§142-22 Anaplasmosis; indemnity for slaughtered cattle. The department of agriculture may pay indemnities to owners of cattle sent to slaughter as reactors to the anaplasmosis test. The payment shall be in the amount of one-third of the difference between the appraised value of each animal slaughtered and the value of the salvage value thereof to owners of cattle reacting positively to the anaplasmosis test and sent to slaughter within thirty days of official notification in writing of the reaction; provided that in no case shall this amount exceed $100 per animal; and provided further that no indemnity shall be paid for steers, spayed heifers, or unregistered bulls.

The department may agree with the owner of any animal as to the valuation thereof. In case no agreement can be reached as to the valuation of any animal, the department shall choose some disinterested citizen, the owner another, and the two so chosen shall designate a third, the three to act as appraisers who shall appraise such animal and whose decision or the decision of a majority thereof shall be final. All appraisals of cattle under this section, whether by agreement or by the appraisers, shall be based upon the market value of the animal so condemned on the day of appraisal, whether for breeding purposes or for milk production. All appraisals shall be signed by the owner and the appraisers and shall be reported to the department. Compensation for appraisers shall be $10 per day and their necessary traveling expenses, which compensation shall be borne by the owner in case the appraisers fail to increase the valuation made by the department; otherwise the appraisers shall be paid by the department.

The amount of indemnification having been thus ascertained, the owner may present to the state comptroller a claim against the State therefor. A warrant for the payment of the claim shall be made upon vouchers approved by the department and supported by the inspector's report; provided that no indemnification shall be paid:

(1) Unless the owner has cooperated with the department in complying with all rules and regulations issued by the department relative to the control and eradication of anaplasmosis and has presented the owner's whole herd for testing;

(2) For any animal which has been placed in herds known to be infected at the time;

(3) For any imported animal condemned on retest while in quarantine and before release from quarantine;

(4) On any animal if introduced into a herd under supervision within a period of less than six months prior to condemnation, unless the animal was obtained from a herd under state and federal supervision for the eradication of anaplasmosis;

(5) For any animal condemned for anaplasmosis in any herd under supervision where it appears that any untested animal has been allowed to mingle or mix with the herd; and

(6) For any animal from any herd under supervision, if any animal from the herd is allowed to mingle or come in contact with other cattle not under supervision, unless the cattle not under supervision are proven by the anaplasmosis test to be free from anaplasmosis. [L 1955, c 244, §2; RL 1955, §20-22.5; am L 1957, c 152, §1; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §22; am L 1961, c 132, §2; HRS §142-22; gen ch 1985]