Texas Administrative Code › Title 4 - AGRICULTURE › Part 2 - TEXAS ANIMAL HEALTH COMMISSION › Chapter 40 - CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE › Section 40.1 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12,
				2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
				  shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
(1) APHIS--The Animal and
				Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.
(2) Approved Laboratory--A
				diagnostic laboratory approved by the United States Department of Agriculture
				(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Administrator to
				conduct official tests for CWD in accordance with
				9 CFR §
										55.8.
(3) Certified CWD Postmortem Sample
				Collector--An individual who has completed appropriate training recognized by
				the commission on the collection, preservation, laboratory submission, and
				proper recordkeeping of samples for postmortem CWD testing, and who has been
				certified by the commission to perform these activities.
(4) Certified Herd--A herd that has reached
				certified status in the CWD Herd Certification Program in §
									40.3 of this chapter (relating to
				CWD Herd Certification Program) or an equivalent state or federal program
				authorized under 9 CFR Part 55.
(5)
				Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)--A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of
				susceptible species. Clinical signs include, but are not limited to, loss of
				body condition, loss of appetite, incoordination, blank stares, tremors,
				listlessness, excessive salivation, difficulty swallowing, increased drinking
				and urination, depression, and other behavioral changes and eventual
				death.
(6) Commingled,
				Commingling--Cervids of any age are commingled when they have direct physical
				contact with each other, have less than 10 feet of physical separation or share
				equipment, pens or stalls, pasture, or water sources/watershed, including
				contact with bodily fluids or excrement from other farmed or captive cervids
				(i.e., indirect contact). Animals are considered to have commingled if they
				have had such direct or indirect contact with a CWD-positive animal or CWD
				contaminated premises within the last five years.
(7) Commission--The Texas Animal Health
				Commission (TAHC).
(8) CWD-Exposed
				Animal--A CWD susceptible species that is part of a CWD-positive herd, or that
				has been commingled with or been exposed to a CWD-positive animal or resided on
				a CWD contaminated premises within five years of the discovery of CWD.
(9) CWD-Positive Animal--An animal
				that has had a diagnosis of CWD established through official confirmatory
				testing conducted by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
(10) CWD-Positive Herd--A herd in which a
				CWD-positive animal resided at the time of CWD diagnosis.
(11) CWD Susceptible Species--All species in
				the Cervidae family that have had a CWD diagnosis confirmed by an official test
				conducted by an approved laboratory. Including but not limited to white-tailed
				deer
(Odocoileus virginianus),
mule deer
(Odocoileus
				hemionus),
black-tailed deer
(Odocoileus hemionus
				columbianus),
North American elk or wapiti
(Cervus
				canadensis),
red deer
(Cervus elaphus),
sika deer
(Cervus nippon),
moose
(Alces alces),
reindeer and caribou
(Rangifer tarandus), (Muntiacus)
and any
				associated subspecies and hybrids.
(12) CWD-Suspect Animal--A CWD susceptible
				species with unofficial CWD test results, laboratory evidence or clinical signs
				that suggest a diagnosis of CWD, as determined by a commission representative,
				but for which official laboratory results are inconclusive or not yet
				conducted.
(13) CWD-Suspect Herd--A
				herd with unofficial CWD test results, laboratory evidence, or clinical signs
				that suggest a diagnosis of CWD, as determined by a commission representative,
				but for which official laboratory results are inconclusive or not yet
				conducted.
(14) CWD-Trace Herd--The
				term includes trace-back, trace-forward, and otherwise epidemiologically linked
				herds. A trace-back herd is any herd that contributed an animal to a
				CWD-positive herd within the five years prior to the diagnosis of CWD in the
				positive herd or is otherwise epidemiologically linked to a CWD-positive herd.
				A trace-forward herd is any herd which has received animals from a CWD-positive
				herd during a five-year period prior to the diagnosis of CWD in the positive
				herd or from the identified date of entry of CWD into the positive herd or is
				otherwise epidemiologically linked to a CWD-positive herd.
(15) Executive Director--The Executive
				Director of the Texas Animal Health Commission.
(16) Farmed or Captive Cervids --Privately or
				publicly maintained or held cervids for economic or other purposes within a
				perimeter fence or confined area, or captured from a free-ranging population
				for interstate or intrastate movement and release.
(17) Herd--A group of cervids that is under
				common ownership, control, or supervision and is grouped on one or more parts
				of any single premises or on two or more geographically separated premises
				where cervids are commingled or have direct or indirect contact with one
				another.
(18) Herd Plan--A written
				herd or premises management agreement developed by the commission, the herd
				owner, and other affected parties. A herd plan sets forth the steps to take to
				control the spread of CWD from a CWD-positive herd, to control the risk of CWD
				in a CWD-exposed herd or CWD-suspect herd, or to prevent introduction of CWD
				into that herd or any other herd.
(19) High-risk area or county--An area or
				county that is epidemiologically determined to have a high probability for
				species susceptible for having, developing or being exposed to CWD.
(20) Hold Order--A written commission order
				and action restricting movement of a herd, animal, or animal product pending
				the determination of CWD status.
(21) Location Identification Number (LID)--A
				nationally unique number assigned by the commission to a premises starting with
				the state postal abbreviation (TX) followed by six random alphanumeric
				characters. Each LID is a geographically distinct location associated with a
				verifiable physical address, geospatial coordinates, or other location
				descriptors.
(22) Official Animal
				Identification--A device or means of animal identification approved by USDA to
				uniquely identify individual animals. The official animal identification must
				include a nationally unique animal identification number that adheres to one of
				the following numbering systems:
(A) National
				Uniform Eartagging System (NUES);
(B) Animal Identification Number
				(AIN);
(C) Premises-based number
				system using a Premises Identification Number (PIN) or Location Identification
				Number (LID) in conjunction with a livestock production numbering system;
				or
(D) Any other numbering system
				approved by the commission for the identification of animals in
				commerce.