The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
(1) Adjacent herds--A herd of cattle or bison that
occupies a premise that lies within one mile of a "herd known to be
affected."
(2) Affected herd--Any herd in which any cattle have
been classified as a reactor or suspect and which has not completed
the requirements of the individual herd plan.
(3) Approved brucella vaccine--A product that is produced
under license of the USDA and used in accordance with the current
guidelines of USDA for its use in cattle to enhance their resistance
to brucellosis.
(4) Approved personnel--Texas Animal Health Commission
inspectors and veterinarians; Federal Animal Health technicians and
veterinarians; accredited Texas veterinarians; and others who have
been approved to do those assigned duties as described in these regulations
for brucellosis control and eradication.
(5) Auction--A public sale of cattle.
(6) Auctioneer--A person who sells or makes a business
of selling cattle at auction.
(7) Brucellosis (Bang's Disease contagious abortion)--For
purposes of this regulation, brucellosis is a contagious, infectious
disease of cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and swine caused by bacteria
of the genus brucella.
(8) Cattle--All dairy and beef animals (genus Bos)
and bison (genus Bison).
(9) Class "Free" area--An area of two or more contiguous
counties which has remained free from field strain brucella abortus
infection for 12 months or longer. A 12 months adjusted MCI reactor
prevalence rate not to exceed one reactor per 2,000 cattle tested
(0.050%) must be maintained.
(10) Class "A" area--An area of two or more contiguous
counties which has an accumulated 12 months herd infection rate due
to field strain brucella abortus that does not exceed 0.25% or 2.5
herds per 1,000 and must maintain a 12 months adjusted MCI reactor
prevalence rate not to exceed one reactor per 1,000 cattle tested
(0.100%).
(11) Class "B" area--An area of two or more contiguous
counties which has an accumulated 12 months herd infection rate due
to field strain brucella abortus that does not exceed 1.5% or 15 herds
per 1,000. A 12 months adjusted MCI reactor prevalence rate not to
exceed three reactors per 1,000 cattle tested (0.30%) must be maintained.
(12) Commission--The Texas Animal Health Commission.
(13) Commission firm--A person, partnership, other
legal entity, or corporation which buys and sells cattle as a third
party and who reports to the seller and to the buyer details of the
transactions. This includes any such person or group whether or not
a fee is charged for the service.
(14) Commuter herd--A herd of cattle located in two
or more states that is documented as a valid ranching operation by
those states in which the herd is located and which requires movement
of cattle interstate from a farm of origin or returned interstate
to a farm of origin in the course of normal ranching operations, without
change of ownership, directly to or from another premise owned, leased,
or rented by the same individual. An application for "commuter herd"
status must be signed by the owner and approved by the states in which
the herd is located. This status will continue until canceled by the
owner or one of the signatory states.
(15) Dealer--
(A) Any person engaged in the business of buying or
selling cattle in commerce on his own account, as an employee or agent
of the vendor, the purchaser, or both, or on a commission basis.
(B) The term shall not include a person who buys or
sells cattle as part of his own bona fide breeding, feeding, dairy,
or stocker operations but does include livestock markets and commission
merchants.
(16) Designated Pens--A set of pens in a feedlot under
a plan of restricted movement, approved jointly by Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, and the Commission
in which all cattle are classified as exposed to brucellosis. The
pens may be pre-approved, but the approval period will begin with
initial arrival of the exposed cattle. The Designation will be automatically
renewed every 12 months if requirements specified in these regulations
and the approved agreement continue to be met by the feedlot. The
status will continue until:
(A) the feedlot requests deactivation; or
(B) the Commission determines the status should be
eliminated because of the feedlot's failure to comply with the Designation
Agreement or these regulations; or
(C) changes in Federal or State law or regulations
require elimination of or change in the status.
(17) Epidemiologist--A veterinarian who has received
a degree in epidemiology and is employed by the commission or USDA,
APHIS, VS.
(18) Executive director--The chief executive officer
of the Texas Animal Health Commission appointed by the commissioners
and authorized to act for the commissioners in the absence of the
chairman.
(19) Exempt Cattle (from testing requirements)--Cattle
that have been physically rendered sterile for breeding.
(20) Exposed cattle--Cattle that are part of an affected
herd or cattle that have been in contact with reactors in marketing
channels for periods of 24 hours; and periods of less than 24 hours
if the reactor has recently aborted, calved, or has a vaginal or uterine
discharge. These cattle shall be classified as exposed regardless
of any blood test results.
(21) Feedlot--A confined drylot area for finish feeding
of cattle on concentrated feed with no facilities for pasturing or
grazing. All cattle in a feedlot are considered a "herd" for purposes
of these regulations.
(22) Herd--
(A) All cattle under common ownership or supervision
or cattle owned by a spouse that are on one premise; or
(B) All cattle under common ownership or supervision
or cattle owned by a spouse on two or more premises that are geographically
separated, but on which the cattle have been interchanged or where
there has been contact among the cattle on the different premises.
Contact between cattle on the different premises will be assumed unless
the owner establishes otherwise and the results of the epidemiological
investigation are consistent with the lack of contact between premises;
or
(C) All cattle on common premises, such as community
pastures or grazing association units, but owned by different persons.
Other cattle owned by the persons involved which are located on other
premises are considered to be part of this herd unless the epidemiological
investigation establishes that cattle from the affected herd have
not had the opportunity for direct or indirect contact with cattle
from that specific premises. Quarantined feedlots and quarantined
pastures are not considered to be herds.
(23) High risk herd--A herd that is epidemiologically
judged by a state-federal veterinarian to have a high probability
of having or developing brucellosis. A high risk herd need not be
located on the same premise as an infected or adjacent herd.
(24) Hold Order--A document restricting movement of
a herd, unit, or individual animal pending the determination of disease
status.
(25) Individual herd plan--A herd disease management
and testing plan to prevent, control, and eliminate brucellosis in
a herd of cattle.
(26) Market cattle identification--The process of individually
identifying cattle on change of ownership by backtag or eartag issued
by USDA showing their herd of origin.
(27) Official backtag--A United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
Veterinary Services (VS) approved identification backtag that conforms
to the national uniform tagging system. It uniquely identifies each
individual animal with alpha-numeric identification. The official
backtag may not be reused on another animal.
(28) Official eartag--A Veterinary Services approved
identification eartag (metal, plastic, or other) that conforms to
the nine-character alpha-numeric National Uniform Eartagging System.
It uniquely identifies each individual animal with no duplication
of the alpha-numeric identification, regardless of the materials or
colors used. The term includes the special orange-colored eartag series
used to identify calfhood vaccinates. The official eartag may not
be removed from the animal.
(29) Official Vaccinate--
(A) Calfhood Vaccinate: Female cattle (dairy and beef)
vaccinated between four and 12 months of age with an approved Brucella
vaccine.
Cont'd... |
