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ISDA reports two captive chronic wasting disease positives; department cites 60‑month quarantine and surveillance options
Summary
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture told lawmakers two captive facilities in eastern Idaho recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease; the department described statutory amendments allowing movement between facilities under common ownership and a 60‑month quarantine and surveillance regime.
Dr. Scott Lively, state veterinarian and administrator of ISDA’s Division of Animal Industries, updated the committee on chronic wasting disease (CWD) detections and the department’s management of infected captive cervid facilities.
The nut graf: ISDA told lawmakers the state has identified CWD in two captive facilities in Jefferson and Madison counties, the animals died of other causes and were detected through required surveillance; state law changes last year give producers additional options to move quarantined animals between facilities under common ownership while under management plans.
Lively reviewed the history and current status: Idaho’s first detection of CWD in wild cervids occurred in fall 2021 in North‑Central Idaho’s Slate Creek area, and officials said roughly 63 cases have subsequently been identified in wild animals (count updated by ISDA). He told the committee two recent positive captive facilities — one in Jefferson County and one in Madison County — were not epidemiologically linked to nearby wildlife cases and at least one entry came from an imported truckload (the origin farm later reported a positive), indicating movement‑borne introduction.
Lively said amendments enacted in the prior year allow producers to move quarantined animals between facilities under common ownership, which ISDA described as a critical business‑continuity relief measure that means quarantine “is not a death sentence anymore” for affected producers. He said both captive facilities are under management plans requiring testing of every animal that dies and that quarantine periods for affected captive facilities are set at 60 months.
The state veterinarian also described ongoing research interest in developing a validated live test for CWD; ISDA said producers with defined populations and limited wildlife exposure may be valuable research partners and that a validated live test would be the “holy grail” for the industry.
Ending: ISDA said it will continue surveillance, management plans and cooperation with USDA; the department emphasized testing and producer options to preserve business operations while under quarantine.
