Chapter 11 Cervid Facility Collection

The Cervid Facility Collection consists of all Provider data related to captive cervid facilities, including cervid farms, shooting preserves, and breeding or propagation areas within a Provider’s jurisdiction. Each Cervid Facility is expected to represent a single unique physical location where cervids are held. If a business entity or owner manages multiple sites, represent each as a distinct Cervid Facility in the Warehouse.

The Cervid Facility Collection can accommodate sites with multiple separately managed groups of animals using the Herd data sub-entity. Each Herd can be uniquely identified and tracked using the Herd Population Survey. Information that may be relevant to CWD surveillance is documented through Premises Surveys.

11.1 Understanding and using the Cervid Facility Collection

There are several key features and properties of the Cervid Facility Collection that users should understand to effectively use the Collection:

unique Facility IDs
business status and herd status
location data
herds enrolled in CWD certification programs
facilities with multiple herds
facilities with multiple premises surveys
data sharing between Providers

11.1.1 Unique facility IDs and unique herd IDs

Each Cervid Facility must be uniquely identified with the Facility ID property. Facility ID may be any string of letters, numbers, and/or characters, but must be unique per Provider. It is recommended that the Provider use the unique identifier that the agency uses to identify Cervid Facilities. For instance, if licenses are associated with individual facility sites, a license number may be an appropriate Facility ID. Alternatively, if herds are considered distinct cervid facilities or entities, a herd identification number may be appropriate.

If cervid facilities are known to have multiple herds, groups of animals managed separately from one another possibly with different certifications, it is recommended that the herds be identified and documented individually using the Herd sub-form. Herds must be uniquely identified with the Herd ID field.

It is important to understand that the manner in which cervid facility data are entered may affect model results. For example, the Risk-weighted Surveillance Quotas Model tallies the number of open captive cervid facilities and their properties. An assumption of the model is that Cervid Facilities represent distinct locations, rather than distinct herds. Therefore, if herds at the same site are represented in the Warehouse as separate facilities, the Risk-weighted Surveillance Quotas Model will effectively count herds rather than sites and risk scoring will be affected accordingly. Providers should review the models to understand how data entry may affect model results.

11.1.2 Business status and herd status

The Business Status property describes whether a Cervid Facility is still in operation (“Open”), is no longer in operation (“Closed”), or is of unknown status (“Unknown”). In many jurisdictions, the status of a cervid facility may not always be clear. Therefore, a third option “Unknown” is provided. The Business Status property may have more than one Status and Date entered. This structure is useful for keeping track of a Cervid Facility’s status over time.

A Cervid Facility’s Current Status is a read-only property set based on the most recent (by Date provided) Business Status.

Business Status and Current Status are important properties of Cervid Facilities, because they can affect whether a cervid facility is included or excluded from a Model or Visualization. See the Models and Visualizations sections to understand how this property may affect the use of Cervid Facility data.

It is also important to understand how Business Status differs from Herd Status which has a similar name and function. For a Herd, the Herd Status property is part of the Population Surveys section. The Herd Status indicates whether a herd exists (“Open”), no longer exists (“Closed”), or is of unknown status (“Unknown”). The Herd Status from the most recent Population Survey determines the Current Herd Status, which can affect whether a Herd is accounted for in a Model or Visualization.

11.1.3 Location data

A Cervid Facility’s location may be important for CWD surveillance, management, or other applications in the Warehouse. The sub-administrative area in which a Cervid Facility is located is important for several Models and Visualizations. For instance, a Cervid Facility without an assigned sub-administrative area will be excluded from Risk-weighted Surveillance Quotas Model calculations.

The precise location of a Cervid Facility may be geocoded from a provided address or through direct entry of a latitude/longitude pair of values in decimal degrees. The exact location of a Cervid Facility is not shared with other Providers in regional visualizations.

11.1.4 Herds enrolled in CWD certification programs

Herds may be enrolled in voluntary or mandatory CWD monitoring programs designed to reduce CWD risk through surveillance and improved biosecurity. The United States and Canada each have a national herd certification program (HCP). The participation and certification level of a herd may be indicated in the National Certification field.

State and provincial CWD certification programs in which a herd is enrolled may be indicated using the State Certification field. A Provider Administrator must first configure the list of allowed values for this property through the Provider Administration Interface.

11.1.5 Facilities with multiple herds

Cervid Facilities may have one or more herds, groups of animals managed separately from one another, concurrently or consecutively. Data describing each herd should be entered separately for each herd.

Data describing the species composition and status of each herd is recorded in Population Surveys. The most recent Population Survey (by Survey date) determines the current herd status (Open, Closed, or Unknown) and is considered the current species composition of the herd.

11.1.6 Facilities with multiple site surveys

For Cervid Facilities which have had more than one Premises Survey, each survey should be entered separately and assigned a correct Survey date. The most recent Premises Survey for a Cervid Facility will be considered the current Premises Survey for the purposes of data summaries, Models, and Visualizations.

11.2 Visualizations that can use the Cervid Facility collection

Surveillance Activity
Regional Ad Hoc
Provider Ad Hoc

11.3 Properties

An asterisk denotes a required field.

Facility Types | Type | Definition | |—|—| | Cervid farm | licensed cervid breeder; fencing, inspection, inventory requirements; activities include cervid breeding, import/export, sales/purchases, transfers; may or may not include hunting activities depending on state regulations | | Hunting enclosure | Fenced in property containing cervids. Permit/license may or may not be required depending on state. Harvest rules may or may not be the same as unfenced properties regarding season, bag limits, reporting, etc. | | Propagation only | Facility that breeds captive cervids for use only in that facility. Sales are not allowed | | Rehabilitator | Facility that aids in the care and recuperation of injured or sick wild animals for potential release back into the wild | | Zoo | Regulated facility that maintains a collection of cervids for study, conservation, or public display | | Backyard pet | Cervids kept for companionship or pleasure, but not public display | | Exhibition | Cervids kept for public display or educational purposes |

Owner details Owner information is not accessible or shared with other Providers.

Field name	Definition	Allowed values
Owner name	Facility owner full name	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Email	Facility owner primary email address	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Phone	Facility owner contact phone number	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Website	Facility website or other online presence such as a social media site	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Company	Business name of the facility	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
License number	Owner of cervid facility license number, if applicable	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols

Location | Field name | Definition | Allowed values | |—|—|—| | Address (Street Address, City, Administrative Area, Postal code) | Physical address of the cervid facility | | | Latitude/Longitude | The geolocation of the cervid facility calculated from the Address if provided; may be overridden or entered manually by clicking “Add location” | decimal degrees | | Geolocation Source | The origin of the latitude and longitude values | The origin of the latitude and longitude values | Geocoded, GPS, Online Map, Submitter provided; automatically set to Geocoded if location is set from the street address provided | | Geolocation Precision | A text description of the spatial precision of the provided location | Exact, Town, County, PLSS Township, PLSS Section (Subdivision Level 1), PLSS Quarter Section (Subdivision Level 2), Not mappable, Street, Interpolated |

Herds Cervid Facilities may have one or more herds, groups of animals managed separately from one another, concurrently or consecutively. Data should be entered separately for each herd.

Field name	Definition	Allowed values
Herd Id	Identification number or code that uniquely identifies the herd, such as a Provider or agency issued identifier; must be unique per Cervid Facility	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Name	Name by which a herd is referred to by the owner or the Provider	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
National certification	National CWD certification program enrollment status	HCP Enrolled, HCP Certified
State/Province certification	State, Province, or Tribal CWD certification program enrollment status	Allowed value list must be configured through the Provider Administration Interface

Population Surveys These surveys describe species composition and status of the herd; the most recent population survey is considered the current state of the herd.

Field name	Definition	Allowed values
Survey date*	Date on which the survey was conducted	M/D/YYYY format
Surveyor*	Name of Provider staff or other person or company that conducted the survey	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Herd status*	Indicates whether the herd still exists or is in operation	Open, Closed, Unknown
Notes	Relevant comment or note about the herd population survey	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Species Present	Indicates if at least one animal of the given species is present in the herd	Boolean (checked = species present)
Species Count	Number of animals of given species currently in the herd	integer

Business status The Business Status provides corresponding dates and business status values. Business status indicates whether a Cervid Facility is still in operation (Open) or is no longer in operation (Closed). A Cervid Facility’s Current Status is a read-only property that is set based on the most recent (by Date provided) Business Status.

Field name	Definition	Allowed values
Date*	The date corresponding to the business status provided	M/D/YYYY format
Status*	The status of the Cervid Facility as of the date provided	Open, Closed, Unknown
Notes	Any relevant comments related to the business status	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols

Premises Surveys Premises Surveys describe activities and conditions at Cervid Facilities that are relevant to CWD surveillance and management. Each Cervid Facility may have multiple Premises Surveys. The most recent Premises Survey determines the current condition of the Cervid Facility.

Field name	Definition	Allowed values
Survey details
Survey date*	Date on which the survey was conducted	M/D/YYYY format
Surveyor*	Name of Provider staff or other person or company that conducted the survey	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Fencing and containment
Fence quality	The general condition of fencing at the facility (high fence quality – fence at least 8’ high and has no breaches and very low escape risk; medium fence quality - fence is mostly 8’ high, mostly intact, and has a moderate escape risk; low fence quality – fence is not maintained or otherwise inadequate for containing cervid species present, and poses a high escape risk)	Low, Medium, High
High fence present	Presence of an enclosed area designed to confine and prevent movement of cervids, typically with a fence at least 8’ in height; “high fence” definitions and regulations vary by jurisdiction	Yes, No, Unknown
Escapes within the last 5 years	Indicates whether any captive cervids have escaped from the facility within the past 5 years	Yes, No, Unknown
Escapes within last 5 years note	Comment regarding any escapes within the past 5 years, such as date(s), number(s) of animals, and species	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Facility activities
Importation of cervids from other states	Does the facility import cervids from cervid facilities in other states, provinces, or tribal areas?	Yes, No, Unknown
Importation of cervids from within state	Does the facility import cervids from other cervid facilities from within the Provider’s state, province or tribal area?	Yes, No, Unknown
Veterinary Care	Does the cervid facility use a licensed veterinary service for animal care and treatment?	Yes, No, Unknown
Noncompliant with state regulations	Is the facility known to be in noncompliance with state, provincial, or tribal regulations or does it have a history of noncompliance?	Yes, No, Unknown
Other on premises activities
Rehabilitation of wild cervids	Does rehabilitation of wild cervids occur on the same premises as the cervid facility?	Yes, No, Unknown
Taxidermy service on site	Does the cervid facility also provide taxidermy services on premises?	Yes, No, Unknown
Deer meat processing on site	Does the cervid facility also provide deer meat processing services on premises?	Yes, No, Unknown
High fence shooting operation	Is there a high fence shooting facility or operation on the same premises as the cervid facility?	Yes, No, Unknown
Hunts sold annually (approximate)	If a shooting operation is present on the premises, approximately how many hunts are sold annually?	integer
Urine collected for sale	Does the cervid facility collect and distribute cervid urine?	Yes, No, Unknown
Disposal methods
Compost, Fed to animals, Incineration, Landfill Dumpster, Left on property, Processed Caped, Rendered, Returned to hunter, Unknown not answered	For each disposal method, indicate whether the cervid facility uses it to dispose of cervid carcasses or parts	Yes, No, Unknown
Disposal note	Provide any additional useful information related to the disposal method(s) used by the Cervid Facility	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Survey notes	Additional comments about the Premises Survey not covered by other fields	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols
Cervid facility notes	Any notes about the facility not covered elsewhere	any plain text string containing numbers, letters, and/or symbols