ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2690
(By Delegates Talbot, Argento, Pethtel, Swartzmiller,
Tabb, Beach, Williams, Anderson, Evans, Schoen and C. Miller)
(Passed April 11, 2009; in effect ninety days from passage.)
AN ACT to amend and reenact §19-9-28, §19-9-29, §19-9-30, §19-9-31,
§19-9-32, §19-9-33, §19-9-34, §19-9-34a, §19-9-35 and §19-9-36
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating
to updating language pertaining to the death of diseased or
infected animals; indemnity for the death of diseased or
infected animals; deleting outdated amounts paid to appraisers
and arbitrators for services rendered; and disposing of dead
domesticated animals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-9-28, §19-9-29, §19-9-30, §19-9-31, §19-9-32,
§19-9-33, §19-9-34, §19-9-34a, §19-9-35, and §19-9-36 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. DISEASES AMONG DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND EUTHANASIA OF
DISEASED ANIMALS.
§19-9-28. Indemnity for euthanizing infected or exposed animals;
agreement.
Whenever, to prevent the spread of any communicable disease which cannot be cured or controlled by isolation and adequate or
proper veterinary treatment, the Commissioner or any of the
Commissioner's agents find it necessary to euthanize any animal
infected with or directly exposed to any infectious, contagious or
communicable disease, which cannot be cured or controlled by
isolation and adequate or proper veterinary treatment, and if the
owner of the animal elects to receive indemnity for it, the
Commissioner shall require the owner, before the appraisal and
death of the animal, to execute an agreement that the owner will
thoroughly clean and disinfect all premises that may have been
infected by the animal in the manner the Commissioner prescribes.
If the animal has tuberculosis, the agreement will require the
owner to have the entire herd of bovine animals tested with
tuberculin by the commissioner or the Commissioner's agent, at
times the commissioner designates, and the agreement will require
that the owner not admit to the herd any bovine animal that has not
had a negative reaction to the test. The agreement shall be in
duplicate, one copy to be retained by the signer, on a form
prescribed by the Commissioner, and shall be signed by the owner or
the owner's agent. The agreement shall be effective for a period
of two years from the date it is executed. All animals for which
the owner claims indemnity shall be appraised before being
euthanized, and the owner shall be indemnified as hereinafter
provided:
Provided, That any animal infected with rabies may be
euthanized by the owner or any person authorized to do so without
an agreement or appraisal, and if the disease is caused by a dog bite, the animal shall be appraised and the owner shall be
compensated as provided in article twenty of this chapter.
§19-9-29. When right of indemnity does not exist.
The right of indemnity shall not exist nor shall payment be
made in any of the following cases:
(a) For animals owned by the United States, this state, or any
county, city, town or village in this state;
(b) For animals brought into this state contrary to the
provisions of this article, or where the owner of the animals or
person claiming compensation has failed to comply with the
provisions of this article;
(c) When the owner or claimant at the time of coming into
possession of the animal knew or had reason to believe it to be
afflicted with a communicable disease;
(d) When the owner has been guilty of negligence or carelessly
exposed such animals to a communicable disease; and
(e) When the owner has refused or neglected to comply with the
sanitary requirements of the Commissioner of agriculture or the
Commissioner's agents.
§19-9-30. Appraisal of infected or exposed animals; amount;
arbitration; fees of arbitrators.
The commissioner or the commissioner's agent shall act as
appraiser and shall appraise each infected or directly exposed
animal within five days before euthanizing the animal, basing the
amount upon the class and market value of the animal at the time of the appraisal, whether for breeding purposes or for milk or meat
production. Animals reacting to any approved test, but not
exhibiting any physical evidence of disease, shall be appraised
without considering the presence of a diseased condition, but
animals exhibiting any physical evidence of disease shall be
appraised as infected animals:
Provided, That where indemnities
are claimed for directly exposed animals euthanized on account of
rabies infection, appraisal shall be based on the value of the
animal before it became infected. If the amount of appraisal of any
animal, as determined by the appraiser, is not satisfactory to the
owner of the animal, the owner shall immediately notify the
appraiser of this fact, setting forth the reason for complaint.
The amount of the appraisal shall then be determined by
arbitrators, one to be appointed by the appraiser and one by the
owner of the animal. If these arbitrators are not able to agree on
the amount of appraisal, a third arbitrator shall be appointed by
them, whose decision shall be final. Compensation for the
arbitrators appointed by the owner and the appraiser shall be paid
by the party appointing the arbitrator, and in case a third
arbitrator is chosen, the third arbitrator shall be paid by the
party against whom the decision is made.
§19-9-31. Certificate of appraisal.
When the animal is to be euthanized, the commissioner or the
Commissioner's agent shall deliver to the owner a certificate of
appraisal which may cover any number of animals belonging to the
same owner, showing the age and description of each animal found to be infected or directly exposed; the name and place of test, if
any; the mark or brand signifying an animal with tuberculosis; any
other mark or brand which the animal may bear; the date when and
the place where the animal is to be euthanized by the veterinarian;
the designation of the officer who is to supervise the euthanasia;
the appraised value of each animal; the name and address of the
owner of the animal; and the fact that the owner has executed the
agreement as provided in section twenty-eight of this article.
§19-9-32. Euthanasia of diseased animals; supervision;
certificate of euthanasia.
After the agreement described in section twenty-eight of this
article has been executed, the appraisal has been made and the
certificate of appraisal issued, the Commissioner or the
Commissioner's agent shall have the animal euthanized and the
carcass disposed of in accordance with the meat inspection
regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture, or in
such manner as the Commissioner prescribes. The officer supervising
the euthanasia shall immediately include in the certificate of
appraisal provided for in section thirty-one of this article a
certificate of euthanasia stating that the officer has witnessed
the euthanasia of each of the animals; identifying the place and
date of the euthanasia; certifying that the number, age,
description and brand or mark correspond to those in the
certificate of appraisal; stating the result of the post-mortem
examination; the disposition made of the carcass; and the amount
paid to the veterinarian, which amount shall be paid to the owner and credited on the amount of appraisal:
Provided, That in case
animals are euthanized as having tuberculosis, the appraisal
certificate shall be credited in the manner provided in section
thirty-six of this article.
The euthanasia may be supervised and certified by the
Commissioner; any of the Commissioner's agents; or any person with
the authority of an agent or officer of the United States
Department of Agriculture. The Commissioner may prescribe other
requirements for the certificates or the affidavits required by
this article, and may make and enforce rules governing the
handling, shipping and euthanasia of such animals..
§19-9-33. Payment of indemnity.
All claims for indemnity for animals euthanized as having
tuberculosis shall be paid in the manner prescribed in section
thirty-seven of this article. In all other cases when animals are
euthanized as provided in this article the veterinarian shall
forthwith forward to the Commissioner the certificates of appraisal
and euthanasia, together with the owner's claim for indemnity, and
the owner's affidavit that the owner has in all respects complied
with the agreement provided for in section twenty-eight of this
article, and with any other requirements prescribed by the
Commissioner. If the certificates, claim and affidavit are correct
and the claim is not barred by section twenty-nine of this article,
the Commissioner shall approve and file them. The Commissioner
shall, at the end of each fiscal year, issue a requisition to the
State Auditor for two thirds of the value of the approved certificates:
Provided, That in case of an outbreak of
foot-and-mouth disease, or any other dangerously contagious or
infectious disease among bovine animals, ovine animals, or swine,
on account of which such animals are being euthanized by
cooperative order of federal and state authority, and for which
euthanized animals the federal government pays one half of the
indemnity, this state shall pay one half, and only one half, of
such indemnity. The State Auditor shall issue a warrant on the
State Treasurer, in favor of the claimant, for the amount ordered
by the Commissioner, which shall be paid out of the current
appropriation for administering this article:
Provided, however,
That in case the amount of the certificates of appraisal, and of
those described in section thirty-seven of this article, in any one
year, exceeds the current appropriation therefor, the certificates
shall be paid pro rata at the end of each fiscal year.
§19-9-34. Disposal of carcass of diseased animal.
Whenever it is necessary to destroy or dispose of the carcass
of any animal to prevent the spread of disease, the destruction or
disposal shall be made by one of the following methods designed to
be protective of human health and the environment: (a) Complete
cremation of the entire carcass with all its parts and products;
(b) boiling the carcass and all its parts and products in water or
heating the same with steam at the temperature of boiling water,
continuously during at least two hours; (c) disposing of the
carcass and all its parts and products in a solid waste landfill
permitted and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection; (d) burial of the carcass and all its parts and
products in a place that will not be subjected to overflow from
ponds or streams, and which is not less than one hundred feet from
any watercourse, well, spring, public highway, house or stable. If
buried, the carcass shall be covered with quicklime to a depth of
not less than three inches, and the top of such carcass shall not
be within two feet of the surface of the ground when the grave is
filled and smoothed to the level of the surrounding surface; (e)
rendering by a licensed facility; (f) composting; and (g) such
other method as the Commissioner may prescribe. When an animal
infected with a communicable disease dies or is euthanized, the
owner of the animal shall destroy or dispose of the carcass in the
manner provided in this section. It shall be unlawful to sell any
such carcass, any part of it, or any hide or offal from it. If the
owner of such animal does not dispose of the carcass within
twenty-four hours as provided by law, the Commissioner or the
Commissioner's agent shall destroy or dispose of the carcass
according to law, at the cost of the owner. The expense of
destruction or disposal may be collected from the owner as debts of
like amount are by law collectible.
§19-9-34a. Authority of Commissioner to promulgate rules
regulating disposal of dead animals.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
the Commissioner of Agriculture is authorized to promulgate rules
to regulate the disposal of dead animals.
§19-9-35. Tests for bovine tuberculosis; disposition of infected bovine animals.
The Commissioner or the Commissioner's agent is authorized to
test with tuberculin any bovine animal kept within the state,
subject to rules prescribed by the Commissioner. The tuberculin
test shall be applied to bovine animals at times designated by the
Commissioner for the control and eradication of bovine
tuberculosis, and all cows whose milk is sold for human consumption
or manufacture, and all uncastrated beef animals, shall be tested
with tuberculin to the greatest extent possible.
When a bovine animal has a clearly defined reaction to such
test, as prescribed by the Commissioner's rules, the animal shall
be considered infected with bovine tuberculosis and shall be marked
or branded upon the left jaw with a capital "T" not less than two
inches high, one and one-half inches wide, with a mark one fourth
of an inch wide. Such branding shall not constitute cruelty to
animals within the meaning of the penal laws of the state.
All bovine animals within the state which are deemed t to have
tuberculosis, either as a result of a physical examination or the
tuberculin test, shall be euthanized, and if the owner of any such
animal demands indemnity, the owner shall execute the agreement
provided for in section twenty-eight of this article; such animal
shall be appraised as provided in section thirty of this article;
an appraisal certificate shall be issued as provided in section
thirty-one of this article; and the euthanasia shall be supervised
and the certificate shall be issued as provided in section thirty-
two of this article.
§19-9-36. Rules for determining amount of indemnity.
The owners of animals euthanized as having tuberculosis shall
be indemnified in an amount determined by the results of post-
mortem inspection by the officer supervising the euthanasia, and
the certificate of appraisal shall be credited according to the
following rules: (a) If an animal is found upon post-mortem
inspection not to show lesions of tuberculosis, the carcass and
other edible portions shall be passed as food, and the veterinarian
shall sell them, including all accompanying parts, for the best
price obtainable, which shall be paid to the owner and deducted
from the amount of appraisal, and any remaining balance shall be
paid to the owner; (b) if a an animal is found upon post-mortem
inspection to be infected with tuberculosis, and the lesions are
such that the carcass and parts of the carcass are passed for food,
the veterinarian shall sell them
, including all accompanying parts,
for the best price obtainable, which shall be paid to the owner and
deducted from eighty percent of the amount of the appraisal, and
any remaining balance
shall be paid the owner; (c) if an animal
upon post-mortem inspection is condemned for offal, the
veterinarian shall sell the hide and offal for the best price
obtainable, which price shall be paid to the owner and deducted
from forty percent of the appraisal, and any remaining balance
shall be paid to the owner.