Qualifications. To be recognized as a qualified herd:

All captive cervids in the herd eligible for testing in accordance with § 77.33(f) must have tested negative to one official tuberculosis test that was administered to the herd within a 7-month period. However, captive cervids under 1 year of age that are not natural additions do not have to be tested if they were born in and originate from an accredited, qualified, or monitored herd.

The owner of the herd must have a document issued by cooperating State and Federal animal health officials stating that the herd has met the requirement in paragraph (a)(1) of this section and is classified as a qualified herd.

Movement allowed. Except as provided in § 77.23 with regard to captive cervids that originate in an accredited-free State or zone, and except as provided in § 77.31 with regard to captive cervids that originate in a nonaccredited State or zone, a captive cervid from a qualified herd may be moved interstate only if:

The captive cervid is not known to be infected with or exposed to tuberculosis; and

The captive cervid is officially identified and is accompanied by an ICVI, as provided in § 77.32(c), that includes a statement that the captive cervid is from a qualified herd. Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4) of this section, the ICVI must also state that the captive cervid has tested negative to an official tuberculosis test conducted within 90 days prior to the date of movement. If a group of captive cervids from a qualified herd is being moved interstate together to the same destination, all captive cervids in the group may be moved under one ICVI.

Captive cervids under 1 year of age that are natural additions to the qualified herd or that were born in and originate from a classified herd may move without testing, provided that they are officially identified and that the ICVI accompanying them states that the captive cervids are natural additions to the qualified herd or were born in and originated from a classified herd and have not been exposed to captive cervids from an unclassified herd.

Captive cervids being moved interstate for the purpose of exhibition only may be moved without testing, provided they are returned to the premises of origin no more than 90 days after leaving the premises, have no contact with other livestock during movement and exhibition, are officially identified, and are accompanied by an ICVI that includes a statement that the captive cervid is from a qualified herd and will otherwise meet the requirements of this paragraph.

Herd additions allowed. No captive cervid may be added to a qualified herd except in accordance with paragraph (c)(4) and either paragraph (c)(1), (c)(2), or (c)(3) of this section, as follows:

The captive cervid to be added must be moved directly from an accredited herd;

The captive cervid to be added must be moved directly from a qualified or monitored herd and must have tested negative to an official tuberculosis test conducted within 90 days prior to movement to the premises of the accredited herd;

If the captive cervid to be added is not being moved directly from a classified herd, the captive cervid must be isolated from all other animals in its herd of origin and must test negative to two official tuberculosis tests prior to movement. The isolation must begin at the time of the first official tuberculosis test. The tests must be conducted at least 90 days apart, and the second test must be conducted within 90 days prior to movement to the premises of the qualified herd. The captive cervid must then be kept in isolation from all animals until it tests negative to an official tuberculosis test conducted at least 90 days following the date of arrival at the premises of the qualified herd. If a group of captive cervids is being moved together, the entire group must be isolated from all other livestock during the testing period, but captive cervids in the group need not be isolated from each other during that period. Such herd additions will not receive status as members of the qualified herd for purposes of interstate movement until they have tested negative to an official tuberculosis test and been released from isolation.

A captive cervid to be added must not have been exposed during the 90 days prior to its movement to either:

A captive cervid from a herd with a lower classification status than its own; or

Any tuberculous livestock.

Maintenance of qualified herd status. To maintain status as a qualified herd, the herd must test negative to an official tuberculosis test within 9-15 months from the anniversary date of the first test with no evidence of tuberculosis disclosed (this is the qualifying test). Each time the herd is retested for qualified status, it must be tested 9-15 months from the anniversary date of the qualifying test, not from the last date of requalification (for example, if a herd is qualified on January 1 of a given year, the anniversary date will be January 1 of each consecutive year). Qualified herd status remains in effect for 12 months (365 days) following the anniversary date of the qualifying test. Qualified herd status will be suspended between the anniversary date and the requalifying test, if the herd is not tested within 12 months. During the suspension period, the herd will be considered “unclassified” and captive cervids may be moved interstate from the herd only in accordance with the movement requirements for the State or zone in which the herd is located.