Livestock Disease Reporting in Wyoming: Rules, Requirements, and Responsibilities

Wyoming’s livestock industry is one of the most economically significant in the American West, and protecting it from infectious disease outbreaks starts with a single, critical action: timely reporting. Whether you raise cattle, sheep, horses, or poultry, you are legally obligated to notify state authorities the moment you know or suspect a contagious disease has entered your herd.

Understanding how livestock disease reporting in Wyoming works — who must report, what must be reported, and what happens if you don’t — can protect your animals, your neighbors’ herds, and your own financial interests. This guide walks you through every step of the process under Wyoming law.

Reportable Livestock Diseases in Wyoming

The Wyoming Livestock Board (WLSB) maintains a list of animal diseases, called the “Reportable Disease List,” that are required to be reported to the State Veterinarian when they are identified. These diseases must be reported per state statute (WS 11-19-102), and they are important for their impact on herd health, public health, and the economics and marketability of the Wyoming livestock industry.

The list is organized into three categories based on severity and urgency of response. Understanding which category applies to a suspected disease helps you know how fast to act and what level of regulatory response to expect.

Any Foreign Animal Disease, whether listed below or not, is considered reportable to the Wyoming State Veterinarian, and several significant domestic diseases are also listed in the Category A list. This means that even if a specific disease does not appear by name on the published list, you are still obligated to report it if you have reason to believe it is a foreign animal disease.

Wyoming also monitors diseases prevalent to the state such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, brucellosis, trichomoniasis, bovine tuberculosis, leptospirosis, and equine infectious anemia (Coggins). If you raise cattle, these are the conditions most likely to trigger a reporting obligation in your day-to-day operations. You can also learn more about bovine diseases that affect Wyoming herds and how they are managed.

Who Is Required to Report a Livestock Disease in Wyoming

Wyoming’s reporting obligation is intentionally broad. Any person or government entity who knows or suspects that there is any contagious or infectious reportable disease among animals owned by or under their jurisdiction, or any veterinarian who knows or suspects any reportable contagious or infectious disease on any premises or in any animal, shall immediately report the same to the State Veterinarian.

In practical terms, this means the following parties all carry a legal duty to report:

• Livestock owners and producers — if you own cattle, sheep, goats, horses, swine, poultry, or other livestock and you know or suspect disease
• Veterinarians — both private practitioners and government-employed veterinarians who encounter a reportable condition during an examination or testing
• Government entities — any agency or public body with animals under its jurisdiction
• Livestock facility operators — sale barns, auction facilities, and feedlots where animals are handled or commingled

It is critical that veterinarians report positive test results to the Wyoming State Veterinarian’s Office, especially if the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory was not used. This is particularly relevant when producers use out-of-state or private labs for testing — the reporting obligation does not disappear simply because a state lab was not involved in the diagnosis.

The duty to report also extends to zoonotic diseases — illnesses that can spread from animals to humans. In cases where human illness is reported relative to the disease in animals, the Wyoming Public Health Veterinarian will be involved in the regulatory response.

Signs and Symptoms That Trigger a Report in Wyoming

You do not need a confirmed laboratory diagnosis to be required to report. The legal standard in Wyoming is knowledge or suspicion — meaning that observable clinical signs in your animals can be enough to create a reporting obligation. Knowing which symptoms to watch for is essential to staying compliant and catching disease early.

The following are common warning signs associated with major reportable diseases in Wyoming:

• Blisters, sores, or lesions on the mouth, tongue, feet, or teats — a hallmark of Foot and Mouth Disease and Vesicular Stomatitis
• Sudden or unexplained death in multiple animals, particularly with bloody discharge — associated with Anthrax
• Abortion storms or unusually high rates of reproductive failure in cattle — a primary indicator of Brucellosis
• Neurological signs such as stumbling, circling, or seizures — seen in Rabies, EHV-1, and Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM)
• Rapid respiratory distress and high mortality in poultry flocks — a key indicator of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)
• Severe diarrhea, weight loss, or jaundice in cattle — may indicate Leptospirosis or Bovine Tuberculosis
• Poor reproductive performance in bulls combined with low conception rates in cows — consistent with Trichomoniasis
• Swelling of the head, neck, or brisket — may suggest Bluetongue or other vector-borne diseases

You should also report any disease presentation that is unusual for your region, affects multiple species simultaneously, or spreads faster than expected through your herd. When in doubt, contact the Wyoming State Veterinarian’s office before waiting for test results. Early reporting is always better than delayed reporting. You can also review information on Newcastle disease if you raise poultry, as it is a Category A reportable condition in Wyoming.

How to Report a Livestock Disease in Wyoming

Reporting a suspected or confirmed livestock disease in Wyoming is straightforward. The primary contact is the Wyoming State Veterinarian’s office, which operates under the Wyoming Livestock Board (WLSB). You have two main options for submitting a report:

1. Call the State Veterinarian’s office directly — To report a disease, call 307-840-1389. This is the primary and fastest method, especially for urgent Category A situations.
2. Submit by email — Report suspicious and/or confirmed HPAI detections in cattle to the Wyoming State Veterinarian at (307) 840-1389 or lsbforms-applications@wyo.gov. Email is appropriate for follow-up documentation but should not replace a phone call for urgent situations.
3. Use the Disease Notification Form — The WLSB provides a downloadable Disease Notification Form on its Animal Health page, which can be used to document and submit disease reports formally.

For after-hours emergencies involving suspected foreign animal diseases, the USDA APHIS operates a national hotline. For after hours and weekends, call the FAD Hotline at 866-536-7593. This number connects you directly with federal disease response specialists who can coordinate with Wyoming state officials.

The Wyoming Livestock Board Animal Health Unit exercises general supervision over and protection of the livestock interests of the state from disease by implementing board rules and regulations, assisting in enforcement, monitoring the import of livestock and biologic agents into the state, and disseminating lawful and accurate information. Staff are trained to guide you through the next steps once your report is received.

If you operate in a neighboring state or move animals across state lines, note that destination states may have more stringent rules regarding disease reporting and animal identification. Wyoming producers moving cattle to Colorado, Nebraska, or other states should review those states’ requirements as well. You can find related guidance for livestock disease reporting in Colorado and livestock disease reporting in Illinois for comparison.

Reporting Deadlines and Timeframes in Wyoming

Wyoming law sets a clear and strict deadline for reporting. If any person or government entity knows or suspects that there is a contagious or infectious disease among animals under their jurisdiction, or any veterinarian knows of or suspects a reportable disease, he/she must report it to the State Veterinarian’s office within 24 hours.

However, the urgency of your report should match the category of the disease involved. The table below summarizes the expected reporting timeframes by category:

The Livestock Board must receive the case investigation report within 30 days for Category C diseases. This 30-day window applies to the formal case documentation, not to the initial notification — your initial report must still occur within 24 hours of suspicion or confirmed diagnosis.

For brucellosis specifically, the State Veterinarian shall provide testing information to the owner of an animal that has tested non-negative for brucellosis not later than three days after receipt of the preliminary laboratory results. This means the state has its own notification obligations to you as the owner once a non-negative result is received.

What Happens After You Report in Wyoming

Once you file a report with the Wyoming State Veterinarian’s office, a structured response protocol is activated. The level of response depends on the disease category, but all reports follow a defined investigation process designed to protect your herd and those around you.

For Category A diseases, the response is immediate and involves the highest level of coordination. The Wyoming State Veterinarian will assume Incident Command. If the disease is a Foreign Animal Disease, APHIS will be the lead agency. Federal and state officials will work together, and you should expect investigators on your premises quickly.

For Category B and C diseases, the process typically unfolds as follows:

1. If WLSB regulatory action is prudent and necessary, the State Veterinarian will direct a WLSB Staff Veterinarian to coordinate with the livestock owner and the reporting veterinarian to assess the case situation and report back to the State Veterinarian.
2. If deemed necessary by the investigating WLSB Staff Veterinarian, a quarantine of animals will be issued by the State Veterinarian and response protocol will be developed cooperatively between the State Veterinarian, WLSB Staff Veterinarian, reporting veterinarian, and animal owner.
3. The State Veterinarian will direct a WLSB Staff Veterinarian to complete the WLSB Reportable Disease Case Investigation Report (RDCIP).
4. If there is human illness associated with the disease in animals, the State Veterinarian and WLSB Staff Veterinarian(s) will coordinate response with the Wyoming Public Health Veterinarian.

Quarantine is one of the most significant post-report actions that can affect your operation. In all cases of infectious and contagious disease among domestic animals in this state, the State Veterinarian may order the quarantine of the infected premises. During a quarantine, you will typically be restricted from moving animals off the premises until the disease status is resolved.

For zoonotic diseases, all zoonotic diseases will be handled as per “Category C” response protocol in addition to protocol from another category if so listed, and many of the diseases listed in Category C will not likely require a quarantine or regulatory action, but must still be reported. Understanding how zoonotic diseases work in both animals and humans can help you cooperate more effectively with investigators. You can also review related reporting frameworks in other states, such as livestock disease reporting in Florida, livestock disease reporting in California, and livestock disease reporting in Michigan.

Penalties for Failing to Report in Wyoming

Wyoming takes non-compliance with disease reporting obligations seriously. The consequences for failing to report — or for actively concealing a disease — go beyond regulatory inconvenience and can result in criminal charges, civil liability, and significant financial penalties.

Criminal penalties under WS 11-19-102 and WS 11-1-103:

A failure to report, or any attempt to conceal the existence of the disease or to willfully or maliciously obstruct or resist the veterinarian in the discharge of his duty, is a misdemeanor. Any person who willfully or maliciously falsifies a report to the State Veterinarian is also guilty of a misdemeanor.

A person who violates any of the following sections commits a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both for the first offense, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, a fine of not more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00), or both for second or subsequent offenses. Section 11-19-102 — the disease reporting statute — is explicitly listed among the covered violations.

Civil liability for disease spread:

Beyond criminal penalties, Wyoming law also creates civil liability for producers who knowingly allow infected animals to spread disease. Any person who knows that they own or have in their possession any livestock infected with any disease formally declared by the Wyoming Livestock Board as being potentially economically devastating, and who transfers ownership or possession of the livestock to another person, or who knowingly or through their own neglect allows the livestock to commingle with uninfected livestock, is liable for the economic damages caused by the spread of the disease to uninfected livestock.

It is also worth noting that the measure allows the State Veterinarian discretion to release information to the Livestock Board, State Veterinary Lab, Game and Fish Department, and the reporting person’s neighbors in certain circumstances — meaning that concealing a disease does not guarantee the information stays private, but it does guarantee legal exposure.

Staying current on your reporting obligations also means staying current on animal identification requirements. Official ID and good records are crucial as they help locate animals with the disease or animals which have been exposed to the disease faster and with less labor, halt the spread of disease faster, and decrease the overall time, labor, and expense of disease traceability. Producers who maintain proper ID records and report promptly are far better positioned during any disease investigation than those who do not.

For questions about specific disease presentations in your animals, resources such as information on diseases in birds and Newcastle disease can provide useful background, particularly for poultry producers navigating HPAI concerns. The WLSB Animal Health Unit remains your primary resource for all livestock-specific disease reporting guidance in Wyoming.