Privileges of Class III Wildlife Breeders

PURPOSE: This rule establishes the privileges and requirements for Class III wildlife breeders. (1) Except as otherwise provided in 3 CSR 10-9.352, Class III wildlife may be propagated, bought, sold, reared, or held in captivity by the holder of the appropriate Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit only at the specific location identified on the permit. Applicants for a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit must qualify with a score of at least eighty percent (80%) on a written examination provided by the department to test their knowledge of these regulations. The privileges and requirements of this rule shall apply only to those species (including their hybrids) listed on the Approved Confined Wildlife Species List in 3 CSR 10-9.105 for Class III Wildlife Breeders. (2) Such Class III wildlife shall be moved, transported, or received by the holder of Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit in accordance with the following: (A) Only the holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit with movement qualified status may receive or move permitted Class III wildlife within and outside of the state; in addition to any certificates required by the importing state. Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit holders will attain and maintain movement-qualified status if they—1) maintain a complete and accurate inventory (including identification requirements) as required in this chapter, 2) conduct Chronic Wasting Disease testing as required in this chapter, and 3) maintain all fences as required in this chapter. The holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit will lose movement qualified status if, after issuance of a notice of discrepancy by the department specifying the violation of any of the requirements in this section, the permit holder fails to correct the deficiency within thirty (30) days. Movement qualified status will be reinstated when the permit holder receives notice from the department that the discrepancy has been corrected; (B) Class III wildlife transported within the state must be accompanied by a Movement Certificate issued by the department prior to movement and transported on the date specified on the Movement Certificate for transfer. The Movement Certificate must be complete, accurate, and contain the official identification, age, gender, species, complete address of both the origin and destination, complete name and address of both the buyer and seller, and the permit numbers of all parties to the transaction. The original Movement Certificate must accompany the shipment. A complete copy showing acceptance of the shipment by the buyer shall be submitted to the department within fourteen (14) days of shipment, and a copy shall be maintained by the herd of origin for at least five (5) years, unless otherwise documented in a department-provided database. Movement of Class III wildlife within the state may only occur between movement-qualified Class III breeders or from movement-qualified Class III breeders to hunt-qualified licensed big game hunting preserves; and (C) Movement of any Class III wildlife without an approved Movement Certificate or maintaining non-movement qualified status for over ninety (90) days, except as otherwise provided, shall be sufficient cause for permit suspension or revocation. (3) Applications for a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit may be granted after satisfactory evidence by the applicant that stock will be secured from a legal source that is the holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit with movement-qualified status; that the applicant will confine the wildlife in facilities that meet the standards specified in 3 CSR 10-9.220; and that the applicant will prevent all other hoofed wildlife from becoming part of the enterprise. Any person applying for a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit shall complete an application involving an on-site inspection by a conservation agent of the area prior to and following construction activities to determine that all provisions of this rule are met before a permit is issued. (4) The holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit may not hunt its stock but may kill animals within its herd for purposes of herd management only with written authorization from a conservation agent. (5) The holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit shall report escaped or otherwise missing animals or the entry of any freeranging animals immediately to a conservation agent. (6) Animal identification requirements for Class III wildlife. (A) All permitted Class III wildlife must be identified with two (2) unique animal identification numbers for each animal. One (1) of the animal identification numbers must be from the United States Department of Agriculture-approved animal identification numbering system that uniquely identifies individual animals. The second animal identification number must be a dangle tag that is unique for the individual animal within the herd and linked to the same animal and herd. The unique animal identification numbers may be used on two (2) separate identification devices on the same animal to fulfill the identification requirements. (B) Natural additions to the herd must be identified by March 31 each year. At least one (1) animal identification device must be visible or readable from a distance during herd inventories. (C) Removal of official identification devices is prohibited, unless otherwise approved by the state wildlife veterinarian. (7) Testing requirements for Class III wildlife. (A) For purposes of this section, an eligible mortality means any mortality of a cervid at least twelve (12) months of age. The permit holder must test all eligible mortalities for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Samples must be collected by an accredited veterinarian or department-certified collector. Samples must be submitted to a diagnostic laboratory approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for CWD testing within thirty (30) days of death. For purposes of this section, an ante-mortem CWD test is not valid unless it is performed by an accredited veterinarian on retropharyngeal lymph node, rectal mucosa, or tonsillar tissue with at least six (6) lymphoid follicles submitted within thirty (30) days of collection on an animal that is at least eighteen (18) months of age and has not been a source of ante-mortem testing within the prior twenty-four (24) months. The department reserves the right to require additional sampling and testing during disease investigations or morbidity/mortality events. (B) At least eighty percent (80%) of samples submitted during the permit year must produce valid results by the diagnostic laboratory. To be considered a sample that produced a valid result, the sample must have been suitable, testable, and not rejected for any other reason. If less than eighty percent (80%) of samples are valid, then the permit holder must provide sufficient replacement samples to achieve this requirement. Replacement samples may consist of either post-mortem sample(s) at a one to one (1:1) ratio taken from other animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility, if possible; or antemortem samples at a three to one (3:1) ratio taken from other animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility, if possible; or valid post-mortem sample results obtained from a licensed big game hunting preserve for any cervid that can be traced to the Class III permit holder’s facility within the past twelve (12) months. (C) Class III wildlife breeders possessing more than ten (10) cervids on March 31 of any year must submit a minimum number of valid CWD sample(s) during the subsequent twelve (12) months (April 1 to March 31 of the following year). The minimum sample requirement equals the number of cervids on March 31 multiplied by two and five tenths percent (2.5%), with the result rounded up. If valid samples submitted during this period do not meet the minimum requirement, valid replacement samples shall be provided. If needed to achieve the minimum requirement, replacement samples may consist of either post-mortem sample(s) at a one to one (1:1) ratio taken from other animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility, if possible; or ante-mortem samples at a three to one (3:1) ratio taken from other animal(s) of similar age and time in the facility, if possible; or valid post-mortem sample results obtained from a licensed big game hunting preserve for any cervid that can be traced to the Class III wildlife breeder’s facility within the past twelve (12) months. Class III wildlife breeders possessing ten (10) or fewer cervids on March 31 for two (2) consecutive years shall submit a minimum of at least one (1) valid CWD sample from an eligible mortality for testing by the end of the second year. Class III wildlife breeders with five (5) or fewer cervids that do not meet this minimum requirement shall lose their movement-qualified status, but shall not have their permit suspended or revoked solely for noncompliance with this requirement. (D) Samples in which the infectious CWD prion is detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC) or is confirmed at the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory will be considered a CWD positive. Any facility with a positive sample will immediately be quarantined by the state wildlife veterinarian, and no Movement Certificates allowing movement into or out of the facility will be issued except as authorized by the state wildlife veterinarian in accordance with an approved herd disease response plan. Additionally, any facility that is or has been in possession of a cervid that was in a CWD positive facility shall be quarantined, and no Movement Certificates allowing movement into or out of the facility will be issued until it is determined that the facility is not epidemiologically linked to the CWD positive cervid, or further testing determines that the suspect cervid is not a confirmed positive. (E) In the event of a mass casualty/death event, the director of the department may exempt the holder of a Class III wildlife breeder permit from the CWD testing requirements. For an exemption to be granted, the following conditions apply: 1. All mass casualty/mortality event exemption requests must originate from an accredited veterinarian, be submitted in writing to the state wildlife veterinarian, and accompanied by appropriate confirmatory laboratory tests; and 2. The department will have access to collect and submit disease samples from all known cases of mortality for cervids associated with the mass casualty/mortality event. The Class III wildlife breeder must take reasonable steps to ensure that the carcasses and/or heads are sufficiently preserved in order to allow disease samples to be taken. (F) The holder of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit must ensure that all CWD test results required by this section shall be submitted to the state wildlife veterinarian by the USDA-approved diagnostic laboratory within seven (7) days of completion of testing. (8) In the event of confirmed positive results from a Chronic Wasting Disease test, the permit holder shall comply with a herd disease response plan approved by the department. The plan may include but not be limited to quarantine requirements, testing requirements, partial or total depopulation, premises cleaning and disinfection, additional fencing requirements, and restocking guidelines. Failure to comply with an approved herd disease response plan may result in the suspension or revocation of permit privileges. (9) All other provisions of this chapter shall apply, including confinement standards as specified in 3 CSR 10-9.220. (10) Within thirty (30) days from the revocation or expiration of a Class III Wildlife Breeder Permit for any reason and prior to removing any fencing, the permit holder must remove all animals from the premises prior to removing any fencing either by depopulation with approval by an agent of the department, transfer to another Class III permit holder, or transfer to a licensed big game hunting preserve. Facilities with a CWD positive within the past five (5) years must depopulate upon revocation or expiration of their permit. (11) New permits for Class III wildlife breeding facilities for white-tailed deer, white-tailed deer hybrids, mule deer, or mule deer hybrids will not be issued for a period of five (5) years within twenty-five (25) miles of a location where Chronic Wasting Disease-positive animal(s) have been confirmed by the department except as follows: (A) New permits may be issued during this time period for the existing location of a Class III wildlife breeding facility with a valid permit; and (B) New permits may be issued during this time period for a Class III wildlife breeding facility located more than ten (10) miles and less than twenty-five (25) miles from a location where Chronic Wasting Disease-positive animal(s) have been confirmed by the department, provided— 1. The perimeter of the facility is enclosed by a double fence having a minimum distance of ten feet (10') between the interior and exterior fences; 2. The interior and exterior fences are constructed and maintained in accordance with 3 CSR 10-9.220; 3. For facilities subject to double fencing requirements as a condition of their permit, all applicable measurements for determining compliance with the minimum enclosure space requirements of 3 CSR 10-9.220 will be based on the interior fence; and 4. No cervid may be confined in the area between the interior and exterior fences in facilities subject to double fencing requirements as a condition of their permit. AUTHORITY: sections 40 and 45 of Art. IV, Mo. Const. and section 252.040, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed Jan. 22, 2021, effective Aug. 30, 2021. Amended: Filed Sept. 9, 2022, effective Feb. 28, 2023. *Original authority: 252.040, RSMo 1945, amended 1989.