The Texas Animal Health Commission (commission) adopts amendments to Chapter 51, entitled "Entry Requirements", §§51.3, 51.8, 51.10 - 51.12 and 51.14, without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 24, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11836) and will not be republished.

The amendments are in regards to entry requirements for cattle for tuberculosis and sheep and goats for Scrapie. These requirements are being relocated from their existing locations in Chapter 43 for Tuberculosis and for Chapter 60 for Scrapie and continues a long term process to consolidate all of the commission's animal health entry requirements into one chapter.

In order to provide a more cohesive organization of the agency's regulatory requirements, the commission is in the process to consolidate all the entry requirements into one chapter. This chapter is organized by providing for a centralized location for all general, exceptions and special requirements. The specific entry requirements are then located by species with specific requirements delineated by disease. The commission believes this will provide a more user friendly format for someone to use who is trying to comply with legal requirements when bringing livestock into Texas. Also, the commission believes this effort will help insure consistency throughout the various requirements through the consolidation efforts.

Tuberculosis: The purpose of this adoption is to move the move the interstate movement requirements for Tuberculosis into Chapter 51. At the same time the commission making changes to the current requirements is to put in place test requirements for sexually intact dairy cattle moving interstate and coming to Texas. Also the rule is repealing the current specific entry requirement for cattle coming from Michigan in order to allow those animals to move in accordance with test requirements related to their USDA Tuberculosis status.

The commission is amending old §43.2(a) and inserting the term "beef" and "sexually neutered dairy cattle" into the regulation in order to recognize that those cattle may enter without a test in accordance with the federal standards. The rule ensures the distinction between which animals are exempt from the tuberculosis test requirements and which are not.

The commission is adding a new subsection, §43.2(c) to require that all sexually intact dairy cattle originating from a tuberculosis free state, or area, that are 6 months of age or older need to be officially identified, and are accompanied by a certificate stating they were negative to an official tuberculosis test conducted within 60 days prior to the date of movement.

The reason for this requirement is that during fiscal year 2004, there were 6 dairy herds disclosed with tuberculosis infection in the U.S. Three of these herds were located in states that were recognized as TB free (Arizona and New Mexico). California and Texas have also lost their free status within the last 3 years due to newly disclosed infection in dairy herds. The investigation of the sources of the disease indicates that the initial infection may have entered the herds through replacement cattle purchased from herds in other state, which are recognized as TB free. Dairy heifer replacements appear to be an emerging pathway for TB infection.

Thirty-four states already require a current negative test on sexually intact dairy animals entering from other "free" states. This test requirement is a reflection of the concerns that some states of "free" status, may have some unknown risk of TB infection in their dairy animals because of inadequate slaughter surveillance, incomplete epidemiology on pending investigations, and unacceptable caudal fold response rates for private veterinarians performing field tests. There are currently 7 investigations underway to disclose the source of US dairy feeder animals disclosed at slaughter, in FY 2004.

The TAHC has recently completed the testing of all dairies in Texas. In testing 807 dairies, and over 335,000 head of cattle, one infected dairy was disclosed. Now that the dairy testing is completed, it is equally important that the TAHC adopt the proposed TB test entry requirement to ensure that the disease is not reintroduced into the state's dairy industry. Because of the continuing threat of TB in dairy replacement animals, any sexually intact animals that enter Texas under 6 months of age (without a test), will be restricted until they receive a negative test upon reaching 6 months of age

The new subsection also exempts animals, which originate from a tuberculosis accredited herd, and animals moving directly to an approved slaughtering establishment, from the test requirement.

Also the commission is repealing current subsections related to specific entry requirements for cattle coming from Michigan. The reason for those entry requirements is that Michigan had quarantined an area of that state because of tuberculosis. However recently Michigan has been granted zonal status for bovine tuberculosis program. USDA recently amended their bovine tuberculosis regulations, contained in 9 CFR part 77, and entitled ''Tuberculosis'', and established two separate zones with different risk classifications for the State of Michigan. In Section 77.9, entitled "Modified accredited advanced States or zones" the regulation provides that all of the State of Michigan has that status except for the zone that comprises those counties or portions of counties in Michigan described in Section 77.11(b). In Section 77.11(b) the following area is defined as having the status of a modified accredited zones: a zone in Michigan that comprises Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego, and Presque Isle Counties and those portions of Iosco and Ogemaw Counties that are north of the southernmost boundary of the Huron National Forest and the Au Sable State Forest. Animals from those zones can move into Texas in accordance with the federal requirements for areas with that status and as provided in new subsection (b). However for §51.10(d), related to entry requirements for Cervids and §51.11 related to entry requirements for Goats the commission is amending the special entry requirements for those two species coming from Michigan. As noted above the state of Michigan has two different status areas for Bovine Tuberculosis with the one area provided above. These different status are for movement of cattle and not applicable for cervids or goats. As such the commission is not changing those entry requirements but are reconfiguring the affected Tuberculosis zone to conform to the zone designated by Michigan.

Also the commission is removing the stated requirement that they would consider for repeal or amendment in April 2004 subsection (g)(2) and (3) of this section because the commission is maintaining those requirements because of an upcoming change in USDA requirements.

Scrapie: This adoption provides that all blackface ovine females and all blackface crossbred females, except hair sheep, imported into the State of Texas for breeding purposes shall originate from a Scrapie Certified Free Flock or have documentation supporting that the animals are of the genotype RR at codon 171 or AA at codon 136 and QR at codon 171.

Scrapie is a fatal degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is a member of a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which includes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk. It is caused by a prion protein which causes destruction of brain tissue. Scrapie is primarily transmitted from an infected female to her offspring or to other young animals in the flock through contact with birthing tissues or fluids. Clinical signs of the disease usually appear 2 to 5 years after the animal becomes infected. A test which utilizes lymphoid tissue, commonly from the third eyelid is the only recognized live animal test currently approved for diagnosing scrapie in sheep. Use of the third eyelid test is limited to certain genotypes of sheep and requires an adequate amount of lymphoid tissue to be submitted.

Scrapie was first recognized as a disease of sheep in Great Britain and Western Europe over 250 years ago. It was first diagnosed in the United States in 1947. Since then, it has spread to flocks throughout the United States. During calendar year 2001 in Texas, two infected flocks were disclosed. The Scrapie Eradication Program began in 1952, but it was not successful. The program was modified in the early 1980s utilizing bloodlines to identify "high risk" animals. The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) identified Scrapie in the U.S. as a major impediment to being competitive in the marketing arena. The National Scrapie Eradication Program was implemented by the USDA, APHIS, on November 1, 2001, through the promulgation of new regulations in 9 CFR Parts 54 and 79. These proposed rule changes in Chapter 60 are to support the federal regulations.

The adopted rule is §60.3, entitled "Interstate Movement of Sheep and Goats". It was requested by Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association to try and assist in speeding up scrapie eradication in Texas. Texas receives a large number of out of state sheep which greatly increase the exposure of Texas sheep to Scrapie. There have been documented cases of out of state blackface ewes being infected with Scrapie. The higher incidence of Scrapie in these specific types of sheep has the United States Department of Agriculture focusing surveillance on all mature black and mottled face sheep going to slaughter. Because of the risk of exposure to Scrapie in these types of sheep and in order to protect the Texas Sheep and Goat industry, the Commission is proposing additional importation requirement on black faced and black faced crossbred ewes to reduce the risk of importing Scrapie infected animals. The requirement provides that all blackface ovine females imported into the State of Texas for breeding purposes shall originate from a Scrapie Certified Free Flock or have documentation supporting that the animals are of the genotype RR at codon 171 or AA at codon 136 and QR at codon 171.

Genotype testing for susceptibility to Scrapie can be done through laboratories approved by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS). This approval is in accordance with Title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 54.11 and Veterinary Services Memorandum Number 557.6. The approved laboratories are eligible to conduct privately funded official Scrapie genotype testing. The approval of laboratories to do official testing allows the producer to choose from several laboratories to obtain official test results. These readily available genotyping services will assist out of state producers in obtaining the required test. This section is being moved from its current location in Chapter 60. Subsection (a) from Chapter 60 is the only part not being included in this adoption. The reason is that the information is redundant because those requirements are found in other sections of Chapter 51.

Swine: Under §51.3(c) the commission is including as a exception for having an entry permit that swine that originate from a Pseudorabies Stage IV or V state or areas and Brucellosis free state or areas and are not vaccinated for pseudorabies;

Section 51.14 is amended to allow feeder pigs to move into Texas while being exempt from testing or other pseudorabies safeguard requirements as long as they are permitted by the TAHC for entry, shipped directly to a designated feedlot and remain restricted to that location until sent to slaughter.

No comments were received regarding adoption of the amendments.

Chapter 51 is adopted under the following statutory authority as found in Chapter 161 of the Texas Agriculture Code. The commission is vested by statute, Section 161.041(a), with the requirement to protect all livestock, domestic animals, and domestic fowl from disease. The commission is authorized, by Section 161.041(b), to act to eradicate or control any disease or agent of transmission for any disease that affects livestock. If the commission determines that a disease listed in Section 161.041 of this code or an agent of transmission of one of those diseases exists in a place in this state among livestock, or that livestock are exposed to one of those diseases or an agent of transmission of one of those diseases, the commission shall establish a quarantine on the affected animals or on the affected place. That is found in Section 161.061.

As a control measure, the commission by rule may regulate the movement of animals. The commission may restrict the intrastate movement of animals even though the movement of the animals is unrestricted in interstate or international commerce. The commission may require testing, vaccination, or another epidemiologically sound procedure before or after animals are moved. That is found in Section 161.054. An agent of the commission is entitled to stop and inspect a shipment of animals or animal products being transported in this state in order to determine if the shipment originated from a quarantined area or herd; or determine if the shipment presents a danger to the public health or livestock industry through insect infestation or through a communicable or noncommunicable disease. That authority is found in Section 161.048.

Section 161.005 provides that the commission may authorize the executive director or another employee to sign written instruments on behalf of the commission. A written instrument, including a quarantine or written notice signed under that authority, has the same force and effect as if signed by the entire commission.

Section 161.061 provides that if the commission determines that a disease listed in Section 161.041 of this code or an agency of transmission of one of those diseases exists in a place in this state or among livestock, exotic livestock, domestic animals, domestic fowl, or exotic fowl, or that a place in this state where livestock, exotic livestock, domestic animals, domestic fowl, or exotic fowl are exposed to one of those diseases or an agency of transmission of one of those diseases, the commission shall establish a quarantine on the affected animals or on the affected place.