Minnesota Agencies

The mission of the Board of Animal Health is to protect the health of the state's domestic animals. The Board is responsible for carrying out disease control programs for livestock and poultry in Minnesota and overseeing their enforcement.

The Board of Animal Health, established by the legislature in 1903 as the State Livestock Sanitary Board (Laws of Minnesota 1903,  chapter 352), protects the health of domestic animals in the state through administration of laws, rules, and regulations related to animal disease control, including diseases transmittable to man and those contagious only to livestock. Early disease concerns included tuberculosis in cattle and swine, glanders in horses, sheep scabies, hog cholera, and rabies. Brucellosis became a concern in the 1920s. Prior to 1903, the board's functions were performed by the Department of Health.

The Board's name changed to the Board of Animal Health in 1980 (Laws of Minn. 1980, chap. 467).

In 2021, the Legislature changed board membership from five to six members, requiring at least one member to be from a federally recognized Tribe in Minnesota (see Laws of Minn. 2021, chap 28). Language was also added saying the board shall allow the movement of Cervidae from a Cervidae farm located within a chronic wasting disease management or endemic zone if the Cervidae have tested negative for chronic wasting disease with an antemortem test validated by the United States Department of Agriculture and the herd has met other movement requirements as set by the board. Further adjustments to board membership were made in 2023 (see Laws of Minn. 2023, chap. 43, art. 2, sec. 122).

As of 2023, the board consists of seven members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, three of whom are producers of livestock in the state; one of whom is a member of a federally recognized Tribe located in Minnesota who is experienced in animal husbandry; and three of whom are practicing veterinarians licensed in Minnesota, one of whom specializes in companion animals. To the extent practicable, the governor's appointments must achieve gender and geographic balance among the board membership. 

The Board elects a president and vice-president among its members. Every year, the Board appoints a veterinarian to serve as the state veterinarian and executive director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.