Board of Animal Health invites public involvement during farmed deer and elk rulemaking process

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is asking for public participation as it goes through the process of changing its rules for farmed Cervidae (commonly called deer and elk) to help the agency better prevent and control diseases like CWD. The public can participate in the process in several ways including providing written comment, and by tuning in to the first meeting of the Farmed Cervidae Advisory Committee on Wednesday, August 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Microsoft Teams. Full meeting details and how to join the meeting are posted on the Board’s rulemaking website and the final 15 minutes of the meeting will be open to public comment.

Members of the public can also provide written comments about the proposed rule changes at any time through at least September 14 during this part of the rule making process. The public will have a second opportunity to comment on the rules after the Board publishes its Notice of Intent towards the end of 2020.

The Farmed Cervidae Advisory Committee’s role is to advise the Board as the agency writes changes to Minnesota Rules chapters 1721.0370 to 1721.0420. The committee has diverse representation from groups like farmed Cervidae producers, deer hunters, tribal members, regulatory agencies, veterinary professionals, agricultural producers and members of the public. The proposed rule changes are focused on addressing changes made by the Minnesota legislature in 2019 to Minnesota Statute §35.155.

Review the current draft of proposed rule changes on the Board’s webpage. Anyone can provide public comments about these proposed rules. The Board wants your opinion and asks you to please be specific when commenting on the rule changes. The Board will thoroughly review and consider all comments. Please note though, comments are not votes and the Board makes the final decision on the rule changes.

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