DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

In addition to the definitions found in RCW 16.36.005, the following definitions apply to this chapter:

"Accredited veterinarian" means a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry in the state of Washington and approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Veterinary Services to participate in state-federal cooperative programs.

"Adult vaccination tattoo" means a tattoo in the right ear with the letters ((RAV)) RA, the United States registered V-shield, followed by the last digit of the year in which the vaccination was administered with RB-51 Brucella vaccine. An example is RAV2 for an adult vaccinated in 2012.

"Breed registry tattoo" means individual registry tattoos issued by breed associations.

"Brucellosis vaccine" means only those Brucella abortus products that are approved by and produced under license of the USDA for injection into cattle to enhance their resistance to brucellosis.

"Calfhood vaccination tattoo" means a tattoo in the right ear consisting of an R, the United States registered V-shield, and the last digit of the year in which the animal was vaccinated with RB-51 Brucella vaccine. An example is RV-shield2 for a calf vaccinated in 2012.

"Department" means the Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA).

"Director" means the director of WSDA or the director's authorized representative.

"Herd plan" means a written management agreement between the animal owner and the state veterinarian, with possible input from a private accredited veterinarian designated by the owner, in which each participant agrees to undertake actions specified in the herd plan to control the spread of infectious, contagious, or communicable disease within and from an infected herd and to work toward eradicating the disease in the infected herd.

"Official calfhood vaccinate" means female cattle between four and twelve months of age that are vaccinated with brucellosis vaccine at a calfhood dose (2cc subcutaneously) and officially individually identified.

"Official individual identification" means identifying an animal using USDA-approved devices or methods or an alternative form of identification agreed upon by the sending and receiving states, such as unique breed registry tattoos when accompanied by registration documentation. A group of animals may be identified by registered brands when accompanied by a certificate of inspection from a brand inspection authority recognized by the director when agreed upon by the sending and receiving states.

"Official Washington adult vaccinate" means female cattle over the age of twelve months that have resided in Washington state for ninety days or more and are vaccinated with a dose of brucellosis vaccine (2cc subcutaneously) under directions issued by the director.

"Premises" means a location where livestock are kept.

"Timed events" means competitive events that take place where time elapsed is the factor that determines the placing of individuals competing in the event.

"USDA" means the United States Department of Agriculture.

"Virgin bull" means a sexually intact male bovine less than eighteen months of age, as determined by dentition inspection by an accredited veterinarian or verified by breed registration documents, that is confirmed by a statement and the signature of the owner or the owner's designee as having had no breeding contact with female cattle.

Forms used in this chapter may be obtained from the department at:

Animal Services Division

Washington State Department of Agriculture

1111 Washington St. S.E.

Olympia, WA 98504-2560

Phone: 360-902-1878.

(1) Effective January 1, 2011, accredited veterinarians may not perform official trichomoniasis testing of bulls in Washington state until they are certified to do so by having successfully completed training and passed a proficiency examination provided by the department.

(2) All official trichomoniasis testing of bulls in Washington state shall be performed by a certified, accredited veterinarian.

(3) Information on training opportunities is available by contacting the department at:

Washington State Department of Agriculture

Animal Services Division

1111 Washington Street S.E.

P.O. Box 42577

Olympia, Washington 98504-2577

Phone: 360-902-1878

(4) Certified veterinarians shall utilize only official laboratories recognized by the state veterinarian for testing trichomoniasis samples. Positive test results will be sent to the department by the next business day.

(5)(a) Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is the test method for official tests accepted by the department.

(b) An official test is one in which the sample is collected by a certified veterinarian and received in the official laboratory in good condition within forty-eight hours of collection. Samples in transit for more than forty-eight hours or have been frozen or exposed to high temperatures will not be accepted for official testing. All samples shipped to the laboratory must be in a transport medium approved by the testing laboratory. All sampling will be obtained by pipette scrapings from the prepuce and glans of a bull.

(6) Each sampled bull shall have a current-year Washington trichomoniasis tag and a USDA-approved official identification tag applied. If a bull already bears an official identification tag at the time of sampling, the individual identification number on that device shall be recorded. Both tag numbers should be recorded on the laboratory submission form so that testing and results can be verified by either number. Additional official individual identification must not be applied.

(7) A trichomoniasis testing year is defined as September 1st through August 31st.

(1) All testing of cattle or bison in Washington state for tuberculosis shall be performed by a veterinarian accredited by the United State Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). In addition, all accredited veterinarians testing cattle or bison in Washington state for tuberculosis are required to successfully complete training in tuberculosis testing procedures provided by USDA or the department. Accredited veterinarians who have not successfully completed the training by April 30, 2010, may not perform official tuberculosis testing of cattle or bison in Washington state. ((A schedule of)) Training opportunities ((is)) are available by contacting the department at:

Washington State Department of Agriculture

Animal Services Division

1111 Washington Street S.E.

P.O. Box 42577

Olympia, Washington 98504-2577

Phone: 360-902-1878.

(2) The department may review the testing results and other records associated with tuberculosis testing of cattle or bison by accredited veterinarians in Washington state. In the event that the response rates reported by an accredited veterinarian do not meet the response rates standards established in Appendix C of the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules, effective January 1, 2005 (adopted in WAC 16-86-120), the director may require additional training or may refuse to accept the testing of cattle or bison for tuberculosis performed by that veterinarian.

(1) Any herd of cattle or bison in which tuberculosis reactors are found will be quarantined. The sale or removal of any animal out of a quarantined herd is prohibited except for removal for immediate slaughter.

(2) Herds in which no gross lesions reactors occur and in which no evidence of Mycobacterium bovis infection has been disclosed may be released from quarantine after a sixty-day negative caudal fold tuberculosis retest of the entire herd.

Herds containing one or more suspects to the caudal fold tuberculosis test will be quarantined until the suspect animals are:

(a) Retested by the comparative-cervical tuberculosis test within ten days of the caudal fold injection; or

(b) Retested by the gamma interferon tuberculosis test and the tuberculosis status of the suspect has been determined; or

(c) Retested by the comparative-cervical tuberculosis test after sixty days and the tuberculosis status of the suspect has been determined; or

(d) Shipped under permit directly to slaughter in accordance with state ((or)) and federal laws and regulations and the tuberculosis status of the suspect has been determined.

(3) Herds in which Mycobacterium bovis infection has been confirmed and the herd has not been depopulated will remain under quarantine and must pass two tuberculin tests at intervals of at least sixty days and one additional test after six months from the previous negative test. Following the release from quarantine, these herds will also be subject to five annual tests on the entire herd.