Texas Animal Health Commissioners Adopt Rule Amendments

AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) held a regularly scheduled Commission meeting April 4, 2023, at its headquarters in Austin. The following rules were adopted and go into effect May 17, 2023.

Chapter 35, Brucellosis

The adopted amendments to §35.4, Entry, Movement, and Change of Ownership, remove additional brucellosis entry requirements for sexually intact cattle entering Texas from the Designated Surveillance Area (DSA) comprised of the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Following nine years of testing without any detection of brucellosis-infected cattle, and no significant program deficits found during the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) triennial review of the state brucellosis programs in the DSA states, the additional entry requirements for these cattle imports are no longer required.

Chapter 40, Chronic Wasting Disease

The adopted amendments to §40.6, CWD Movement Restriction Zones, clarify, correct, and update information regarding Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management. The amendments establish one new containment zone (CZ) 5, in Kimble County, expand existing CZ 2, in Hartley County, and CZ 3, in Medina County, create a new surveillance zone (SZ) 8, in Duval County, and modify existing SZ 5, in Kimble County.

Chapter 45, Reportable and Actionable Diseases

The adopted amendment to §45.3, Reportable and Actionable Disease List, adds Malignant Catarrhal Fever caused by a ruminant gamma herpesvirus to the list of reportable and actionable diseases and agents of disease transmission among multiple species to address the emerging threat to susceptible species in Texas. In addition, the list is reordered in alphabetical order.

Chapter 51, Entry Requirements

The adopted amendment to §51.2, General Requirements, adds that animals vaccinated or tested for any disease as required by the commission be individually officially identified on a certificate of veterinary inspection, instead of just individually identified. The amendment clarifies the type of individual animal identification that must be documented on a CVI, aligns TAHC rules with federal requirements in Title 9 Code of Federal Regulations §86.1, and improves animal disease traceability for animals moving into Texas.

Additional amendments to §51.8 change the tuberculosis test entry requirements for sexually intact dairy cattle from two months of age or older to six months of age or older. For dairy cattle less than six months of age that are permitted entry to a designated facility, the amendments require a negative tuberculosis test at the age of two to six months while they are held at the designated facility.

All rules are available in the Texas Administrative Code under Title 4, Part 2 and the respective chapters. The Texas Administrative Code can be accessed through the TAHC website.