Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards

Issuing agencies

Abstract

We are advising the public that we are making available for review and comment a revised version of the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Herd Certification Program Standards. The CWD Program Standards provide guidance on how to meet CWD Herd Certification Program and interstate movement requirements. We are taking this action to address concerns of State and industry participants regarding the existing standards.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 205 (Monday, October 26, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 205 (Monday, October 26, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 67266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21745]



[[Page 67266]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2026-0563]


Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are making available for 
review and comment a revised version of the Chronic Wasting Disease 
(CWD) Herd Certification Program Standards. The CWD Program Standards 
provide guidance on how to meet CWD Herd Certification Program and 
interstate movement requirements. We are taking this action to address 
concerns of State and industry participants regarding the existing 
standards.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
November 25, 2026.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. 
Enter APHIS-2026-0563 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab, 
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
    <bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2026-0563, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., #AP760, Beltsville, MD 20705.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or in our reading room, which is 
located in room 1620 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure 
someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Tracy Nichols, Molecular 
Biologist, Cervid Health Staff, Strategy and Policy, Veterinary 
Services, APHIS; 2150 Centre Ave, Bldg. B, Fort Collins, CO 80526; 
(970) 494-7380; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d98dabb8baa0f798f797b0bab1b6b5aa99acaabdb8f7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="faae889b9983d4bbd4b4939992959689ba8f899e9bd49d958c">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a 
transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids (members of 
Cervidae, the deer family). Species currently known to be susceptible 
to CWD include elk, mule deer, moose, white-tail deer, sika deer, 
muntjac, axis, reindeer, and black-tail deer.
    In 2014, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
implemented the National CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP), a 
voluntary Federal-State-industry cooperative program administered by 
APHIS and implemented by participating States. States and herd owners 
choosing to participate must comply with the provisions of 9 CFR part 
55 and all producers must comply with part 81 (referred to below as the 
regulations), which include requirements for animal identification, 
interstate movement, fencing, recordkeeping, herd inspections and 
inventories, animal mortality testing, and response to any findings of 
CWD-exposed, -suspect, or -positive herds. APHIS monitors the approved 
State HCPs to ensure consistency with Federal standards by means of 
annual State reporting and state reviews. With each year of successful 
compliance with the requirements, participating herds will advance in 
status. After 5 years of compliance with no evidence of CWD, the State 
or APHIS will certify the herd as being low risk for CWD. Farmed 
cervids may only move interstate from enrolled herds certified as low 
risk for CWD.
    The CWD Program Standards, last revised in 2019, provide detailed 
guidance on how to meet the regulatory requirements referred to above. 
The Program Standards are reviewed on an ongoing basis by APHIS in 
collaboration with State agencies and industry representatives.
    We are advising the public that we have prepared revisions of the 
CWD Program Standards. The proposed revisions include the following:
    <bullet> Reducing the trace and quarantine period for white-tail 
and mule deer, and maintaining it for elk and other species.
    <bullet> Updating indemnity prioritization to include reducing CWD 
transmission risk, strategically removing high risk animals, and 
encouraging HCP participation and genetic strategies to lower herd 
susceptibility.
    <bullet> Making science-based updates and clarifications in areas 
that were open to interpretation.
    <bullet> Including guidelines for use of predictive genetics to 
reduce herd CWD susceptibility and increase CWD prevention.
    <bullet> Adding a section on the indemnity appeal process and 
revising the prioritization guidelines for indemnity funds to include 
predictive genetics.
    <bullet> Allowance for moving cervids from a CWD positive herd to a 
terminal positive quarantined hunt facility in a wildlife endemic area 
in another State with concurrence of the State Animal Health 
Authorities in the origin and receiving States.
    The revised Program Standards may be viewed on the <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> 
website or in our reading room. (Instructions for accessing 
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room are provided under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning 
of this notice.) The documents are also available by contacting the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    We welcome public comment on this notice and the proposed revisions 
to the CWD Program Standards. After considering all comments, if no 
substantive changes to the proposed revisions to the CWD Program 
Standards are deemed necessary by the APHIS Administrator based on the 
comments received, the proposed revisions to the CWD Program Standards 
will be adopted as final without subsequent publication of another 
document in the Federal Register. If substantive changes to the 
proposed revisions are deemed necessary, we will publish an additional 
document in the Federal Register to discuss them and to make available 
a final version of the Program Standards that incorporates these 
substantive changes.
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8301-8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of October 2026.
Kelly Moore,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-21745 Filed 10-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P


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