[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 345-346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-219]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
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Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2000 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 345]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 93
[Docket No. 97-131-3]
Horses From Qatar; Change in Disease Status
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations concerning the importation of
horses to remove Qatar from the list of regions the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service considers affected with African horse
sickness. This action is based on information received from Qatar and
is in accordance with the standards set by the Office International des
Epizooties for recognizing a country as free of African horse sickness.
This action relieves restrictions on the importation of horses into the
United States from Qatar.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 20, 2000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Glen I. Garris, Supervisory Staff
Officer, Regionalization Evaluation Services Staff, National Center for
Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD
20737-1231; (301) 734-8364.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 9 CFR part 93 (referred to below as the
regulations) prescribe the conditions for the importation into the
United States of specified animals to prevent the introduction of
various animal diseases, including African horse sickness (AHS). AHS is
a fatal equine viral disease that is not known to exist in the United
States.
In Sec. 93.308 of the regulations, paragraph (a)(2) lists regions
that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) considers
affected with AHS and sets forth specific quarantine requirements for
horses that are imported from those regions. APHIS requires horses
intended for importation from any of the regions listed, including
horses that have stopped in or transited those regions, to enter the
United States only at the port of New York and be quarantined at the
New York Animal Import Center in Newburgh, NY, for at least 60 days.
This precaution is necessary to help ensure that the horses are not
affected with AHS.
On May 12, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR 26099-
26100, Docket No. 97-131-1) a proposal to amend the regulations by
removing Qatar from the list of regions in Sec. 93.308(a)(2) that APHIS
considers affected with AHS. The proposed action was based on
information received from Qatar and standards set by the Office
International des Epizooties (OIE).
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
July 13, 1998. On January 14, 1999, we published in the Federal
Register (64 FR 2449, Docket No. 97-131-2) a notice reopening and
extending the comment period until February 16, 1999. During the
comment period, we received comments from two industry representatives.
Both commenters stated that APHIS should have performed an on-site
evaluation to verify the information Qatar submitted to support its
request to be declared free of AHS, and one commenter stated that he
could not support the proposed rule because an on-site evaluation was
not performed.
The United States is a signatory to the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT). Basic to NAFTA and GATT are the provisions to encourage
countries to base their sanitary and phytosanitary measures on
international standards. Animal health measures should be based on OIE
standards. Based on the standards set forth by the OIE, a country may
be recognized as free of AHS if the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The country requires that AHS be reported; (2) the country has not
vaccinated domestic horses or other equines against the disease during
the past 12 months; and (3) the country has no clinical, serological
(in nonvaccinated animals), or epidemiological evidence of AHS for the
past 2 years. Qatar exceeds these requirements. Qatar requires
reporting of AHS, has not had a recorded case of AHS for over 30 years,
and has not vaccinated for the disease during this period.
In addition to the OIE standards, APHIS considered Qatar's horse
population, quarantine requirements, disease surveillance system,
laboratory capabilities, and geography.
Qatar has approximately 1,500 horses, and the majority of these
horses are maintained at Government-funded equestrian and racing club
stables or at a small number of stud farms. Qatar allows the temporary
importation of registered competition horses from member States of the
European Union (EU) to compete in Qatar with unimpeded return to the
country of origin immediately after competition. However, competition
horses that enter under temporary importation rules are maintained in
Government-funded facilities with strict movement controls, health
monitoring, and vector control. In addition, Qatar imports horses for
purposes other than competition under special conditions only from
countries that meet the export requirements of EU countries. Qatar has
quarantine and testing requirements for these horses.
Qatar conducts continuous AHS serum surveys in its domestic horses.
Currently, there is not a diagnostic laboratory in Qatar that is
capable of isolating and typing the virus that causes AHS; however,
Qatar sends samples from its ongoing AHS surveys to the Institute for
Animal Health at the Pirbright Laboratory in the United Kingdom. In
addition, all horses that are known to have died or are euthanized in
Qatar are routinely autopsied, and reports are submitted to the Chief
Veterinary Officer. If an infectious disease is suspected, all animals
that were in contact with the suspect animal are isolated and
monitored. If AHS were suspected, blood, pleural effusions, and tissue
samples would be obtained and submitted for testing.
Qatar is a small land mass that extends from the eastern edge of
the Arabian peninsula. Qatar is surrounded on the north, east, and
south by water and has a small land border shared with
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Saudi Arabia, which is recognized by the OIE as AHS free. The land
border is strictly controlled by the Government of Qatar.
APHIS also evaluated Qatar's veterinary service infrastructure and
the animal health policies and infrastructures for animal disease
control. Our review of information submitted by Qatar indicates that
these infrastructures and policies are adequate for disease control.
Both commenters stated that the supplementary information that
Qatar submitted should have been made available to the public for
review.
Such information was available from the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, we now publish on the
Internet supporting documentation provided by a region when it requests
a change in its disease status; however, the request for Qatar was
submitted before these procedures were in place. The Internet address
is http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/reg-request.html. This Internet address
can be accessed by the public. The public may also call or write the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule and in this
document, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule, without
change.
Effective Date
This is a substantive rule that relieves restrictions and, pursuant
to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made effective less than 30
days after publication in the Federal Register. This rule relieves
restrictions that require horses imported from Qatar to enter the
United States only at the port of New York and be quarantined at the
New York Animal Import Center in Newburgh, NY, for at least 60 days.
This rule allows horses from Qatar to be shipped to and quarantined at
ports designated in Sec. 93.303 and reduces the quarantine period to an
average of 3 days to meet the quarantine and testing requirements
specified in Sec. 93.308. Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this rule
should be made effective less than 30 days after the date of
publication in the Federal Register.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget.
This final rule will recognize Qatar as free of AHS. This action
will allow horses from Qatar to be shipped to and quarantined at ports
designated in Sec. 93.303 and will reduce the quarantine and testing
period to an average of 3 days to meet quarantine requirements
specified in Sec. 93.308.
U.S. importers of competition and breeding horses from Qatar will
be affected by this rule. These importers will no longer be required to
quarantine horses from Qatar for 60 days at the New York Animal Import
Center in Newburgh, NY, at a cost of approximately $5,296 per horse.
In 1998, the United States imported 41,876 horses, valued at $206
million. However, there have been no horses imported into the United
States from Qatar since 1992. Removing the requirement for a 60-day
quarantine for horses from Qatar will make the importation of these
horses less expensive and logistically easier. As a result, we
anticipate that U.S. importers might begin importing horses from Qatar.
However, because the horse population in Qatar in 1998 was
approximately 1,500 head, we do not expect that the number of horses
exported to the United States will be significant. In fact, in 1997,
Qatar exported only 10 horses. Furthermore, most horses imported from
Qatar will probably be in the United States on a temporary basis for
particular events, such as for races or breeding, and then transported
back to Qatar. For these reasons, we anticipate the overall economic
effect on U.S. entites will be minimal.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 93
Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products,
Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 93 as follows:
PART 93--IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND POULTRY, AND
CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS
OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS
1. The authority citation for part 93 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622; 19 U.S.C. 1306; 21 U.S.C. 102-105,
111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134d, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31 U.S.C.
9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).
Sec. 93.308 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 93.308, paragraph (a)(2) is amended by removing
``Qatar;''.
Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of December 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-219 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
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