By EMMA HOPKINS-O’BRIEN

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — At this month’s Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH) meeting, a public hearing was conducted to discuss the adoption of a rule involving interstate travel of cervids according to brucellosis and chronic wasting disease (CWD) regulations.

A final rule passed at the April 2 meeting addresses three main requirements related to cervids in Indiana. The first suggested change was to remove the requirement for cervids being moved into Indiana to either originate from a certified brucellosis-free herd or meet certain import testing requirements, except for cervids moving into a brucellosis-certified or -monitored herd.

The issue was brought forth by the Minnesota farm Crystal Collection Reindeer, which produces exhibition animals in part for Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, Ind.

“Last year, due to current Indiana regulations, we had to rent eight reindeer from a friend in New York to fulfill the contract that we had signed with the casino,” said Daryl Simon, owner of Crystal Collection Reindeer. “New York is the only state that has a farm with enough reindeer for the lease and that meets the Indiana exhibition CWD requirement.”

The Indiana requirement was triggered by a reindeer on a farm in Illinois testing positive for CWD, thereby subjecting all reindeer to Indiana’s CWD requirements. The new rule updates CWD rules to include reindeer on the list of cervids susceptible to the disease.

“At our request and with our input, the USDA has released a new exhibition biosecurity protocol,” Simon said. “This protocol is one that our farm already incorporates in all our live reindeer displays and exhibits.”

The general manager of Rising Star Casino, Ben Douglass, also spoke up on the issue, asking that BOAH change rules or grant Crystal Collection Reindeer a waiver.

“The casino has invested considerable funding to create the first ever Christmas casino in the nation,” he said. “The public reaction has been very positive. This theme has turned into a family event with many families visiting specifically to see the reindeer, sometimes multiple times a season.”

Douglass explained the casino has taken every precaution to ensure its facilities are secure from disease, including a pen that meets USDA guidelines and practices such as safe disposal of waste and frequent cleaning of the pens, which are filled with 6 or more inches of wood shavings.

The area is also under constant surveillance in the off chance a wild deer crosses the road surrounding the area and manages to get to the pen, which is surrounded by a parking lot and an additional barrier separating it from the public and predators.

The North American Elk Breeders Assoc., represented by Executive Director Travis Lowe, also weighed in on the brucellosis-testing issue, saying the U.S. Animal Health Assoc. recently adopted a resolution urging state animal health officials to eliminate interstate brucellosis testing.

“No farmed cervid has been found to be infected with brucellosis in the last 20 years,” he said. “Our industry believes this change will not pose a risk to the states. Since brucellosis interstate testing requirements are currently regulated by state, our industry is concurrently requesting states to independently make the change. Several will be doing so in coming months.”

Finally, the new rule amends a previous one to include hunting preserves in the section of the CWD rule that sets forth the enforcement actions that the agency is authorized to take in the event a herd owner violates provisions related to sample collection.