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Exotic Animal Auctions or Swap Meet Statutes

Initiated
February, 2007

Administration:   These statues are administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. Telephone: (402) 471-2351.

Revisions:   Sections 54-7,105 through 54-7,108 of these statutes were initiated during the 2006 session of the Nebraska Legislature.

Rules:   No regulations have been promulgated under these statutes.

54-701.03   Terms, defined.
54-703         Prevention of diseases; enforcement of sections; inspections; rules and regulations.
54-704         Prevention of diseases; federal agents; powers.
54-705         Prevention of diseases; orders of department; enforcement.
54-750         Diseased animals; harboring or sale prohibited; penalties.
54-751         Rules and regulations; violation; penalties.
54-752         Violations; penalties.
54-753         Prevention of disease; writ of injunction available.
54-7,105     Purpose of sections.
54-7,106     Notification requirements.
54-7,107     Records; contents; access by department.
54-7,108     Prohibited transfers.

54-701.03 Terms, defined.   For purposes of sections 54-701 to 54-753.05 and 54-797 to 54-7,103, and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108:

(1) Accredited veterinarian means a veterinarian approved by the deputy administrator of the United States Department of Agriculture in accordance with 9 C.F.R. part 161, as such regulation existed on January 1, 2006;

(2) Animal means all vertebrate members of the animal kingdom except humans or wild animals at large;

(3) Bureau of Animal Industry means the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture of the State of Nebraska and includes the State Veterinarian, deputy state veterinarian, veterinary field officers, livestock inspectors, investigators, and other employees of the bureau;

(4) Dangerous disease means a disease transmissible to and among livestock which has the potential for rapid spread, serious economic impact or serious threat to livestock health, and is of major importance in the trade of livestock and livestock products;

(5) Department means the Department of Agriculture of the State of Nebraska;

(6) Director means the Director of Agriculture of the State of Nebraska or his or her designee;

(7) Domesticated cervine animal means any elk, deer, or other member of the family cervidae legally obtained from a facility which has a license, permit, or registration authorizing domesticated cervine animals which has been issued by the state where the facility is located and such animal is raised in a confined area;

(8)Exotic animal means any animal which is not commonly sold through licensed livestock auction markets pursuant to the Livestock Auction Market Act. Such animals shall include, but not be limited to, miniature cattle, miniature horses, miniature donkeys, Barbary sheep, Dall's sheep, alpacas, llamas, pot-bellied pigs, and small mammals, with the exception of cats of the Felis domesticus species and dogs of the Canis familiaris species. The term also includes birds and poultry. The term does not include beef and dairy cattle, calves, swine, bison, sheep sold for wool or food, goats sold for dairy, food, or fiber, and domesticated cervine animals;

(9) Exotic animal auction or swap meet means any event or location as defined in rules and regulations of the department, other than a livestock auction market as defined in section 54-1158, where (a) an exotic animal is purchased, sold, traded, bartered, given away, or otherwise transferred, (b) an offer to purchase an exotic animal is made, or (c) an exotic animal is offered to be sold, traded, bartered, given away, or otherwise transferred;

(10) Exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer means a person in charge, as identified by rule and regulation of the department, of organizing an exotic animal auction or swap meet event, and may include any person who: (a) Arranges events for third parties to have private sales or trades of exotic animals; (b) organizes or coordinates exotic animal auctions or swap meets; (c) leases out areas for exotic animal auctions or swap meets; or (d) provides or coordinates other similar arrangements involving exotic animals;

(11) Exposed means being part of a herd which contains or has contained an animal infected with a disease agent which affects livestock or having had a reasonable opportunity to come in contact with an infective disease agent which affects livestock;

(12) Herd means any group of livestock maintained on common ground for any purpose or two or more groups of livestock under common ownership or supervision geographically separated but which have an interchange of livestock without regard to health status;

(13) Livestock means cattle, swine, sheep, horses, mules, goats, domesticated cervine animals, ratite birds, and poultry;

(14) Poultry means domesticated birds that serve as a source of eggs or meat and includes, but is not limited to, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese;

(15) Program disease means a livestock disease for which specific legislation exists for disease control or eradication;

(16) Quarantine means restriction of (a) movement imposed by the department on an animal, group of animals, or herd of animals because of infection with, or exposure to, a disease agent which affects livestock and (b) use of equipment, facilities, land, buildings, and enclosures which are used or have been used by animals infected with, or suspected of being infected with, a disease agent which affects livestock;

(17) Ratite bird means any ostrich, emu, rhea, kiwi, or cassowary;

(18) Sale means a sale, lease, loan, trade, barter, or gift;

(19) Surveillance means the collection and testing of livestock blood, tissue, hair, body fluids, discharges, excrements, or other samples done in a herd or randomly selected livestock to determine the presence or incidence of disease in the state or area of the state; and

(20) Veterinarian means an individual who is a graduate of an accredited college of veterinary medicine.

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54-703. Prevention of diseases; enforcement of sections; inspections; rules and regulations.

(1) The Department of Agriculture and all inspectors and persons appointed and authorized to assist in the work of such department shall enforce the provisions of sections 54-701 to 54-753.05 and 54-797 to 54-7,103, and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108 as designated.

(2) The department and any officer, agent, employee, or appointee of the department shall have the right to enter upon the premises of any person who has, or is suspected of having, any animal thereon, including any premises where the carcass or carcasses of dead livestock may be found or where a facility for the disposal or storage of dead livestock is located, for the purpose of making any and all inspections, examinations, tests, and treatments of such animal, to inspect livestock carcass disposal practices, and to declare, carry out, and enforce any and all quarantines.

(3) The department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensure, may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations reflecting best management practices for the burial of carcasses of dead livestock.

(4) The Department of Agriculture shall further adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to promptly and efficiently enforce and effectuate the general purpose and provisions of such sections.

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54-704. Prevention of diseases; federal agents; powers.   Any veterinary inspector or agent of the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, who has been officially assigned by the United States Department of Agriculture for service in Nebraska may be officially authorized by the Department of Agriculture to perform and exercise such powers and duties as may be prescribed by the department and when so authorized shall have and exercise all rights and powers vested by sections 54-701 to 54-753.05 and 54-797 to 54-7,103, and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108 in agents and representatives in the regular employ of the department.

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54-705. Prevention of diseases; orders of department; enforcement.   The Department of Agriculture or any officer, agent, employee, or appointee thereof may call upon any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other police officer to execute the orders of the department, and the officer shall obey the orders of the department. The officers performing such duties shall receive compensation therefor as is prescribed by law for like services and shall be paid therefor by the county. Any officer may arrest and take before the county judge of the county any person found violating any of the provisions of sections 54-701 to 54-753.05 and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108, and such officer shall immediately notify the county attorney of such arrest. The county attorney shall prosecute the person so offending according to law.

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54-750. Diseased animals; harboring or sale prohibited; penalties.   It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly harbor, sell, or otherwise dispose of any animal or any part thereof affected with an infectious, contagious, or otherwise transmissible disease except as provided by sections 54-701 to 54-753 and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108, and the rules and regulations prescribed by the Department of Agriculture thereunder. Any person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a Class II misdemeanor for the first violation and a Class I misdemeanor for any subsequent violation.

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54-751. Rules and regulations; violation; penalties.   It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any rule or regulation prescribed and promulgated by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to authority granted by sections 54-701 to 54-753 and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108, and any person so offending shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor for the first violation and a Class I misdemeanor for any subsequent violation.

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54-752. Violations; penalties. Any person violating any of the provisions of sections 54-701 to 54-753 and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108 shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor for the first violation and a Class I misdemeanor for any subsequent violation.

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54-753. Prevention of disease; writ of injunction available.   The penal provisions of section 54-752 shall not be exclusive, but the district courts of this state, in the exercise of their equity jurisdiction, may, by injunction, compel the observance of, and by that remedy enforce, the provisions of sections 54-701 to 54-753 and 54-7,105 to 54-7,108 and the rules and regulations established and promulgated by the Department of Agriculture.

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54-7,105. Purpose of sections.   The purpose of sections 54-7,105 to 54-7,108 is to authorize the Bureau of Animal Industry to require exotic animal auction or swap meet organizers to notify the bureau of any scheduled exotic animal auction or swap meet and to maintain records for animal disease tracking purposes. Exotic animals sold at exotic animal auctions or swap meets are often foreign to the United States or to the State of Nebraska. These exotic animals may carry dangerous, infectious, contagious, or otherwise transmissible diseases, including foreign animal diseases, which could pose a threat to Nebraska's livestock health and the livestock industry.

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54-7,106. Notification requirements.   An exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer shall notify the Bureau of Animal Industry at least thirty days prior to the date on which the exotic animal auction or swap meet is to be held. Notification shall include the location, time, and dates of the exotic animal auction or swap meet and the name and address of the exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer. Notification shall be made in writing or by facsimile transmission.

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54-7,107. Records; contents; access by department.

(1) An exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer shall maintain records for each exotic animal auction or swap meet such organizer arranges, organizes, leases areas for, or otherwise coordinates at least five years after the date of the exotic animal auction or swap meet. The records shall include:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer;

(b) The name and address of all persons who purchased, sold, traded, bartered, gave away, or otherwise transferred an exotic animal at the exotic animal auction or swap meet;

(c) The number of and species or type of each exotic animal purchased, sold, traded, bartered, given away, or otherwise transferred at the exotic animal auction or swap meet;

(d) The date of purchase, sale, trade, barter, or other transfer of an exotic animal at the exotic animal auction or swap meet; and

(e) A copy of the completed certificate of veterinary inspection, if required under the Animal Importation Act or any rules or regulations adopted and promulgated under the act or if the exotic animal is to be exported to another state, for each exotic animal purchased, sold, traded, bartered, given away, or otherwise transferred at the exotic animal auction or swap meet.

(2) An exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer shall, during all reasonable times, permit authorized employees and agents of the department to have access to and to copy any or all records relating to his or her exotic animal auction or swap meet business.

(3) When necessary for the enforcement of sections 54-7,105 to 54-7,108 or any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to such sections, the authorized employees and agents of the department may access the records required by this section.

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54-7,108. Prohibited transfers.   No beef or dairy cattle, calves, swine, bison, or sheep sold for wool or food, goats sold for dairy, food, or fiber, or domesticated cervine animals shall be purchased, sold, bartered, traded, given away, or otherwise transferred at an exotic animal auction or swap meet. An exotic animal auction or swap meet organizer shall contact the Bureau of Animal Industry if a particular animal cannot be readily identified as an animal that is prohibited from being purchased, sold, bartered, traded, given away, or otherwise transferred at an exotic animal auction or swap meet under this section.

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