Your quick guide to HPAI and a reminder if you own a registered brand

Minnesota Board of Animal Health sent this bulletin at 11/17/2025 11:05 AM CST

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

board of animal health

Animal Bytes

November 2025

New HPAI flyer takes flight for backyard flocks

HPAI backyard flyer

Where is HPAI? What are the signs? How do you report it when you suspect it? What can you do to prevent it? All great questions.

First of all, HPAI is highly pathogenic avian influenza. To answer the who, what, where, when, why and how questions you can find all kinds of resources in all sorts of places. We developed the backyard HPAI flyer to streamline all the searching into one quickstart document to answer your simple questions and give you solid leads on answering the more in-depth ones. It's digital, it's printable and it's shareable: access the HPAI Backyard Biosecurity one-pager right here.

Now, to answer those questions.

  • Where is HPAI?
    • It's currently in multiple U.S. states, including Minnesota.
  • What are the signs?
    • Sudden, unexplained death.
    • Difficulty breathing.
    • Decrease in feed or water consumption.
    • Decreased egg production.
  • How do you report it when you suspect it?
  • What can you do to prevent it?

Keep reading...

Don't lose your registered livestock brand, renew today

If you have a livestock brand registered with the Board and you have not yet renewed, you will need to do so by the end of this year. All brands initially registered before January 1, 2025 are due for renewal.

We mailed out notices to all brand registrants in our records back in May 2025 with instructions on how to start the renewal process. We will be sending out one more reminder to those who still have not renewed. If you know you have a registered brand and didn't receive a letter, you can reach out to us at animalhealth@state.mn.us or 651-296-2942.

Say goodbye to the paper CVI

Starting next year, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health will only accept electronic CVIs. Paper CVIs will no longer be compliant after January 1, 2026. After this cutoff date, only electronic CVIs “eCVIs” will be accepted.

This change is part of a unified national effort to enhance animal disease traceability and streamline data sharing between stakeholders. Many other states have already phased out paper CVIs in favor of eCVIs, which are more efficient and less prone to transcription errors during processing.

There are many different eCVI platforms for accredited veterinarians to choose from. To aid in veterinarian's decision, we maintain a list of approved eCVI providers that offer a range of fee-based services. We recommend using the eCVI provider that works best for you and your clients.

Apply to be a member of our Board

There are two open positions posted on the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. You can apply for any State of Minnesota Board or Commission position on the Secretary of State's website. To apply for the Board of Animal Health you can visit our specific webpage on their website. Scroll down to "Open Positions" to review details or to apply.

The current openings are for a livestock producer and a livestock producer who is a member of a Federally Recognized Tribe located in Minnesota with experience in animal husbandry. Apply by November 27 for consideration.

December Board Meeting in Willmar

The final quarterly Board meeting of 2025 is being held in Willmar and online via Microsoft Teams. Visit our Board members webpage for details on the in-person meeting and how to access it virtually.