Rule 901:1-1-05 | Death and testing.
(A) All captive deer, three hundred sixty-five days of age or older which die from injury, illness, slaughter, hunting, or any other cause, shall:
(1) Be reported within twenty-four hours of discovery to an approved accredited veterinarian or if not available, the chief, division of animal health or his representative; and
(2) Be tested for chronic wasting disease.
(B) Owners of all captive whitetail deer being tested for chronic wasting disease shall, within seven days of the death or discovery of a deceased captive whitetail deer, submit to the department the following:
(1) CWD Submission form signed by an accredited veterinarian. The form is available at the department's website www.agri.ohio.gov;
(2) The deceased cervid's obex;
(3) The deceased cervid's two retropharyngeal lymph nodes; and
(4) Until December 31, 2020, the owner of the captive whitetail deer must submit the animal's official identification device and a piece of fresh tissue that has not been placed in formalin.
(a) If there are multiple official identification devices, only one device must have tissue attached.
(b) All official identification devices must be submitted to the department.
(c) If the animal does not have an official identification device at time of death, one must be issued and accompany the sample.
(5) Effective January 1, 2021, the owner of the captive whitetail deer must submit the animal's official identification device and a piece of fresh ear tissue that was directly attached to the animal's official identification device at the time of the animal's death.
(a) For the purposes of this rule, "ear tissue" is defined as skin tissue of the ear or tissue surrounding the base of the ear.
(b) The piece of fresh ear tissue that is connected to the official identification device shall not be placed in formalin.
(c) If there are multiple official identification devices, only one device must have tissue attached.
(d) All official identification devices must be submitted to the department.
(e) If the animal does not have an official identification device at time of death, one must be issued and accompany the sample.
(C) The owner of all captive whitetail deer being tested for chronic wasting disease, is responsible for arranging for the submission of the required brain tissue and any other tissues as directed by the chief, division of animal health or his representative, to a department approved laboratory for chronic wasting disease testing. Owners are responsible for the cost of collecting, submitting, and testing of samples.
(D) Poor quality, missing, and untimely samples.
(1) The approved accredited veterinarian shall determine the quality of tissue samples to be collected and provide comments as to that quality.
(2) If tissues associated with a captive whitetail deer death are not submitted for laboratory diagnosis due to postmortem changes or unavailability, the chief, division of animal health or his representative shall be notified in writing by the veterinarian within seven days of that conclusion.
(3) Except for as described in paragraph (D)(4) of this rule, facilities that submit poor quality, missing, or untimely samples may be immediately quarantined by the department.
(a) Facilities may be released from quarantine upon the submission of a new, testable post-mortem sample.
(b) The new sample must be of the same species and have come from an animal that has resided in the herd for at least as long as the poor quality, missing, or untimely sample. In the case that the deceased animal was in the facility for more than five years, any animal that resided on the facility for more than five years may be submitted for testing.
(c) Should a facility submit more than one poor quality, missing, or untimely sample in the same submission, the facility must submit new, testable post-mortem samples equal to or greater than the original poor quality, missing, or untimely samples.
(4) Hunting preserves that submit poor quality, missing, or untimely samples of harvested animals shall be quarantined seven days after receiving notice of the poor quality, missing, or untimely sample by the department.
(a) Hunting preserves will not be not be quarantined after seven days or if a quarantine was issued, the hunting preserve will be released from that quarantine, if the hunting preserve submits a new, testable post-mortem sample.
(b) Unless specifically permitted by the department, the new sample must be of the same species and have come from an animal that has resided in the herd for at least as long as the poor quality, missing, or untimely sample.
(c) Should a hunting preserve submit more than one poor quality, missing, or untimely sample in the same submission, the facility must submit new, testable post-mortem samples equal to or greater than the original poor quality, missing, or untimely samples.
Supplemental Information