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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 02-1425

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Amendment of Interstate/International Quarantine Order

[32 Pa.B. 4045]

Recitals

   A.  Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an infectious disease of cervids (animals such as elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, fallow deer, reindeer, red deer, etc. . .). CWD is fatal to infected cervids, but is not known to be communicable to humans.

   B.  CWD was designated a ''Dangerous Transmissible Disease'' of animals by order of the Secretary of Agriculture under the provisions of the Domestic Animal Law (3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2301--2389), at 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 2321(d). The most recent reissuance of this designation took effect on January 5, 2002, and was published at 32 Pennsylvania Bulletin 316 (January 19, 2002).

   C.  The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) has broad authority under the Domestic Animal Law to regulate the keeping and handling of domestic animals in order to exclude, contain or eliminate dangerous transmissible diseases.

   D.  Under authority of the Domestic Animal Law allows (at 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 2329(c)), PDA established an Interstate/International Quarantine with respect to captive cervids on January 19, 2002 (January 19, 2002 Order). This Interstate/International Quarantine Order was published at 32 Pennsylvania Bulletin 438 (January 26, 2002). In summary, the January 19, 2002 Order prohibited the importation of captive cervids unless: (1) the captive cervids originated from a state/province in which CWD is not known to exist; or (2) the captive cervids originated from a farm/herd of origin that has been enrolled in a state-approved CWD monitoring program for at least five years.

   E.  By Order issued on July 29, 2002 and effective August 1, 2002, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has banned the importation of cervids into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

   F.  The referenced July 29, 2002 Order of the Pennsylvania Game Commission imposes restrictions that are more stringent than those imposed by PDA in its January 19, 2002 Interstate/International Quarantine Order, thereby obviating the need for PDA to enforce its January 19, 2002 Interstate/International Quarantine Order.

   G.  In light of the foregoing, PDA deems it appropriate to suspend enforcement of its January 19, 2002 Interstate/International Quarantine Order to prevent confusion among persons who would be affected by both PDA's January 19, 2002 Interstate/International Quarantine Order and the referenced July 29, 2002 Order of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Order

   The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, pursuant to the authority granted it under the Domestic Animal Law and § 1702 of the Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 442), hereby suspends enforcement of the Interstate/International Quarantine Order issued on January 19, 2002 and published at 32 Pennsylvania Bulletin 438 (January 26, 2002).

   The period of this suspension shall be for no more than one year (until August 1, 2003), within which time PDA will monitor the efficacy of the July 29, 2002 Order of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and developments with respect to the prevalence, spread and detection of CWD in the cervid population and issue an Order extending the suspension of enforcement of the January 19, 2002 Interstate/International Quarantine Order, rescinding or otherwise modifying that Order.

This Order is effective August 1, 2002.

SAMUEL E. HAYES, Jr.,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-1425. Filed for public inspection August 16, 2002, 9:00 a.m.]



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