603-029-0310 Meat Animals Suspected of Being Diseased or Affected with Certain Conditions; Identifying Suspects; Disposition on Post-Mortem Inspection or Otherwise (1) Any meat animals which, on ante-mortem inspection, do not clearly show, but are suspected of being affected with any disease or condition that, under OAR 603-029-0500 to 603-029-0574, may cause condemnation of the carcass on post-mortem inspection, and any meat animals which show, on ante-mortem inspection, any disease or condition that, under OAR 603-029-0500 to 603-029-0574 would cause condemnation of only part of the carcass on post-mortem inspection, shall be so handled as to retain its identity as a suspect until it is given final post-mortem inspection, when the carcass shall be marked and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0400 to 603-029-0574, or until it is disposed of as otherwise provided in this rule. (2) All seriously crippled meat animals and non-ambulatory disabled meat animals shall be identified as Oregon Suspects and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0500 unless they are required to be classed as condemned under OAR 603-029-0315. Non-ambulatory disabled meat animals are meat animals that cannot rise from a recumbent position or that cannot walk, including, but not limited to, those with broken appendages, severed tendons or ligaments, nerve paralysis, fractured vertebral column, or metabolic conditions. (3) Meat animals which have reacted to a test for leptospirosis, or anaplasmosis, but which show no symptoms of the disease, shall be identified as Oregon Suspects and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0516. (4) Meat animals which are known to have reacted to the tuberculin test shall be identified as Oregon Suspects and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0502, except that meat animals bearing an official “Oregon Reactor” tag shall not be tagged as Oregon Suspects. (5) Any cattle found on ante-mortem inspection to be affected with epithelioma of the eye or of the orbital region to a lesser extent than as described in OAR 603-029-0330 shall be identified as an Oregon Suspect and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0520. (6) Cattle found on ante-mortem inspection to be affected with anasarca to a lesser extent than as described in OAR 603-029-0340 shall be identified as Oregon Suspects and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0512 or section (7) of this rule. (7) Any meat animals suspected of being affected with anasarca may be set apart and held for treatment under Department or other responsible official supervision approved by the State Veterinarian. If at the expiration of the treatment period the meat animal upon examination is found to be free from disease, it may be released for any purpose. Otherwise, it shall be identified as Oregon Suspect and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0512 or condemned and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0340, whichever is appropriate. (8) All hogs suspected on ante-mortem inspection of being affected with swine erysipelas shall be identified as Oregon Suspects and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0507 or section (9) of this rule. (9) A hog suspected of being affected with swine erysipelas may be set apart and held for treatment under Department or other responsible official supervision approved by the State Veterinarian. If at the expiration of the treatment period the meat animal upon examination is found to be free from disease, it may be released for any purpose. Otherwise, it shall be identified as Oregon Suspect and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0507, or condemned and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0365, whichever is appropriate. (10) Any meat animal which is affected with vesicular exanthema or vesicular stomatitis, but which has recovered to the extent that the lesions are in process of healing, the temperature is within normal range, and the meat animal shows a return to normal appetite and activity, shall be identified as Oregon Suspect and disposed of as provided in OAR 603-029-0560, except that if desired, such meat animal may be set apart and held under supervision of a Department employee or other official designated by the State Veterinarian for treatment. If the meat animal is set aside for treatment, the Oregon Suspect identification device will be removed by a Department employee, following such treatment, if the meat animal is found to be free from any such disease. Such meat animal found to be free from any such disease may be released for slaughter or for purposes other than slaughter, provided that in the latter instance, the operator of the state-inspected establishment or the owner of the meat animal shall first obtain permission from the State Veterinarian. (11) Meat animals which are offered for ante-mortem inspection under this division, and which are regarded by the inspector as immature, shall be identified as Oregon Suspects and, if slaughtered, the disposition of their carcasses shall be determined by the post-mortem findings in connection with the ante-mortem conditions. If not slaughtered as suspects, such meat animals shall be held under supervision of a Department employee or other official designated by the State Veterinarian, and after sufficient development may be released for slaughter or may be released for any other purpose, provided they have not been exposed to any infectious or contagious disease. If such exposure occurs, permission should be obtained from the State Veterinarian prior to release of such livestock. (12) Meat animals previously condemned for listeriosis, if released for slaughter under OAR 603-029-0365(2) shall be identified as Oregon Suspect in accordance with OAR 603-029-0365(3). (13) Each meat animal required by OAR 603-029-0300 to 603-029-0395 to be treated as an Oregon Suspect shall be identified as such by or under the supervision of a Department employee with an official device in accordance with OAR 603-029-0390. No such device shall be removed except by a Department employee. (14) Each meat animal identified as an Oregon Suspect on ante-mortem inspection shall be set apart and shall be slaughtered separately from other meat animals at that establishment unless disposed of as otherwise provided in this part. (15) Each meat animal identified as an Oregon Suspect on ante-mortem inspection, when presented for slaughter, shall be accompanied with a form developed by the Department on which the inspector at the establishment shall record the Oregon Suspect identification number and any other identifying tag numbers present and a brief description of the meat animal and of the disease or condition for which the meat animal was classed as a suspect, including its temperature when the temperature of such meat animal might have a bearing on the disposition of the carcass on post-mortem inspection. (16) When any meat animal identified as an Oregon Suspect is released for any purpose or reason, as provided in OAR 603-029-0300 to 603-029-0395, the official identification device shall be removed only by a Department employee, who shall report that action to a supervisor. When a suspect is to be released under the provisions of OAR 603-029-0300 to 603-029-0395 for a purpose other than slaughter, the operator of the state-inspected establishment or the owner of the meat animal shall first obtain permission for the removal of such meat animal from the State Veterinarian. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 603.085, ORS 616.700, ORS 619.042 & ORS 619.046 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 619.042, ORS 619.046, ORS 603.059, ORS 603.065 & ORS 619.026 History: DOA 19-2022, adopt filed 07/27/2022, effective 07/28/2022