A public hearing will be conducted at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, to consider proposed amendments to regulations relating to domestic cervid operations and the Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (CWD HCP) in Kansas. The hearing will be held in person at the Kansas Department of Agriculture at 1320 Research Park Dr. in Manhattan, as well as via video conferencing system.

The CWD HCP is a voluntary program that allows cervid (animals in the deer family) operations to establish a certification for their animals. The KDA Division of Animal Health is proposing amendments to K.A.R. 9-3-7 through 9-3-17, which outline the requirements of the CWD HCP.

The program is designed to require a minimum set of standards a CWD-susceptible herd must comply with to establish its status as a CWD-free herd. These proposed regulation changes will provide clarifications for participating operations, enhance the ability to move cervids intrastate, ensure that the Kansas program is aligned and compliant with the federal program standards, and make other revisions that will enhance business opportunities for cervid operations.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes and economic impact statement, as well as an expanded notice of public hearing, may be accessed on the KDA website at agriculture.ks.gov/PublicComment. Anyone desiring to participate via video conference must pre-register to be provided with a video link; the registration is available in the notice of public hearing. Written comments can be submitted prior to the hearing on the same KDA public comment web page, or sent by email to Ronda.Hutton@ks.gov or by mail to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Attn: Ronda Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS, 66502.