[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 9, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 9CFR54.8]

[Page 174-176]
 
                  TITLE 9--ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS
 
  CHAPTER I--ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 54--CONTROL OF SCRAPIE--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart A--Scrapie Indemnification Program
 
Sec. 54.8  Requirements for flock plans and post-exposure management and monitoring plans.

    (a) The owner of the flock or his or her agent must identify all 
animals 1 year of age or over within the flock. All animals less than 1 
year of age must be identified when a change of ownership occurs, with 
the exception of those animals under 1 year of age moving within 
slaughter channels that must be identified in accordance with Secs. 79.2 
and 79.3 of this chapter. The form of identification must be an 
electronic implant, flank tattoo, ear tattoo, or tamper-resistant ear 
tag approved for this use by APHIS. In the case of goats, the form of 
identification may alternatively be a tail fold tattoo. The official 
identification must provide a unique identification number that is 
applied by the owner of the flock or his or her agent and must be linked 
to that flock in the National Scrapie Database.
    (b) Upon request by a State or APHIS representative, the owner of 
the flock or his or her agent must have an accredited veterinarian 
collect tissues from animals for scrapie diagnostic purposes and submit 
them to a laboratory designated by a State or APHIS representative.
    (c) Upon request by a State or APHIS representative, the owner of 
the flock or his or her agent must make animals in the flock and the 
records required to be kept as a part of these plans available for 
inspection.
    (d) The owner of the flock or his or her agent must meet 
requirements found necessary by a State or APHIS representative to 
monitor for scrapie and to prevent the recurrence of scrapie in the 
flock and to prevent the spread of scrapie from the flock. These other 
requirements may include, but are not limited to: Utilization of a live-
animal screening test; restrictions on the animals that may be moved 
from the flock; segregated lambing; cleaning and disinfection of lambing 
facilities; and/or education of the owner of the flock and personnel 
working with the flock in techniques to recognize clinical signs of 
scrapie and to control the spread of scrapie.
    (e) The owner of the flock or his or her agent must immediately 
report the following animals to a State representative, APHIS 
representative, or an accredited veterinarian, and not remove them from 
a flock without written permission of a State or APHIS representative:
    (1) Any sheep or goat exhibiting weight loss despite retention of 
appetite; behavioral abnormalities; pruritus (itching); wool pulling; 
biting at legs or side; lip smacking; motor abnormalities such as 
incoordination, high stepping gait of forelimbs, bunny hop movement of 
rear legs, swaying of back end; increased sensitivity to noise and 
sudden movement; tremor, ``star gazing,'' head pressing, recumbency, or 
other signs of neurological disease or chronic wasting illness; and
    (2) Any sheep or goat in the flock that has tested positive for 
scrapie or

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for the proteinase resistant protein associated with scrapie on a live-
animal screening test or any other test.
    (f) Requirements for flock plans only. (1) An epidemiologic 
investigation must be conducted to identify high-risk and exposed 
animals that currently reside in the flock or that previously resided in 
the flock, and all high-risk animals, scrapie-positive animals, and 
suspect animals must be removed from the flock. The animals must be 
removed either by movement to an approved research facility or by 
euthanization and disposal of the carcasses by burial, incineration, or 
other methods in accordance with local, State, and Federal laws, or, in 
the case of high-risk animals, by movement to slaughter in accordance 
with the provisions of part 79 of this chapter, or upon request in 
individual cases by another means determined by the Administrator to be 
sufficient to prevent the spread of scrapie;
    (2) The premises of a flock under a flock plan must be cleaned and 
disinfected in accordance with Sec. 54.7(e). Additional guidance on 
acceptable means of cleaning and disinfection is also available in the 
Scrapie Flock Certification Program standards and the Scrapie 
Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules. Premises or portions of premises 
may be exempted from the cleaning and disinfecting requirements if a 
designated scrapie epidemiologist determines, based on epidemiologic 
investigation, that cleaning and disinfection of such buildings, holding 
facilities, conveyances, or other materials on the premises will not 
significantly reduce the risk of the spread of scrapie, either because 
effective disinfection is not possible or because the normal operations 
on the premises prevent transmission of scrapie. No area where a 
scrapie-positive animal lambed or aborted may be exempted;
    (3) The owner of the flock, or his or her agent, must request breed 
associations and registries, livestock markets, and packers to disclose 
records to APHIS representatives or State representatives, to be used to 
identify source flocks and trace exposed animals, including high-risk 
animals; and
    (4) The flock owner must agree to conduct post-exposure management 
and monitoring.
    (g) Requirements for post-exposure management and monitoring plans 
only: The plan must require that a State or APHIS representative inspect 
the flock and flock records at least once every 12 months. The owner of 
the flock or his or her agent must maintain, and keep for a minimum of 5 
years after an animal dies or is otherwise removed from a flock, the 
following records for each animal in the flock:
    (1) Any identifying marks or tags present on the animal, including 
the animal's individual official identification number from its 
electronic implant, flank tattoo, ear tattoo, tamper resistant ear tag, 
or, in the case of goats, tail fold tattoo, and any secondary form of 
identification the owner of the flock may choose to maintain;
    (2) Sex, year of birth, breed, and when possible to determine, the 
following: sire, dam, and offspring of the animal;
    (3) Date of acquisition and previous flock, if the animal was not 
born in the flock; and
    (4) Disposition of the animal, including the date and cause of 
death, if known, or date of removal from the flock and name and address 
of the person to whom the animal was transferred.
    (h) Modification of flock plans and post-exposure management and 
monitoring plans. A designated scrapie epidemiologist may modify the 
requirements of a flock plan or post-exposure management and monitoring 
plan to accommodate the situation of a particular flock if the modified 
plan requires:
    (1) That a State or APHIS representative inspect the flock and flock 
records at least once every 12 months;
    (2) The testing of animals at a level that will result in 99 percent 
confidence of detecting a 1 percent prevalence in the flock (for flock 
plans only);
    (3) The official identification of all animals upon leaving the 
premises of the flock for purposes other than slaughter and of all 
animals over 18 months of age (as evidenced by the

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eruption of the second incisor) in slaughter channels; and
    (4) Recordkeeping including:
    (i) For acquired animals, the date of acquisition, name and address 
of the person from whom the animal was acquired, any identifying marks 
or tags present on the animal including the animal's individual official 
identification number from its electronic implant, flank tattoo, ear 
tattoo, tamper resistant ear tag, or, in the case of goats, tail fold 
tattoo, and any secondary form of identification the owner of the flock 
may choose to maintain.
    (ii) For animals leaving the premises of the flock, the disposition 
of the animal, including, for those animals that are required to be 
identified, any identifying marks or tags present on the animal, 
including the animal's individual official identification number from 
its electronic implant, flank tattoo, ear tattoo, tamper resistant ear 
tag, or, in the case of goats, a tail fold tattoo, and any secondary 
form of identification the owner of the flock may choose to maintain, 
the date and cause of death, if known, or date of removal from the flock 
and name and address of the person to whom the animal was transferred.
    (iii) Maintenance of these records for 5 years.
    (5) Requirements equivalent to those contained in paragraphs (b), 
(c), (d), and (e) of this section.
    (i) Post-exposure management and monitoring plans for exposed flocks 
that were not source flocks and in which a scrapie infected animal did 
not lamb. A designated scrapie epidemiologist shall determine the 
testing and monitoring requirements for these flocks based on the 
exposure risk of the individual flock.