Wildlife Diseases - Authority & Jurisdiction - Maryland

The forester shall: . . . (4) Enlist the cooperation of landowners in protection of their forests from fire, insects, and disease; (a) If a bird dies while in the possession of a permit holder, the permit holder shall freeze the bird immediately. In general (b) The Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene shall specify the methods for handling, treating, and destroying any bird that: (1) Dies while in the possession of a permit holder(,) or (2) In a case that involves psittacosis or any other disease that is contagious to human beings: (i) Has the disease(,) (ii) Is suspected of having the disease(,) (iii) Is suspected of being a carrier of the disease(,) (iv) Has been exposed to the disease(,) or (v) Is kept at the same facility where the disease is discovered or suspected. Contagious diseases (c) In a case that involves velogenic visertrophic Newcastle disease or any other disease that is contagious to domestic animals or poultry, the State Secretary of Agriculture shall specify the methods for handling, treating, and destroying any bird that: (1) Has the disease(,) (2) Is suspected of having the disease(,) (3) Is suspected of being a carrier of the disease(,) (4) Has been exposed to the disease(,) or (5) Is kept at the same facility where the disease is discovered or suspected.;

Citation: MD Code, Natural Resources, § 5-607; MD Code, Health - General, § 24-107;