04-08-2008
Minnesota's TB status downgraded; Wisconsin enacts new cattle, bison, goat import requirements
Contact: Donna Gilson
608-224-5130
Map showing location of the infected Minnesota herds
USDA news release
Complete import requirements for cattle
Complete import requirements for goats
MADISON -- New import requirements take effect Wednesday, April 9, for Minnesota cattle, bison and goats entering Wisconsin, State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt said today.
The new requirements will take effect simultaneously with 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. With the new testing requirement, it's going to take more planning before animals can enter Wisconsin," Ehlenfeldt said.
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 cattle, bison and goats brought into Wisconsin now need:
- An import permit from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
- Negative TB test results from a "whole-herd test" in the past 12 months
- 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.
There will be no exemptions for young animals. Animals brought into Wisconsin for fairs and shows will not be quarantined, but must return to their farm of origin; they cannot be sold. These are the same requirements that Michigan animals must meet.
Bovine tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that spreads between animals in close contact, through the air and in contaminated milk and feces. Pasteurization and an aggressive national TB-eradication program have virtually eliminated the human health threat that it once posed. Today the real threat is economic, as other states and other nations close their borders to susceptible animals from infected areas.
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