Rhode Island § 4-4-1 - Animal Diseases in General

§ 4-4-1. Appointment of inspectors to inspect diseased animals — Quarantine — Veterinarians.

(a) The director of environmental management may appoint one or more inspectors in the state, whose duty it is to visit and inquire into the condition of any domestic animal in the state whenever there is reason to suspect that any domestic animal, the carcass of any domestic animal or tissues or products, is affected with a contagious, infectious, zoonotic, or communicable disease; and the inspectors are authorized to quarantine any domestic animal, the carcass of any diseased domestic animal, or restrict the movement of any tissues or products produced by any domestic animal suspected of being affected with a contagious, infectious, zoonotic, or communicable disease until such quarantine or movement restriction is released by a veterinarian employed by the director. The director may also employ, from time to time, any number of veterinary surgeons that he or she may find necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(b) The director of the department of environmental management may establish quarantine or control zones consistent with state and United States Department of Agriculture emergency plans to restrict the movement of animals, animal carcasses, animal tissues, and animal products suspected of being affected with a contagious, infectious, zoonotic, or communicable disease. Any control or quarantine zone established under this authority will remain in effect until the chief of agriculture and/or the state veterinarian determine that the zone is no longer necessary to mitigate the threat of disease.

(c) The director of the department of environmental management may order examination or testing of any quarantined animal or animal in a quarantine or control zone for disease surveillance purposes or as a term of the order of quarantine. The director may authorize qualified department personnel to carry out any examination or testing or may order the testing to be performed by a licensed veterinarian qualified to perform the testing.