
surveillance and identification for cervid chronic wasting disease (CWD) that meets 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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or exceeds: 1
(a) The requirements of the Kentucky Cervid CWD Surveillance and 2
Identification (CCWDSI) Program set forth in this section and in 3
administrative regulations promulgated by the Kentucky Department of 4
Agriculture; and 5
(b) Any other health requirements as regulated by the Kentucky Department of 6
Agriculture or the United States Department of Agriculture for cervids. 7
(2) The Kentucky Department of Agriculture shall be responsible for authorizing 8
importation of the members of the animal family Cervidae into the Commonwealth 9
that have been subject to a program of surveillance and identification for cervid 10
CWD that meets or exceeds: 11
(a) The requirements of the Kentucky CCWDSI Program set forth in this section 12
and in administrative regulations promulgated by the Kentucky Department of 13
Agriculture; and 14
(b) Any other health requirements as regulated by the Kentucky Department of 15
Agriculture or the United States Department of Agriculture for cervids. 16
(3) Members of the animal family Cervidae shall not be eligible for importation into 17
the Commonwealth unless the program of surveillance and identification for cervid 18
CWD to which they have been subject: 19
(a) Has been certified by the exporting state's state veterinarian or agency having 20
jurisdiction over that state's surveillance and identification program; 21
(b) Has been approved by the Kentucky state veterinarian as meeting or 22
exceeding the standards imposed under the Kentucky CCWDSI Program; and 23
(c) Meets, at a minimum, the following requirements: 24
1. The program shall require cervid owners to obtain identification and 25
laboratory diagnosis from brain tissue as directed by the exporting 26
state's state veterinarian or agency with jurisdiction for cervids twelve 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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(12) months of age or greater that: 1
a. Display clinical signs of CWD; 2
b. Die, including deaths by slaughter or by hunting, including 3
hunting on hunting preserves; or 4
c. Are ill or injured, regardless of whether the illness or injury results 5
in death; and 6
2. The program shall require cervid owners to obtain cervids from herds 7
that have been monitored for at least five (5) years and that have 8
complied with the standards contained in the Kentucky CCWDSI 9
Program. 10
(4) Cervids originating from a state that has reported a confirmed case of CWD in wild 11
or captive cervids shall not be imported into Kentucky until the United States 12
Department of Agriculture approves: 13
(a) Regulations that allow importation from states with confirmed cases of CWD; 14
and 15
(b) A live test for CWD that is available for live testing of cervids. 16
(5) Importation of members of the animal family Cervidae into the Commonwealth 17
shall be consistent with this section and with administrative regulations 18
promulgated by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the 19
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. 20
(6) (a) A county that encompasses any portion of a thirty (30) mile radius from a 21
CWD positive detection shall be designated a CWD surveillance zone. 22
(b) Except as provided in subsection (9) of this section, it shall be unlawful to 23
export outside of any CWD surveillance zone any portion of a cervid 24
carcass where a cervid has tested positive for CWD using 25
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing. 26
(c) Any county that encompasses less than ten percent (10%) of that radius 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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shall be exempt from the prohibition in paragraph (b) of this subsection. 1
(7) (a) A county that encompasses any portion of a thirty (30) mile radius from a 2
CWD positive detection shall be designated a CWD surveillance zone. 3
(b) Except as provided in subsection (9) of this section, it shall be unlawful to 4
export any wild cervid outside of any CWD surveillance zone where a wild 5
cervid has tested positive for CWD using immunohistochemistry (IHC) 6
testing. 7
(c) Any county that encompasses less than ten percent (10%) of that radius 8
shall be exempt from the prohibition in paragraph (b) of this subsection. 9
(8) Except as provided in subsection (9) of this section, it shall be unlawful to export 10
any captive cervid outside of an area that encompasses any portion of a ten (10) 11
mile radius from a CWD positive captive cervid facility. 12
(9) Subsections (6) to (8) of this section shall not apply to the following: 13
(a) Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, or cleaned skulls where no 14
tissue is attached to the skull; 15
(b) Cleaned teeth; 16
(c) Finished taxidermy and antler products; 17
(d) Hides and tanned products; 18
(e) Boneless meat; and 19
(f) Tissue collected and handled by an agent of the state for the purposes of 20
CWD testing as required by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife 21
Resources and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. 22
(10) Subsection (8) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the breeding of 23
captive cervids if the breeding occurs inside the facility in which the captive 24
cervids are housed and every captive cervid is tagged in accordance with 25
administrative regulations promulgated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and 26
Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 447
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(11) The provisions of subsections (6) to (8) of this section shall remain in effect for a 1
period of five (5) years from the latest CWD positive detection in an area 2
identified as CWD positive and shall only expire when the area has remained 3
CWD free for the entirety of a five (5) year period. 4
(12) The provisions of subsections (6) to (8) of this section shall not apply to any CWD 5
positive detections prior to the effective date of this Act. 6