29.063 Management of chronic wasting disease.

(1) The department may manage, and provide funding to conduct testing for, chronic wasting disease in cervids.

(2) If the department designates an area as a chronic wasting disease eradication zone, the department shall provide notice and information to the public that is adequate to inform the public prior to the commencement of hunting that hunting of cervids to control the spread of the disease will occur in that zone.

(3) To control chronic wasting disease, the department may promulgate rules regulating the transportation, possession, control, storage, or disposal of the carcass of a cervid in this state, except that the rules may not apply to any of the following:

(a) Meat that is cut and wrapped, either commercially or privately.

(b) Quarters or other portions of meat to which no part of the spinal column or head is attached.

(c) Meat that has been deboned.

(d) Hides with no heads attached.

(e) Finished taxidermy heads.

(f) Antlers with no meat or tissue attached.

(g) Skulls with antlers attached and with no meat or tissue attached.

(h) Upper canine teeth.

(4) The department may promulgate rules prohibiting the transportation of the carcass of a cervid from another state or country in which chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in a cervid, except that the rules may not apply to any of the following:

(a) Meat that is cut and wrapped, either commercially or privately.

(b) Quarters or other portions of meat to which no part of the spinal column or head is attached.

(c) Meat that has been deboned.

(d) Hides with no heads attached.

(e) Finished taxidermy heads.

(f) Antlers with no meat or tissue attached.

(g) Skulls with antlers attached and with no meat or tissue attached.

(h) Upper canine teeth.

(5) The department may exempt deer hunters from obtaining a license under this chapter for the hunting of deer in an area that the department has designated by rule as a chronic wasting disease control zone. Deer hunters that are exempted under this subsection shall be at least 10 years of age, except that a person born on or after January 1, 1973, may not hunt deer under this subsection unless he or she complies with ss. 29.304 and 29.593. A deer hunter exempted under this subsection who is under 12 years of age is subject to the restrictions specified under s. 29.592. The department shall by rule establish eligibility criteria and application procedures for receipt of an exemption under this subsection, including a method for obtaining a permit to hunt deer without a license under this subsection.

(6)

(a) In this subsection:

1. “Landfill" means a solid waste facility, as defined in s. 289.01 (35), for solid waste disposal, as defined in s. 289.01 (34), licensed under s. 289.31.

2. “Meat processing facility" means a plant or premises where animals are slaughtered for human consumption, or where meat or meat products are processed, but does not include rendering plants.

3. “Wastewater treatment facility" means a plant or premises used to treat industrial wastewater or domestic wastewater or any combination of industrial wastewater and domestic wastewater and permitted pursuant to ch. 283.

(b) Subject to par. (c), the department or the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection may enter into agreements with persons who own or operate landfills, meat processing facilities, or wastewater treatment facilities in which this state agrees to indemnify those persons and their employees, officers, and agents against liability for damage to persons, property, or the environment resulting from the processing or disposal of carcasses of cervids and farm-raised deer that have chronic wasting disease.

(c) The department or the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection may enter into an agreement under par. (b) only if all of the following apply:

1. The governor approves the agreement.

2. The agreement specifies a method for determining whether the landfill, meat processing facility, or wastewater treatment facility is liable for damage described in par. (b).

3. The agreement requires the landfill, meat processing facility, or wastewater treatment facility to notify the department that entered into the agreement and the attorney general when a claim or lawsuit to which the agreement may apply is filed.

4. The agreement authorizes the attorney general to intervene on behalf of the landfill, meat processing facility, or wastewater treatment facility and this state in any lawsuit to which the agreement may apply.

5. The agreement requires the owner or operator of the landfill, meat processing facility, or wastewater treatment facility to minimize risks related to processing or disposal of carcasses of cervids and farm-raised deer that have chronic wasting disease.

6. The agreement authorizes the department that entered into the agreement to require the owner or operator of the landfill, meat processing facility, or wastewater treatment facility to operate in a manner specified in writing by that department to minimize risks related to processing or disposal of carcasses of cervids and farm-raised deer that have chronic wasting disease.

(d) This subsection and any agreement entered into under par. (b) may not be construed as consent to sue this state.

(e) If a claim is filed under an agreement under par. (b), the department that entered into the agreement shall review the claim to determine whether it is valid. A valid claim shall be paid from the appropriation under s. 20.370 (1) (hc).

History: 2001 a. 108; 2005 a. 286; 2009 a. 39.