LANSING - As the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) investigation of Michigan's privately owned cervid (POC) facilities continues, Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) officials today announced a plan for the systematic review and release of facilities that are not involved with any trace investigation related to the CWD positive facility.

"As we review cervid operation records and find they are in compliance with disease sample submissions, and and the Cervid Act, and they are not connected to the index herd through animal movement, we will systematically release quarantined facilities," said Dr. Steven Halstead, State Veterinarian. "We will contact facilities, they may not consider themselves released from quarantine until an official document is provided by the state. If they are Herds not in compliance with the requirements they will remain quarantined pending further consideration."

Those facilities participating in the state's CWD Certification program for at least five years, and participating in the bovine Tuberculosis (TB) Accreditation program, will be the first facilities to be considered for quarantine release. Another criterion for quarantine release is full compliance with laws and standards for cervid facilities for the past five years.

In Michigan, there are four types of cervid facility registrations; Full, Exhibition, Hobby, and Ranch and they have different risks associated with each of them. The Full, Exhibition, and Hobby Registration facilities keep cervids in pens and the animals are handled and treated like livestock. They are quite often breeding facilities that sell to shooting ranches and are expected to have records of movement and sales.

The hunting or shooting ranches have free-ranging cervids on large, fenced tracts of fenced-in of land. Shooting ranches are categorized as low, medium, and high risk and will be contacted for discussions on release from quarantine. Shooting ranches are also required to provide a consumer warning to clients taking de-boned meat off the premises. Live cervids may never leave shooting ranches.