Livestock Disease Reporting in North Dakota: Rules Every Producer Must Know

If you raise cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry, or any other livestock in North Dakota, understanding your disease reporting obligations is not optional — it is a legal requirement. A single unreported case of a contagious disease can spread across county lines, devastate neighboring herds, and trigger costly state and federal responses that affect the entire agricultural community.

North Dakota’s reporting framework is built around the State Board of Animal Health and administered by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s (NDDA) Animal Health Division. Knowing which diseases trigger a report, who is responsible for making that report, and exactly how to do it can protect your operation, your neighbors, and the state’s broader livestock industry.

Reportable Livestock Diseases in North Dakota

North Dakota maintains a list of diseases that must be reported to state authorities whenever they are suspected or confirmed. Any person who discovers, suspects, or has reason to believe that animals are either affected with a reportable disease or contaminated with a toxic substance must immediately report that fact, suspicion, or belief to the State Veterinarian, North Dakota State Board of Animal Health, Department of Agriculture.

The NDDA’s Animal Health Division groups reportable diseases into two broad tiers. The first tier covers the most dangerous foreign and exotic diseases — those that do not normally exist in the United States and would pose an immediate, catastrophic threat if introduced. The second tier covers diseases that are either endemic or more commonly occur in North Dakota but still require official monitoring and control.

Key diseases that are reportable in North Dakota include:

• Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) — a severe foreign animal disease affecting cloven-hoofed livestock
• Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) — a priority poultry disease actively monitored by the NDDA
• Exotic Newcastle Disease — a highly contagious viral disease that can be fatal to domestic poultry and other bird species, and it is reportable in North Dakota
• Scrapie — a neurodegenerative prion disease that affects sheep and occasionally goats; the last confirmed case of scrapie in North Dakota was identified in 2007
• Brucellosis — a bacterial disease primarily affecting cattle and bison reproduction
• Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) — a chronic bacterial disease of cattle and other mammals
• Anthrax — a soil-borne bacterial disease with periodic occurrence in North Dakota
• Johne’s Disease — actively monitored by the NDDA through its Johne’s Disease Control Program
• Vesicular Stomatitis — a reportable viral disease that mimics FMD
• Pseudorabies (Aujeszky’s Disease) — a reportable viral disease primarily of swine
• Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) — a reportable blood-borne disease of horses
• Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) — a prion disease in cervids, including deer and elk
• Any suspicious or mysterious disease — the NDDA explicitly directs producers to report any suspicious or mysterious disease that does not fit a known diagnosis

At the federal level, the USDA-APHIS maintains the National List of Reportable Animal Diseases (NLRAD). The NLRAD is supplementary to a proposed federal rule, and APHIS publishes a list of all current nationally reportable diseases along with published case definitions. North Dakota’s state list works alongside — and in some cases goes beyond — these federal requirements. You can learn more about zoonotic diseases that overlap with livestock reporting obligations.

Who Is Required to Report a Livestock Disease in North Dakota

The reporting obligation in North Dakota is intentionally broad. It is not limited to veterinarians or large commercial operations — it extends to anyone who has reason to believe a reportable disease is present.

Any person who discovers, suspects, or has reason to believe that animals are either affected with a reportable disease or contaminated with a toxic substance is required to report immediately. In practical terms, this means the following groups all carry a legal duty to report:

• Livestock owners and producers — including cattle ranchers, hog farmers, sheep and goat producers, and poultry growers
• Licensed veterinarians — who are often the first to diagnose a reportable condition during routine herd health visits
• Farm managers and employees — anyone working directly with animals who observes suspicious signs
• Auction market operators — the NDDA Animal Health Division inspects auction markets, and market staff who observe disease signs are expected to report
• Diagnostic laboratory personnel — animal health professionals with formal training in disease diagnosis, including veterinary medical professionals, diagnostic laboratorians, biomedical researchers, public health officials, and trained technicians, are considered responsible reporters
• Feedlot operators — those managing registered livestock feedlots regulated by the State Board of Animal Health

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Animal Health Division protects the health of domestic animals and non-traditional livestock and administers all rules and orders of the State Board of Animal Health. The State Board of Animal Health consists of nine members representing the various sectors of the livestock industry, appointed by the governor for terms of seven years, and members may serve up to two terms; the statutory purpose of the Board is to protect the health of the domestic animals and nontraditional livestock of North Dakota.

Non-traditional livestock owners also carry reporting obligations. Any births, deaths, sales, or purchases must be recorded on the form provided by the board. If disease is suspected in non-traditional species, the same immediate reporting requirement applies. For more context on reporting obligations in other states, see our guides on livestock disease reporting in Florida and livestock disease reporting in Colorado.

Signs and Symptoms That Trigger a Report in North Dakota

You do not need a confirmed laboratory diagnosis to be required to file a report in North Dakota. Suspicion alone is enough. The moment you observe clinical signs that are consistent with a reportable disease — or that are simply unexplained and severe — your obligation to report begins.

The following signs and symptom clusters should prompt an immediate call to the State Veterinarian:

Beyond specific disease signs, any pattern of illness that is unusual for your herd, spreads rapidly from animal to animal, or does not respond to standard treatment should be treated as a potential reportable event. Animals that have been exposed to, may have been exposed to, are infected with, or may be infected with any contagious or infectious disease are subject to regulatory action by the State Board of Animal Health.

How to Report a Livestock Disease in North Dakota

When you observe signs of a reportable disease, your first step is to contact the State Veterinarian’s office. Do not wait for a laboratory confirmation before making the call — the law requires you to report on suspicion.

Here is how the reporting process works in North Dakota:

1. Contact the State Veterinarian directly. Reports should be made to the State Veterinarian, North Dakota State Board of Animal Health, Department of Agriculture, 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602, Bismarck, ND 58505-0020, at (701) 328-2655 or toll-free 1-800-242-7535.
2. Provide complete information. Be prepared to share your name, farm location, the species affected, the number of animals showing signs, the clinical signs you have observed, and the timeline of when symptoms first appeared.
3. Isolate affected animals immediately. While waiting for a response from authorities, move sick animals away from healthy ones to reduce the risk of spread. Do not move animals off your premises without authorization from the State Veterinarian.
4. Contact your private veterinarian. Call the State Veterinarian or Area Veterinarian in Charge if you discover, suspect, or have reason to believe animals are affected by any reportable disease. Your local vet can help document clinical signs and collect samples for submission to a diagnostic laboratory.
5. Preserve evidence. Do not dispose of carcasses or alter the premises until you receive guidance from the State Veterinarian. Proper documentation supports a faster and more accurate investigation.
6. Cooperate with official investigators. The board, any member of the board, the state veterinarian, or the commissioner may examine or cause to be examined under oath all persons believed to possess knowledge of material facts concerning the existence or dissemination of disease among domestic animals or nontraditional livestock.

The Animal Health Division monitors and regulates animal imports and exports, traces animal movement, issues and maintains records of official USDA tags and state certificates of veterinary inspection, and conducts disease testing on animals. Once your report is received, this infrastructure is activated to investigate and respond.

For context on how neighboring states handle similar processes, see our articles on livestock disease reporting in Michigan and livestock disease reporting in Illinois. You may also want to review bovine diseases that are commonly encountered in North Dakota cattle operations.

Reporting Deadlines and Timeframes in North Dakota

North Dakota law uses the word “immediately” when describing the reporting obligation. This is not a loosely defined term — it means as soon as you discover or suspect a reportable disease, you are required to act without delay.

The following timeframe framework applies across different stages of a disease event:

• Initial suspicion: Report immediately upon discovery or reasonable suspicion. Do not wait for symptoms to worsen or for additional animals to become affected.
• Foreign animal disease suspects (e.g., FMD, HPAI): These are treated as emergency situations. Contact the State Veterinarian by phone the moment you observe signs consistent with a foreign animal disease. The commissioner may use any moneys appropriated for the rapid arrest and eradication of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, contagious pleuropneumonia, or any other highly contagious or infectious animal plagues. The speed of the response depends entirely on how quickly a report is made.
• Post-kill notification: Whenever a domestic animal has been determined to be affected with a contagious or infectious disease and ordered killed by the board or state veterinarian, the owner or keeper must be notified of the order; notice may be accomplished by registered mail or by an agent serving a copy of the order; and within twenty-four hours after receiving notice, the owner or keeper may file a protest against the killing of the animal.
• Non-traditional livestock inventory: Inventory reports are due on January thirty-first of each year. Any disease-related deaths in non-traditional livestock must be recorded and reported as part of this annual inventory process.
• Interstate movement documentation: The Animal Disease Traceability Rule (ADT) went into effect on March 11, 2013, and requires official identification for cattle moved between states, enabling rapid tracebacks if a disease event is discovered after movement.

What Happens After You Report in North Dakota

Once you file a report, the NDDA Animal Health Division initiates a structured response. The speed and scope of that response depend on the disease suspected, but the general sequence of events follows a consistent pattern.

Step 1: Initial Assessment
The State Veterinarian or a designated representative will contact you to gather more information and determine the urgency of the situation. For foreign animal disease suspects, an on-site investigation may be dispatched within hours.

Step 2: On-Site Investigation
At official or fully inspected facilities, livestock receive third-party verification; inspection staff inspect every animal while it is still alive and after slaughter to ensure no sign of disease is missed. For field investigations, state and potentially federal veterinarians will visit your premises to conduct a clinical examination, collect samples, and assess the extent of exposure.

Step 3: Quarantine (If Warranted)
The board may quarantine any domestic animal or nontraditional livestock which is infected, or may be infected, with any such disease or which has been exposed, or may be exposed, to infection, cause any animal so infected to be killed, regulate or prohibit the arrival in or departure from this state of any such exposed or infected animal, and at the cost of the owner thereof, it may detain any domestic animal or nontraditional livestock found to be in violation of any such regulation or prohibition.

Step 4: Laboratory Confirmation
Samples collected on-site are submitted to a state or federal diagnostic laboratory. Results guide the next steps, including whether additional animals or premises need to be placed under movement restrictions.

Step 5: Traceability and Contact Investigation
North Dakota’s Voluntary Location Registration program started in 2005 as a cooperative effort between the State Board of Animal Health and the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association; the 2005 brand renewal process combined with individual mailings led to the voluntary registration of approximately 8,000 locations; and the Premises Registration program has since transitioned to the Location Identification program. Location Identification numbers allow officials to rapidly identify and contact other producers whose animals may have been exposed.

Step 6: Disposal of Condemned Animals
The owner or keeper of any animal killed by order of the state board of animal health, the state veterinarian, or by an agent or representative of the state board of animal health, shall dispose of the carcass of the animal in the manner prescribed by the board or the state veterinarian.

The Animal Health Division trains and coordinates a Reserve Veterinary Corps to assist in emergency situations and participates in animal emergency preparedness and response on state, regional, and national levels. This means that for large-scale disease events, North Dakota can scale its response rapidly with additional trained personnel. For a comparison of how California handles post-report response, see our guide on livestock disease reporting in California.

Penalties for Failing to Report in North Dakota

Failing to report a suspected or confirmed reportable livestock disease in North Dakota is not a minor oversight — it is a violation of state law that carries real legal and financial consequences. The State Board of Animal Health and the NDDA have broad authority to enforce compliance.

Civil and Criminal Penalties
Violations of North Dakota’s livestock disease statutes under Title 36 of the North Dakota Century Code can result in civil penalties and, in some cases, criminal charges. The state’s attorney for the county where the violation occurred is empowered to bring enforcement actions. It is the duty of the state’s attorney to bring actions for violations of the chapter; if livestock is brought into this state in violation of this chapter or contrary to any rule of the State Board of Animal Health, the state veterinarian or other accredited agent of the commissioner shall notify the state’s attorney of the county into which the livestock has been brought.

Quarantine and Movement Restrictions
Beyond formal penalties, failing to report can result in your entire operation being placed under quarantine. The board may quarantine any city, civil township, or county or areas within a county in this state and any enclosure, building, or any domestic animal or nontraditional livestock therein which is or may be infected or exposed or may be exposed to any contagious or infectious disease. A quarantine can halt all livestock sales, movements, and operations until the disease situation is resolved.

Loss of Compensation Eligibility
North Dakota provides indemnity compensation to producers whose animals are ordered destroyed during a disease control action — but that compensation may be forfeited if you are found to have willfully concealed a disease. The owner of an animal willfully exposed the animal to the disease is one of the conditions that can disqualify a producer from receiving indemnity payments for destroyed animals.

License and Permit Consequences for Non-Traditional Livestock Operators
For producers holding non-traditional livestock licenses, failure to comply with disease reporting and record-keeping rules can result in license revocation. The board may evaluate the existing holding facility when an annual inventory report is received; the revocation of a license or denial of a license application must comply with North Dakota Century Code chapter 28-32.

The bottom line is that North Dakota takes livestock disease reporting seriously, and the consequences of non-compliance extend well beyond a simple fine. Protecting your operation means staying informed, staying observant, and acting immediately when something looks wrong with your animals.

For additional resources on animal disease topics relevant to North Dakota producers, explore our guides on bats in North Dakota — which are relevant to rabies awareness — and flies in North Dakota, which are common vectors for livestock disease transmission. Producers dealing with tick-related concerns can also review tick-borne disease prevention strategies for broader vector awareness on the farm.