Seeking members for advisory task force

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board of animal health

Animal Bytes

January 2018

Seeking members for task force

Example of exclusionary fencing.

Farmed Cervidae Advisory Task Force

The Board of Animal Health approved the formation of a Farmed Cervidae Advisory Task Force at its quarterly meeting on December 13, 2017.  This approval was based on the request from Board staff for stakeholder input on two issues of concern for the farmed cervidae program: 1) development of guidelines for exclusionary fencing and 2) how farmed cervid producers can remain viable business enterprises with CWD identified in the state’s wild deer population and the regulatory restrictions on animal movement that result from it.  Based on these topics, the Board would benefit from input from the following stakeholders:

  • Accredited veterinarians working with farmed cervids.
  • Minnesota Elk Breeders Association.
  • Minnesota Deer Farmers Association.
  • A farmed cervid producer at large (not a member of either organization above).
  • A farmed cervid producer that provides hunting of farmed cervids on their premises.
  • A farmed cervid producer that raises non-native cervid species (ex. reindeer, muntjac, red or fallow deer).
  • Minnesota Department of Natural Resources staff.
  • USDA Veterinary Services staff.

The Task Force is limited to 15 members for a duration of two years or less, as described in state statute. The members should be able to attend all scheduled meetings and participate in task force work groups to gather information needed to prepare information or documents for final products of the task force.  Mileage reimbursement will be provided by the Board to Task Force members to travel to scheduled meetings, if funding is available.  Meetings will be held no more frequently than quarterly with the time and place for each meeting published at least two weeks in advance in the Board’s Animal Bytes newsletter (click here to subscribe to the newsletter).  Board staff will contact the government agencies to identify appropriate representatives for this task force and are requesting nominations for members from the other stakeholder groups.  Please provide the following information regarding your nomination to this task force to Dr. Linda Glaser at Linda.Glaser@state.mn.us  by February 1, 2018:

  1. Name of nominee.
  2. Email and phone number contact information.
  3. Stakeholder group listed above you will represent (representatives for the Associations above must be approved by the Association).

Keep reading, more great stories below...

Are you on the lookout for Senecavirus A?

Senecavirus A (SVA) in swine is a serious concern for U.S. animal health officials because the symptoms, including blisters and lameness, mimic the signs of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)—a foreign animal disease with devastating economic consequences.  You cannot distinguish between SVA and FMD without laboratory testing.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wants you to understand the importance of taking this disease seriously.

  • Because SVA and FMD share the same symptoms, State and Federal animal health officials need producers’ and veterinarians’ help to identify potential cases for testing.  We cannot be complacent.
  • The worst thing producers and others in the industry could do is automatically assume that blisters are due to Senecavirus A.  Failure to identify FMD quickly would likely result in significant and swift spread of the disease that would not only impact the swine industry but also the cattle, sheep, and goat industries.
  • We need producers’ and veterinarians’ help.  If you see any signs of blisters or lesions, work with your veterinarian to report the situation to the Board immediately.  It doesn’t matter if they are seen at the farm of origin, a commingling point, a market, a buy station or at the slaughterhouse.  Every day is important. Every movement is important. Report signs right away so we can test as early as possible, identify the disease and respond appropriately.
  • If testing finds Senecavirus A, pigs will still be allowed to move to their destination; the disease poses no risk to food safety and the animals will fully recover.

Comments due on APHIS poultry proposal

The USDA's Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing updates to its virus elimination flat rate payments for floor-raised meat poultry facilities affected by any avian influenza with high pathogenicity (HPAI) and by H5 and H7 subtypes with low pathogenicity (H5/H7 LPAI). Virus elimination is a crucial step in the recovery process, and APHIS provides reimbursement for virus elimination activities conducted by the owner/producer, but must ensure that these activities are both time- and cost-effective.

The proposal is for APHIS to provide a single virus elimination flat rate for all floor-raised meat poultry facilities. The rate is calculated based on the square footage of the facility and covers labor, equipment and supplies to clean and disinfect equipment, materials and the interior of barns. The rate assumes certain materials will be cleaned and disinfected, but APHIS would pay separately for materials that cannot be safely or adequately cleaned, providing the fair market value of disposed items.

This would be a change from previous flat rates, which were calculated on a per-bird basis. The new rates would make payments for virus elimination activities more equitable across facilities.

APHIS invites the public to review and comment on the notifiable AI virus elimination flat rate for floor-raised poultry document. Email comments to vs.stas.feedback@aphis.usda.gov by Friday, January 12, 2018.

National Scrapie Eradication Program's annual report released

The annual report for the National Scrapie Eradication Program for FY 2017 is now available. Click this link to learn about the scrapie eradication program.

Highlights from the end-of-year report include:

  • Slaughter samples collected from sheep and goats at 206 sites in 41 states.
  • More than 42,000 sheep and goats tested for scrapie in FY 2017.
  • No sheep have tested positive since April 2016.
  • No goats have tested positive since February 2015.
  • Zero classical scrapie infected flocks identified in FY 2017.

You can read the full report by clicking on this link: PDF Annual Report.

APHIS Form 7001 not accepted

The APHIS Form 7001 is not an official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) for interstate export of animals from Minnesota. Additionally, some states do not accept the APHIS Form 7001 for imports, including North Dakota, Missouri and the state of Washington. Always check with the state of origin and destination to be certain official CVIs are used. Minnesota has one approved paper CVI available from our office (click here to request paper CVIs).  All official eCVI options are listed on our website (click here to access our eCVI webpage).