§ 1152. Administration; inspection; testing; records
(a) The Secretary shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Livestock
Disease Control Program. The Secretary may appoint the State Veterinarian to manage
the Program, and other personnel as are necessary for the sound administration of
the Program.
(b) The Secretary shall maintain a public record of all permits issued and of all animals
tested by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets under this chapter for a period
of five years.
(c) The Secretary may conduct any inspections, investigations, tests, diagnoses, or other
reasonable steps necessary to discover and eliminate contagious diseases existing
in domestic animals in this State. The Secretary shall investigate any reports of
diseased animals, provided there are adequate resources. In carrying out the provisions
of this part, the Secretary or his or her authorized agent may enter any real estate,
premises, buildings, enclosures, or areas where animals may be found for the purpose
of making reasonable inspections and tests. A livestock owner or the person in possession
of the animal to be inspected, upon request of the Secretary, shall restrain the animal
and make it available for inspection and testing.
(d) The Secretary may contract and cooperate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
other federal agencies or states, and accredited veterinarians for the control and
eradication of contagious diseases of animals. The Secretary shall consult and cooperate,
as appropriate, with the Commissioners of Fish and Wildlife and of Health regarding
the control of contagious diseases.
(e) If necessary, the Secretary shall set priorities for the use of the funds available
to operate the Program established by this chapter.
(f) Any commercial slaughterhouse operating in the State shall maintain and retain for
three years records of the number of animals slaughtered at the facility, the physical
address of origination of each animal, the date of slaughter of each animal, and all
official identification numbers of slaughtered animals. A commercial slaughterhouse
shall make the records required under this subsection available to the Agency upon
request.
(g) Records produced or acquired by the Secretary under this chapter shall be available
to the public, except that:
(1) the Secretary may withhold from inspection and copying records that are confidential
under federal law; and
(2) the Secretary may withhold or redact a record to the extent needed to avoid disclosing
directly or indirectly the identity of individual persons, households, or businesses. (Added 1987, No. 276 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1993, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2005, No. 12, § 2, eff. May 2, 2005; 2017, No. 30, § 3; 2019, No. 64, § 16.)