[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10029]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 26, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 80
Tuesday, April 26, 1994
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 91
[Docket No. 93-031-1]
Inspection of Animals for Export to Mexico or Canada
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the regulations concerning the
inspection and handling of livestock for exportation by requiring that
all animals intended for exportation other than by land (that is to
say, by air or sea) to Mexico or Canada receive a final inspection by
an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service veterinarian at an export
inspection facility at a designated port of embarkation. We believe
this action is necessary to help ensure that only healthy animals are
exported from the United States.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before June 27, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,
Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 93-031-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Michael David, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Import-Export Animals Staff, National Center for Import-
Export, Veterinary Services, APHIS, USDA, room 761, Federal Building,
6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-436-7511.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 9 CFR part 91, ``Inspection and Handling of
Livestock for Exportation'' (referred to below as the regulations),
prescribe conditions for exporting animals from the United States.
Section 91.3(a) requires, among other things, that all animals intended
for exportation to Mexico or Canada, except cattle from Mexico imported
into the United States in bond for temporary feeding and return to
Mexico, be accompanied from the State of origin of the export movement
to the border of the United States by an origin health certificate. The
origin health certificate, as defined in Sec. 91.1, is an official
document issued by an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) representative or an accredited veterinarian at the point of
origin of a shipment of animals to be moved under part 91, which shows
the identification tag, tattoo, or registration number or similar
identification of each animal to be moved, the number, breed, sex, and
approximate age of the animals covered by the document, the date and
place of issuance, the points of origin and destination, the consignor,
and the consignee, and which states that the animal or animals
identified on the certificate meet the export health requirements.
Section 91.3(b) requires, among other things, that all animals in
export shipments, except animals intended for export to Mexico or
Canada, be inspected, tested, or treated as prescribed in the
regulations before the movement of the export shipment to the export
inspection facility. Animals intended for export to Mexico or Canada
must be inspected, tested, or treated as prescribed in the regulations
before movement from the State of origin.
Section 91.14(a) requires that all animals, except animals being
exported to Mexico or Canada, be exported through designated ports of
embarkation with export inspection facilities that meet the standards
for export inspection facilities specified in Sec. 91.14(c). Section
91.15(a) requires that all animals offered for exportation to foreign
countries, except Mexico or Canada, be inspected by an APHIS
veterinarian at either:
(1) An export inspection facility at a port designated in
Sec. 91.14(a); or
(2) In special cases, at a port or inspection facility designated
by the Administrator under Sec. 91.14(b).
Until recently, exporters shipping animals to Mexico or Canada have
moved the animals by land from the United States. All animals moved by
land to Mexico or Canada are inspected at their point of origin by an
APHIS representative or an accredited veterinarian. Upon arrival at a
land border port of entry in Mexico or Canada, the animals are
inspected by a Mexican or Canadian veterinarian, respectively. Because
of the inspections conducted by Mexican or Canadian veterinarians,
APHIS veterinarians have not conducted these inspections at land border
port crossings. The close proximity of U.S. land border ports to the
Mexican and Canadian land border ports have facilitated the return to
the United States of any animals that may have been diseased or may
have been exposed to disease.
In the past year, however, many exporters have begun to move
animals by air or sea from the United States to Mexico or Canada. This
practice has raised a concern that animals could be moved directly into
the interior of these two countries without a final veterinary
inspection prior to that movement, thus circumventing the inspection
system that helps prevent the exportation of diseased animals or
animals that may have been exposed to disease.
To determine the disease status of any animals that are moved from
the United States other than by land to Mexico or Canada, we are
proposing that animals intended for exportation by air or sea to either
of these two countries meet the same requirements as animals exported
to other foreign countries under Secs. 91.3(a) and (b), 91.14(a), and
91.15(a). We, therefore, are proposing to amend the regulations to
limit the exception for animals exported to Mexico or Canada to those
animals intended for export to those countries by land. Such
exportations would not have to meet the requirements in the above-cited
regulations for the reasons already discussed.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866, and, therefore, has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
This proposed rule would require a final inspection at an export
inspection facility at a designated port of embarkation for all animals
intended for export to Mexico and Canada by air or sea. Animals
intended for export to Mexico and Canada by air or sea would first be
inspected by an APHIS representative or an accredited veterinarian in
the State of origin. The APHIS representative or an accredited
veterinarian would issue an origin health certificate, which an
authorized APHIS veterinarian in the State of origin would endorse. At
the port of embarkation, the animals would receive a final inspection
by an APHIS veterinarian before they would be allowed to leave the
United States.
The exporter would be charged a user fee ($33.50 an hour plus
reimbursable overtime when applicable) for the final inspection as
provided in 9 CFR part 130. This inspection could require 6 to 8 hours
of work for one or two veterinarians. The total cost of inspection for
an air shipment from Miami ranges from about $200 to $600 a shipment.
The total cost of inspection for a sea shipment from Hawaii ranges from
$1,000 to $2,000 a shipment.
These costs are very small compared to the value of the animals
being shipped. For example, gilts (young, female pigs or immature sows)
may be valued at $500 to $1,000 or more a head, depending upon breed.
Heifers (young cows that have not borne calves) may be worth $2,000 a
head. One air shipment may contain as many as 240 gilts or 80 heifers.
One sea shipment from Hawaii may contain 1,000 to 2,000 heifers.
Clearly, the costs of inspection are relatively minor.
Moreover, the exporting entities involved generally are not small
(defined as having 100 or fewer employees). They are large companies,
often with worldwide operations that handle large volumes of traded
animals. For example, about 14,000 swine were exported by air from
Miami last year, all by a few large companies. There are now only two
exporting companies operating out of Hawaii, one of which is a
``small'' entity.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to the Executive Order
12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and
local officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12778
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted:
(1) All State and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent
with this rule will be preempted;
(2) No retroactive effect will be given to this rule; and
(3) Administrative proceedings will not be required before parties
may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements
included in this proposed rule have been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), and there are no new requirements. The
assigned OMB control number is 0579-0069.
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 91
Animal diseases, Animal welfare, Exports, Livestock, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, 9 CFR part 91 would be amended as follows:
PART 91--INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK FOR EXPORTATION
1. The authority citation for part 91 would be revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 105, 112, 113, 114a, 120, 121, 134b, 134f,
136, 136a, 612, 613, 614, 618, 46 U.S.C. 466a, 466b, 49 U.S.C.
1509(d); 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(d).
Sec. 91.3 [Amended]
2. Section 91.3 would be amended as follows:
a. In paragraph (a), in the first and second sentences, the words
``by land'' would be added immediately before the phrase ``to Mexico or
Canada''.
b. In paragraph (b), in the first and second sentences, the words
``by land'' would be added immediately before the phrase ``to Mexico or
Canada''.
c. At the end of the section, in the parenthetical statement,
``0579-0069'' would be removed and ``0579-0020'' would be added in its
place.
Sec. 91.5 [Amended]
3. At the end of Sec. 91.5, in the parenthetical statement, ``0579-
0069'' would be removed and ``0579-0020'' would be added in its place.
Sec. 91.6 [Amended]
4. At the end of Sec. 91.6, in the parenthetical statement, ``0579-
0069'' would be removed and ``0579-0020'' would be added in its place.
Sec. 91.14 [Amended]
5. In Sec. 91.14, paragraph (a), in the second sentence, the words
``by land'' would be added immediately before the phrase ``to Mexico or
Canada''.
Sec. 91.15 [Amended]
6. In Sec. 91.15, in paragraph (a), the words ``by land to'' would
be added immediately before the phrase ``Mexico or Canada''.
Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of April 1994.
Patricia Jensen,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Inspection Services.
[FR Doc. 94-10029 Filed 4-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
