SECTION 51.15. Poultry

(a) All poultry must meet the requirements contained in §57.11, of this title (relating to Entry Requirements).

(b) Live domestic poultry, except those entering for slaughter and processing at a slaughter facility owned or operated by the owner of the poultry entering, may enter Texas only under the following circumstances:

(1) The domestic poultry originate from a flock that is certified as Avian Influenza clean in accordance with the National Poultry Improvement Plan and the shipment is accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection; or

(2) The domestic poultry is from an Avian Influenza negative flock that participates in an approved state-sponsored Avian Influenza monitoring program and the shipment is accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection indicating participation and listing the general description of the birds, test date, test results, and name of testing laboratory; or

(3) The domestic poultry originate from a flock in which a minimum of 30 birds, 4 weeks of age or older, or the complete flock, if fewer than 30, are serologically negative to an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) or Agar Gel Immunodiffusion (AGID) test for Avian Influenza within 30 days of entry or a minimum of 10 birds (e.g. two pools of 5 birds per house) are tested negative on trachea swabs to a real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) test within 30 days of entry or negative to other tests approved by the Commission; the shipment shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection listing the general description of the birds, test date, test results, and name of testing laboratory.

(4) Live domestic poultry from states affected with Avian Influenza may enter Texas for slaughter and processing only under the following circumstances: A minimum of 30 birds per flock are serologically negative to an ELISA or AGID test for Avian Influenza within 72 hours of entry, or a minimum of 10 birds (e.g., two pools of 5 birds per house) are tested negative on tracheal swabs to a RRT-PCR test within 72 hours of entry or negative to other tests approved by the TAHC, and specific written permission has been granted.

(5) Live domestic poultry broilers from states affected with Infectious Laryngotracheitis and vaccinated with chick embryo vaccine may enter Texas for immediate slaughter and processing only under the following conditions. The request for authorization to bring poultry into the state must be in writing and shall include a proposed route to slaughter that would not pose a disease risk to Texas poultry. The initial request must be approved by the Executive Director prior to entry of the poultry. All shipments of poultry qualifying for entry under this subsection shall have an entry permit in accordance with §51.2 of this title (relating to General Requirements) and documentation of the origin of the shipment.

Source Note: The provisions of this §51.15 adopted to be effective June 3, 2002, 27 TexReg 5182; amended to be effective August 25, 2002, 27 TexReg 7515; amended to be effective March 16, 2004, 29 TexReg 2627; amended to be effective March 4, 2007, 32 TexReg 753; amended to be effective October 14, 2007, 32 TexReg 7043