[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48258-48259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23010]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 93
[Docket No. 98-055-2]
Horses From Morocco; 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 Morocco 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 Morocco and
is in accordance with standards set by the Office International des
Epizooties for recognizing a country as free of African horse sickness.
This action will relieve restrictions on the importation of horses into
the United States from Morocco.
DATES: Effective September 20, 1999 .
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Cougill, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Products Program, National Center for Import and Export,
VS, APHIS, 4700 River RoadUnit 40, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-
3399.
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 viral equine disease that is not known to exist in the United
States.
The regulations in Sec. 93.308(a)(2) list 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 April 6, 1999, we published in the Federal Register (64 FR
16655-16656, Docket No. 98-055-1) a proposal to amend the regulations
concerning the importation of horses to remove Morocco from the list of
regions that APHIS considers affected with AHS. The proposed action was
based on information received from Morocco and standards set by the
Office International des Epizooties (OIE).
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
June 7, 1999. We received two comments by that date. They were from
industry representatives. Neither opposed the rule but said that APHIS
should have conducted a site visit to verify information submitted by
Morocco.
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 whenever such standards exist. 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
disease is mandatorily reportable. In addition, the country must not
have vaccinated domestic horses or other equines against the disease
during the past 12 months. The OIE also requires that the country have
no clinical, serological (in nonvaccinated animals), or epidemiological
evidence of AHS for the past 2 years. Morocco exceeds these
requirements. Morocco has not had a case of AHS for over 7 years and
has not vaccinated for the disease for 5 years.
In addition to OIE standards, APHIS considers Morocco's horse
population, quarantine requirements, disease surveillance system,
laboratory capabilities, and geography.
Morocco has approximately 180,000 horses, which are mainly used for
transportation, beasts of burden, agricultural work, racing, and
breeding. Morocco does not allow the importation of animals from known
AHS-positive countries. Animals from AHS-negative countries must be
tested twice, once in the country of origin and once during a 10-day
quarantine in Morocco. The 10-day quarantine on all imported equines
allows monitoring of imported animals for signs of disease. Morocco has
14 border service stations to prevent illegal movement of equines.
Morocco has 6 regional veterinary diagnostic and research
laboratories qualified to perform required testing for veterinary
certification and disease monitoring. In addition, there is a National
Epidemiology and Zoonosis Laboratory, a National Veterinary Drugs
Control Laboratory, and BIOPHARMA, a State-owned vaccine production
company. Of these nine laboratories, four have facilities for virus
isolation and typing. Morocco collaborates with the Community Reference
Laboratory for AHS, Algete, Spain; the School of Veterinary Medicine,
Maison Alfort, France; and the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright,
United Kingdom, for support and assistance with disease diagnosis.
Also, in August 1997, Morocco sent 300 AHS reference sera to APHIS'
Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Plum Island, NY. Tests
of the sera by APHIS confirmed the accuracy of Morocco's laboratory
results.
Morocco is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the
Atlantic Ocean to the west, Algeria to the east, and Mauritania to the
south. Spain, although not immediately adjacent, is separated from
Morocco only by the Gibraltar Strait. None of these countries have
reported AHS for 3 years or longer.
APHIS also evaluated Morocco's veterinary service infrastructure
and its animal health policies and infrastructures for animal disease
control. Our review of information submitted by Morocco indicates that
[[Page 48259]]
these infrastructures and policies are adequate for disease control.
The commenters also said that information supplied by foreign
regions should be made available to the public for review.
Currently, when a region requests permission to export animals and
animal products to the United States, the supporting documentation
supplied by the region is published by APHIS on the Internet at http://
www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/reg-request.html. This Internet address can be
accessed by the public. To request additional information, the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT may be
contacted.
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 Morocco 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 Morocco 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 effective 15 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. This 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 rule will recognize Morocco as free of AHS. This action will
allow horses from Morocco 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 Morocco will
be affected by this rule. These importers will no longer be required to
quarantine horses from Morocco 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; none of these horses were imported into the United States from
Morocco. Removing the requirement for a 60-day quarantine for horses
from Morocco will make the importation of horses less expensive and
logistically easier. As a result, we anticipate that U.S. importers of
competition and breeding horses might begin importing horses from
Morocco. Since the value of Morocco's exports of purebred horses in
1997 was approximately $44,000, we do not expect that the number of
horses exported to the United States will be significant. Furthermore,
most horses imported from Morocco 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 Morocco. For these reasons, we
anticipate the overall economic effect on U.S. entities 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 final 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 final 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).
2. In Sec. 93.308, paragraph (a)(2) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 93.308 Quarantine requirements.
(a) * * *
(2) Horses intended for importation from regions APHIS considers to
be affected with African horse sickness may enter the United States
only at the port of New York, and must be quarantined at the New York
Animal Import Center in Newburgh, New York, for at least 60 days. This
restriction also applies to horses that have stopped in or transited a
region considered affected with African horse sickness. APHIS considers
the following regions to be affected with African horse sickness: All
the regions on the continent of Africa, except Morocco; Oman; Qatar;
Saudi Arabia; and the Yemen Arab Republic.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of August 1999.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-23010 Filed 9-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U
