31TAC§§65.90- 65.93
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department proposes new §§65.90- 65.93,concerningDiseaseDetectionandResponse. The proposed new rules will be constituted as new Division 2 within Chapter 65, Subchapter B, entitled Chronic Wasting Disease- MovementofBreederDeer. Thedepartmentwishes toemphasizethattheproposednewrules,ifadopted,wouldbe aninterimreplacementforthecurrentemergencyrulesadopted onAugust18,2015and publishedin theSeptember4,2015, issue of the Texas Register (40 TexReg 5566) ("emergency CWDrules"),whichisnecessaryinordertomaintainregulatory continuityforthedurationofthe2015-2016deerseasonandthe periodimmediatelythereafter. Basedonadditionalinformation fromtheongoingepidemiologicalinvestigation,diseasesurveil-
lancedatacollectedfromcaptiveandfreerangingdeerherds, guidancefromtheTexasAnimalHealthCommission,andinput fromstakeholdergroups,thedepartmentintendstoreviewthe interimrulesfollowingthecloseofthedeerseasonandpresent theresultsofthatreviewtotheParksandWildlifeCommission (Commission)inthespringof2016forpossiblemodifications. Under Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 43, Subchapter L, the department regulates the possession of captive-raised deerwithina facility forbreeding purposesand therelease of such deer into the wild. A deer breeder permit affords deer breeders certain privileges,such as (amongotherthings) the authoritytobuy,sell,transfer,lease,and releasecaptive-bred white-tailed and mule deer, subject to the regulations of the Commission and the conditionsof the permit. Breeder deer maybe purchased,sold, transferred,leased, orreceivedonly forpurposes ofpropagation orliberation. There arecurrently 1,275permitteddeerbreeders(operatingmorethan1,300deer breedingfacilities)inTexas.
DiscoveryofCWD
OnJune30,2015,thedepartmentreceivedconfirmationthata two-year-oldwhite-taileddeerheldinadeerbreedingfacilityin MedinaCounty("index facility")hadtestedpositiveforchronic wastingdisease(CWD).UndertheprovisionsoftheAgriculture Code,§161.101(a)(6) CWDisareportabledisease. A veteri- narian,veterinarydiagnosticlaboratory,orpersonhavingcare, custody,orcontrolofananimalisrequiredtoreporttheexistence ofCWDtoTAHCwithin24hoursafterdiagnosis. Subsequent testingconfirmedthepresenceofCWDinadditionalwhite-tailed deerattheindexfacility.ThesourceoftheCWDattheindexfa- cilityisunknownatthistime.Withinthelastfiveyears,theindex facility accepteddeerfrom30otherTexas deerbreedersand transferred 835deer to 147 separatesites(including 96deer breedingfacilities,46releasesites,andtwoDeerManagement Permit(DMP)facilitiesinTexas,aswellastwodestinationsin Mexico). (ADMPisapermit issuedby thedepartmentunder rulesadoptedpursuanttoParksandWildlifeCode,Chapter43, SubchaptersRandR-1,thatallowsthetemporarypossession offree-rangingwhite-tailedormuledeerforbreedingpurposes.) Thedepartmentestimatesthatmorethan728locationsinTexas (including384deerbreeders)eitherreceiveddeerfromtheindex facilityorreceiveddeerfromadeerbreederwhohadreceived deerfromtheindexfacility. Atleastone ofthoselocations,a deerbreedingfacilityinLavacaCounty,wasrecentlyconfirmed tohaveaCWDpositivewhite-taileddeeracquiredfromthein- dexfacility.
TheproposednewrulesimposeCWDtestingrequirementsand movementrestrictionsforwhite-taileddeerandmuledeerheld under theauthorityof deerbreeder permitsissuedbythede- partment. Thenewrulesare aresultofextensivecooperation betweenthedepartmentandtheTexasAnimalHealthCommis- sion(TAHC)toprotectsusceptiblespeciesofexoticandnative wildlifefromCWD.TAHCisthestateagencyauthorizedtoman- age"anydiseaseoragentoftransmissionforanydiseasethat affectslivestock,exoticlivestock,domesticfowl,orexoticfowl, regardlessofwhetherthediseaseiscommunicable,evenifthe agentoftransmissionisananimalspeciesthatisnotsubjectto thejurisdiction"ofTAHC.Tex.Agric. Code§161.041(b). BackgroundRegardingCWD
CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects some cervidspecies, includingwhite-taileddeer,muledeer,elk,red deer, sika, and theirhybrids (susceptible species). It is clas-
sified asa TSE(transmissible spongiformencephalopathy), a familyofdiseasesthatincludesscrapie(foundinsheep),bovine spongiformencephalopathy(BSE,foundincattle),andvariant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans. Currently, the onlytestcertifiedbytheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture(USDA) forCWDmustbeconductedpost-mortembyextractingandtest- ing theobex (a structure in thebrain) or medial retropharyn- geallymphnode,althoughthedepartmentisactivelycollaborat- ingwithresearcherstoinvestigatepossibleefficaciouslive-ani- malteststhatcanbeintegratedintothestate'soveralldisease surveillanceefforts.
Much remains unknown about CWD. The peculiarities of its transmission(howitispassedfromanimaltoanimal),infection rate (thefrequency of occurrencethroughtime or othercom- parativestandard), incubation period(the time fromexposure to clinical manifestation), and potential for transmission to otherspeciesarestillbeinginvestigated. Thereisnoscientific evidence to indicate that CWD is transmissible to humans. What isknownis thatCWD isinvariably fatalto cervids, and istransmittedbothdirectly(through deer-to-deercontact)and indirectly(throughenvironmental contamination). Moreover,a highprevalenceofthediseasecorrelateswithdeerpopulation declineinatleastonefree-rangingpopulation,andthereisevi- dencethathunterstendtoavoidareasofhighCWDprevalence. Additionally,theapparentpersistenceofCWDincontaminated environments represents a significant obstacle to eradication ofCWDfromeitherfarmedorfree-rangingcervidpopulations. The potential implications of CWD for Texas and its annual, multi-billion dollarranching, hunting, real estate, tourism,and wildlife management-related economies could be significant, unlessitiscontainedandcontrolled.
PreviousCWDRulemaking
Thedepartmenthasengagedin severalrulemakings overthe yearsto address thethreat posedby CWD.In 2005, thede- partment closed theTexas border to the entry of out-of-state captivewhite-tailedandmuledeerandincreasedregulatoryre- quirementsregardingdisease monitoringand record keeping. (Theclosing of theTexas border toentry of out-of-state cap- tivewhite-tailedandmuledeerwasupdated,effectiveinJanuary 2010,toaddressotherdiseasethreatstowhite-tailedandmule deer(35TexReg252).)
OnJuly10,2012,thedepartmentconfirmedthattwomuledeer sampledintheTexasportionoftheHuecoMountainstestedpos- itiveforCWD.Inresponse,thedepartmentandTAHCconvened theCWDTaskForce,comprisedofwildlife-healthprofessionals andcervidproducers,toadvisethedepartmentontheappropri- atemeasurestobetakentoprotectwhite-tailedandmuledeerin Texas. BasedonrecommendationsfromtheCWDTaskForce, thedepartmentadoptednewrulesin2013(37TexReg10231) toimplement aCWD containmentstrategy infarWest Texas. Therules(31TAC§§65.80- 65.88),amongotherthings,require deerharvestedinaspecificgeographicalarea(theContainment Zone),tobepresentedatcheckstationstobetestedforCWD. Thedepartmenthasbeenconcernedforoveradecadeaboutthe possibleemergence ofCWD in free-rangingand captivedeer populationsinTexas. Since2002,morethan32,882 "notde- tected"CWDtestresultswereobtainedfromfree-ranging(i.e., notbreeder)deerinTexas,anddeerbreedershavesubmitted 12,759 "not detected" test results as well. The intent of the proposednewrulesistoreducetheprobabilityofCWDbeing spreadfrom facilitieswhereitmightexistand to increasethe probabilityofdetectingandcontainingCWDifitdoesexist.
OverviewofProposedRules
TheproposednewrulesthereforesetforthspecificCWDtesting requirementsfordeerbreeders,whichwouldhavetobesatisfied inordertotransferdeertootherdeerbreeders(orothercaptive- deerfacilities),orforpurposesofrelease. Thenewrulesalso imposeCWDtestingrequirementsonsiteswherebreederdeer areliberated(releasesites).
Oneofthemosteffectiveapproachestomanaginginfectiousdis- easesandarrestingthespreadofadiseaseistosegregatesus- piciousindividualsandpopulationsfromunexposedpopulations. Asamatterofepidemiologicalprobability,whenanimalsfroma populationathigherriskofharboringaninfectiousdiseaseare introducedtoapopulationofanimalsatalowerriskofharboring aninfectiousdisease,theconfidencethatthereceivingpopula- tionwillremaindisease-freeisreduced.
Therefore, in establishingtesting and otherrequirements, the proposed rules classify breeding facilities and release sites basedontheepidemiologicallikelihoodthatthebreederfacility orreleasesitewillcontainorspreadCWD.Inotherwords,the classificationsare basedontherelative levelofrisk forCWD associatedwiththebreeding facilityor releasesite. Breeding facilitiesareclassifiedasTransferCategory1(TC1),Transfer Category2(TC2)orTransferCategory3(TC3).TC1breeding facilitiesarefacilitiesthatarehavealowriskforCWDandTC 3facilitiesare facilitiesthat haveahigher riskforCWD.TC1 facilities are considered the highest status breeding facilities undertheproposedrules. Similarly,releasesitesareclassified asaClassI,ClassIIorClassIIIreleasesite. Aswithbreeding facilities,aClassIreleasesiteposeslessriskanda ClassIII siteposesmorerisk. ClassIreleasesitesareconsideredthe higheststatusreleasesites.
Onefactorin determiningrelativeriskconcernsabreedingfa- cility'sparticipationinTAHC'sCWDHerdCertificationProgram. See4 TAC§40.3(relatingtoHerdStatusPlansforCervidae). ParticipationintheTAHCCWDHerdCertificationProgramre- quiresthatbreedingfacilitiescomplywithmorestringentCWD testing,monitoring,andotherrequirements. Breedingfacilities that havecompliedwith thetesting, monitoring,and otherre- quirementsofthisprogramforfiveyearsormoreareconsidered tobeatthelowestriskforCWD.Inevaluatingrisk,thedepart- mentdetermined that theseso-called "certified"or "fifth-year" breedingfacilitiesposethelowestlevelofrisk.
Anotherfactorinevaluatingriskistherelationshipofabreeding facilityorreleasesitetoa breedingfacilityat whichCWDhas beendetected.Asdescribedinmoredetailbelow,thosefacilities and siteswhich are mostclosely related totheCWD-positive facilityarereferredtoas"Tier1"facilities.
Anothersignificantcomponentoftheproposednewrulesisthe requirementthatbreederdeermaybereleased(liberated)only onreleasesitesthataresurroundedbyafenceofatleastseven feetinheightandthatiscapableofretainingdeeratalltimes. Becausedeerheldunderdeerbreederpermitsarefrequentlylib- eratedforstockingand/orhuntingpurposes(27,684in2014),the potentialfordiseasetransmissionfromliberatedbreederdeerto free-rangingdeerisofconcern,giventhatthesource ofCWD intheindexfacilityiscurrentlyunknownandthelargenumber ofdeerthathavebeenmovedtootherbreedingfacilitiesand/or releasedtothewild.
The proposed new rules are necessary to protect thestate's white-tailedandmuledeerpopulations,aswellasthelongterm viabilityof associatedhunting, wildlifemanagement, and deer
breedingindustries. Tominimizetheseverityofbiologicaland economicimpactsresultingfromCWD,theproposednewrules implementamorerigoroustestingprotocolwithincertaindeer breeding facilitiesandat certain releasesitesthanwasprevi- ously required. Theproposednewrulesallowalldeerbreed- ers,exceptaCWD-positivefacility,theopportunitytocontinueto moveandreleasebreederdeerinanefforttobalancetheneeds ofthemanyandvariedlandowner,management,anddeerhunt- inginterestsinthestate.
ChangesfromEmergencyRules
TheproposednewrulesdifferfromtheemergencyCWDrulesin severalways.Althoughthefollowingisnotacomprehensivelist- ing,toassistpersonswishingtocommentontheproposednew rules,thefollowingprovidesinformationaboutareasinwhichthe proposedrulesdifferfromtheemergencyrules.
SubstantiveChangesfromEmergencyRules
1. Section65.91(e) oftheemergencyrules providesthatifa breedingfacilityorreleasesiteacceptsbreederdeerfromafacil- ityoflowerstatus,thenthereceivingfacilityassumesthatlower statusforthepurposeoftherules.Althoughtheemergencyrules provideamechanismforTransferCategory(TC)2statustobe re-establishedforfacilitiesthathavedroppedtoTC3status,the emergencyrulesdonotspecifyatimeframeforsuchatransition. Therefore,proposednew§65.91(f)stipulatesthatafacilitythat hasdroppedinstatusmayincreaseinstatus,eitherintwoyears (TC3toTC2)orinfive(TC2toTC1).
2.Similarly,theemergencyrulesdonotspecificallyaddressthe statusofnewfacilitiespermittedafterMarch31,2015. Inthe samevein,theemergencyrulesdonotexplicitlystatethatitis possibleforTC2 facilitiesto becomeTC1facilities(although itwouldbeautomaticif"5thyear"or"certified"statusunderthe TexasAnimalHealthCommission(TAHC)HerdCertificationPro- gramisattained). Therefore,proposednew§65.92(a)(4)would containclarifyinglanguagetotheeffectthatfacilitiespermitted afterMarch31,2015wouldassumethestatusoftheloweststa- tusofdeeraccepted.
3. Section65.93(b)(3)(A)oftheemergencyrulesdidnotnote thatareleasesiteisaClassIIIreleasesiteifitisaTier1facility. Proposednew§65.93(b)(3)(B)(i)remediesthatoversight. ClarifyingandOtherChangesfromEmergencyRules
1. The emergency rules didnot contain a definition of "con- firmed"asitrelatestoCWDtesting.Inreviewingtheemergency ruleforthepreparationofthisproposal, thedepartmentdeter- minedthatadefinitionof"confirmed"wouldbehelpfultoavoid confusion.Therefore,proposednew§65.90(3)definestheterm as"aCWDtestresultof"positive"receivedfromtheNationalVet- erinaryServiceLaboratoriesoftheUnitedStatesDepartmentof Agriculture."
2. The definition of "exposed" contained at §65.90(9) of the emergencyrulesdidnotcontemplatesituationsinwhichthede- partmentis ableto determinethat althoughadeer mightoth- erwisebeconsideredan"exposed"toCWD,thedepartmentis able,throughanepidemiologicalinvestigationtodeterminethat adeeris,infact,notexposed.Forexample,ifadeerwastrans- ferredoutofabreedingfacilitypriortoaCWD-positivedeerbe- ingtransferredintothefacility, thedepartmentmaybeable to determinethatthedeertransferredoutofthefacilitywasnotex- posedtoCWD.Theabilitytodeterminethatadeerisnot,infact, anexposeddeerisimportantbecauseafacilitythatacceptsan exposeddeerbecomesa"Tier 1"facility,triggeringprovisions
thatnotonlyaffectthatfacility,butallthefacilitiesthatreceived deerfromthefacility. Therefore,thedefinitionof"exposed"in proposednew§65.90(10)hasbeenalteredtoallowthedepart- menttotruncatethetrace-backofdeer movementsin a facil- ityincaseswhereanepidemiologicalinvestigationrevealsthe trace-backisnotnecessary.
3.Thedefinitionof"Tier1"containedat§65.90(20)oftheemer- gencyrulesdidnotcontemplatesituationsinwhichafacilitythat receivedexposeddeermightbeabletosatisfytestingrequire- mentstobecomeeligibletomovedeer,butwouldstillbepro- hibitedfromdoing soby beingsubjectto a TAHChold order. Therefore,proposednew§65.90(21)hasbeenalteredtostipu- latethata Tier1facilityremainsaTier1facilityifitisundera TAHCholdorder.
4.Section65.91(h)oftheemergencyrulesprovidedthataper- sonwhoissubjecttotheprovisionsoftheemergencyrulesis requiredtocomplywiththeprovisionsofTAHCregulationsat4 TACChapter40(relatingtoChronicWastingDisease)thatare applicabletowhite-tailedormuledeer.Asworded,theprovision inadvertentlyexcludesdeerreleasedpriortheeffectivedateof theemergencyrules,becausesuch deerhavebeenliberated andarenotpossessedundertheprovisionsoftherules.There- fore,proposednew§65.92(i)hasbeenrewordedtoapplyalso topersonswhoreceivedeerforliberation.
5. Proposednew§65.93(a)(5)wouldprovidethatiftheowner ofareleasesitedoesnotcomplywiththeCWDtestingrequire- mentsthereleasesitewouldbeineligibletobeadestinationfor futurereleases. Theemergencyrulesandincludedafive-year timeframeforineligibility.Thefive-yeartimeframeforineligibility isnotincludedintheproposednewrules.
6. Theemergencyrulescontainedspecificdatesnecessaryto accommodatetheimmediateapplicationoftheemergencypro- visions. Theproposednewruleseliminatethosedateswhere necessaryandreplacethemwithgenericlanguage.
Definitions
Proposednew§65.90,concerningDefinitions,would setforth themeaningsofspecializedwordsandtermsinordertoelimi- nateambiguityandenhancecomplianceandenforcement. Proposednew§65.90(1)woulddefine"accreditedtestingfacil- ity"as"alaboratoryapprovedbytheUnitedStatesDepartmentof Agriculturetotestwhite-taileddeerormuledeerforCWD."The definitionisnecessaryinordertoprovideastandardfortesting facilities.
Proposed new §65.90(2) would define "breeder deer" as "a white-tailed deer or mule deer possessed under a permit is- suedby thedepartmentpursuant toParks andWildlife Code, Chapter43,SubchapterL,and SubchapterTofthischapter." Thedefinitionisnecessarytoestablishashorthandtermfora phrase that is usedfrequently in theproposed newrules but cumbersometorepeat.
Proposednew§65.90(3)woulddefine"confirmed"as"aCWD test result of "positive" received from the National Veterinary ServiceLaboratories(NVSL)oftheUnitedStates Department ofAgriculture."Thedefinitionisnecessaryinordertoprovidea definitivestandardforassertingthepresenceofCWDinasam- ple.Samplescollectedfrombreederdeeraresentinitiallytoan accreditedtestingfacility,suchastheTexasVeterinaryMedical DiagnosticLaboratory(TVMDL).Atestresultof"suspect"isre- turnedwhenCWDisdetected,andatissuesampleisforwarded totheNVSLforconfirmation.
Proposednew§65.90(4)woulddefine"CWD"as"chronicwast- ingdisease."Thedefinitionisnecessarytoprovideanacronym foratermthatisusedrepeatedlyintherules.
Proposednew§65.90(5)woulddefine"CWD-positivefacility"as "afacilitywhereCWDhasbeenconfirmed."Thedefinitionisnec- essarybecausetheproposednewrulescontainprovisionsthat arepredicatedonwhetherornotCWDhasbeendetectedand confirmedinagivendeerbreeding,DMP,nursing,orotherfacil- ityauthorizedtopossesswhite-taileddeerormuledeer. Proposednew§65.90(6)woulddefine"deerbreeder"as"aper- sonwhoholdsavaliddeerbreeder'spermitissuedpursuantto ParksandWildlifeCode,Chapter43,SubchapterL,andSub- chapterTofthischapter."Aswithseveralotherdefinitionsinthe