CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS OR PREMISES AS INFESTED, EXPOSED, OR FREE FROM EXPOSURE

(a) If a tick is found on an animal, the following are classified as tick infested: (1) each animal that is in the same herd or is then or thereafter on the same range or in the same enclosure as the animal on which the tick is found; and (2) the range or enclosure in or on which the animal is located. (b) The commission by rule shall define what animals and premises are to be classified as exposed to ticks. The commission shall classify as exposed to ticks animals that have been on land or in an enclosure that the commission determines to be tick infested or exposed to ticks or to have been tick infested or exposed to ticks before or after the removal of the animals, unless the commission determines that the infestation or exposure occurred after the animals were removed and that the animals did not become infested or exposed before removal. (c) Animals, land, and premises classified as tick infested or exposed to ticks retain that classification until the classification is changed by the commission in accordance with this chapter. (d) Animals, land, and premises in the tick eradication area may not be considered to be free from exposure to ticks unless: (1) the commission has officially classified the animals or premises as free from exposure and filed a copy of the order making that classification in the office of the supervising inspector of the county in which the animals or premises are located; or (2) the supervising inspector of the county in which the animals or premises are located, under the authority of the commission, has classified the animals or premises in writing as free from exposure and filed the written classification in the supervising inspector's office.