Wisconsin Ag Connection - MN Bovine TB Status Lowered; New Rules Apply for Cattle

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MN Bovine TB Status Lowered; New Rules Apply for Cattle
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 04/09/2008

New import requirements are now in effect for Minnesota cattle, bison and goats entering Wisconsin. According to State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt, the updated rules are a result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's change in Minnesota's bovine tuberculosis status. The restrictions will require import permits, stepped-up testing, and quarantines on arrival.

"We announced our plans to add these restrictions about three weeks ago, so that anyone planning to move animals would have a heads-up," Dr. Ehlenfeldt says. "With the new testing requirement, it's going to take more planning before animals can enter Wisconsin."

Minnesota animal health authorities have found 11 TB-infected cattle herds in the northwestern part of the state since mid-2005, and wildlife officials have found 17 infected white-tailed deer in the same region. The USDA classifies states in five status levels, according to the number of TB-infected herds they have had.

Wisconsin and most other states are classified 'accredited free,' the highest classification, meaning they can move cattle across state lines without testing under federal law. Although individual states can impose restrictions. After Minnesota authorities reported five infected herds in 2005, the USDA reduced the state's TB status by one level, to 'modified accredited advanced' and Wisconsin imposed some testing requirements for imports. The tipping point to further reduce the status to 'modified accredited' is the discovery of four more herds since October 2007, bringing the total to 11.

Unless they go directly to slaughter or an approved feedlot, Minnesota livestock brought into Wisconsin now need an import permit from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture; negative TB test results from a 'whole-herd test' in the past 12 months; and negative tests for individual animals in the past 60 days if the whole-herd test was done before that time, or if they were not part of the herd at the time of the test. In addition, they must be quarantined when they arrive in Wisconsin, and retested 60-90 days after import.

Animals brought into Wisconsin for fairs and shows will not be quarantined. These are the same requirements that Michigan animals must meet after that state had reports of Bovine TB in their livestock.

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