Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 3 - DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION › Division 10 - Conservation Commission › Chapter 9 - Wildlife Code: Confined Wildlife: Privileges, Permits, Standards › Section 3 CSR 10-9.220 - Wildlife Confinement Standards

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: These amendments require any person holding
				  wildlife in confinement under permit to report all wildlife escapes immediately
				  to a conservation agent, changes the term "captive" to "confined" for most
				  references to wildlife, and modifies confinement standards for certain species
				  of wildlife held in confinement. It also reflects the creation of a Class III
				  Wildlife Breeder Permit for certain cervids currently held under Class I and II
				  Wildlife Breeder Permits. Finally, the amendments remove circuses, bona fide
				  research facilities, and fur farms from the current exemption for compliance
				  with confinement standards.
This amendment provides for clarification of the rule with
				  respect to wildlife. The Conservation Commission has constitutional authority
				  over all bird, fish, game, forestry, and wildlife resources of the
				  state.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a disease that infects deer
				  and other members of the deer family. It is transmitted by prions, which are
				  abnormal proteins that attack the nervous system, and is always fatal to the
				  infected animal. CWD is spread both directly from deer to deer and indirectly
				  to deer from infected soil and other surfaces. CWD prions accumulate in the
				  brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, and lymph nodes of infected animals. Once
				  well established in an area, CWD is impossible to eradicate. States with CWD
				  must focus on limiting the spread of the disease and preventing its
				  introduction to new areas. CWD could substantially reduce infected cervid
				  populations by lowering adult survival rates and destabilizing long-term
				  population dynamics.
Infectious diseases such as CWD threaten Missouri's deer
				  herd, Missouri's nearly five hundred and twenty thousand (520,000) deer
				  hunters, millions of wildlife watchers, thousands of landowners, twelve
				  thousand (12,000) Missouri jobs, and hundreds of businesses and communities
				  that depend on the approximately one (1) billion dollars boost in economic
				  activity related to deer hunting and watching.
There is currently no approved live animal test for CWD,
				  tests can only be performed on dead animals. Additionally, there is a lag-time
				  between infection and detection based on current methods. Therefore, it is not
				  possible to determine the disease status of individual animals. The current
				  federal CWD-herd certification program is simply a means of reducing risk by
				  monitoring a herd by testing for disease in animals from a herd that die. It
				  does not indicate a disease-free status for any herd; it only establishes a
				  level of risk associated with each particular herd. Consequently, it is crucial
				  to reduce the risk of infection and spreading of the disease. This regulation
				  is intended to reduce the spread of CWD and other diseases by limiting deer to
				  deer contact through more effective barriers between captive and free-ranging
				  deer.
The first two (2) cases of CWD in Missouri were found in 2010
				  and 2011 at two (2) private big-game hunting preserves in Linn and Macon
				  counties. Following those discoveries, the first two (2) cases of CWD in
				  free-ranging deer were confirmed in 2012 in northwest Macon County. To date,
				  Missouri's confirmed cases of CWD total eleven ( 11 ) in captive deer from the
				  private hunting preserves and ten (10) in free-ranging deer harvested in Macon
				  County.
Movement of animals between captive facilities elevates the
				  risk of further spreading the disease to new areas of the state. Initial
				  reports of CWD outbreaks in numerous states, including Missouri, have occurred
				  at captive breeding sites. In the past nine (9) years, the number of states
				  with confirmed CWD in free-ranging deer and elk has nearly doubled from eight
				  (8) to fifteen (15). In captive herds, CWD has expanded from twenty-seven (27)
				  to thirty-nine (39) in captive elk herds and from two (2) to seventeen (17) in
				  captive deer herds. Once CWD has been identified in a state, the documentation
				  of CWD in both captive and free-ranging animals indicates that disease
				  transmission has occurred between those groups of animals.
Current fencing standards are not sufficient to eliminate the
				  risk of captive cervid escapes from captive facilities or the possibility of
				  deer to deer contact through the fence. Approximately one hundred fifty (150)
				  escaped cervids have been reported by breeding and big game hunting preserve
				  facilities to the Missouri Department of Conservation over the last three (3)
				  years. Published research from Michigan suggests that double fencing will
				  reduce direct contact between free-ranging and captive cervids via escapes and
				  nose to nose contact, and will likely reduce risk of transmission through
				  indirect routes (VerCauteren, Kurt C., et al. 2007. Fence-Line Contact Between
				  Wild and Farmed White-Tailed Deer in Michigan: Potential for Disease
				  Transmission. The Journal of Wildlife Management 71:1603-1606).
The proposed amendment exempts facilities currently permitted
				  by the department to hold cervids from the new fencing standards. A newly
				  permitted facility or an existing facility permitted by the department to hold
				  cervids which expands the current perimeter fence of that facility will be
				  required to comply with the new fencing standards. The department listened to
				  comments from breeders during public meetings in 2013 that the fencing
				  standards (double fencing with the perimeter fence at ten (10) feet) would be
				  too onerous for existing facilities. The proposed amendment represents a
				  compromise that still provides risk management for the future, while
				  considering the burden on current facilitates.
Class I and Class II Wildlife Breeder Permits are also used
				  by auction houses and other businesses that serve as "brokers" for cervids that
				  are bought and sold. Many animals may move through facilities owned by these
				  businesses and may be held in confined areas that have recently held animals
				  from herds of variable disease status. Existing Wildlife Breeder Permit
				  regulations were not designed to address such operations and may not adequately
				  describe the conditions under which these businesses should be operated.
(1) Cages, pens, or other enclosures for
				confining wildlife shall be well braced, securely fastened to the floor or
				ground, covered with a top as required, and constructed with material of
				sufficient strength to prevent escape. Animals may not be released to the wild
				and must be confined at all times in cages, pens, or enclosures except in lead
				or drag races, or birds held under a falconry permit or as otherwise permitted
				in this chapter. Except for unweaned young, Class II wildlife and bobcat,
				American badger, coyote, red fox, and gray fox may not roam freely anywhere
				within a residence or inhabited dwelling. The following requirements shall be
				met:
(A) Any person holding any wildlife in
				confinement under permit within the provision of this chapter shall report all
				escapes immediately to a conservation agent;
(B) Clean drinking water shall be available in
				adequate amounts at all times. Semiaquatic animals, such as beaver and muskrat,
				shall be provided a pool of sufficient water depth for the animal to completely
				submerge;
(C) A shelter shall be
				provided for security and protection from inclement weather. Shade or an
				overhead structure shall be provided in warm seasons;
(D) Confined wildlife shall be fed daily or as
				required with a diet appropriate to the species and the age, size, and
				condition of the animal. Feeding containers shall be kept clean and uneaten
				food removed within a reasonable time;
(E) Animal wastes shall be removed daily and disposed
				of properly. If bedding is provided, it shall be cleaned out and replaced every
				two (2) weeks;
(F) Facilities for
				holding captive-reared migratory waterfowl must be designed to prevent escape
				to surrounding properties and managed to prevent contact with non-captive
				migratory waterfowl. Captive-reared mallard ducks may be temporarily released
				for flight exercise beginning one (1) hour after sunrise. Facilities must be
				designed to re-capture such ducks, and a reasonable effort must be made to
				re-capture them by one (1) hour after sunset each day; and
(G) Captive-reared mallard ducks must be physically
				marked prior to six (6) weeks of age by removal of the hind toe from the right
				foot, or by tattooing of a readily discernible number or letter or combination
				thereof on the web of one (1) foot. Other captive-reared migratory waterfowl
				must be physically marked prior to six (6) weeks of age by at least one (1) of
				the following methods and as provided in federal regulations:
1. Removal of the hind toe from the right
				foot;
2. Pinioning of a wing;
				provided that this method shall be the removal of the metacarpal bones of one
				(1) wing or a portion of the metacarpal bones which renders the bird
				permanently incapable of flight;
3.
				Banding of one (1) metatarsus with a seamless metal band; and
4. Tattooing of a readily discernible number
				or letter or combination thereof on the web of one (1) foot.
NOTE: For federal regulations on migratory waterfowl, see
				  Title 50, Parts 20 and 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.