Import Regulations for Horses; Technical Amendments
| Published date | 08 April 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-07370 |
| Citation | 89 FR 24339 |
| Court | Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24339-24340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07370]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 93
[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0033]
RIN 0579-AE62
Import Regulations for Horses; Technical Amendments
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments.
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SUMMARY: In a final rule published in the Federal Register on September
14, 2023, and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the regulations
governing the importation of equines to better align our regulations
with international standards, as well as to clarify existing policy or
intent, and correct inconsistencies or outdated information. However,
in amending the regulations for horses that are refused entry, we
neglected to account for rare and specific situations in which an
imported horse's death during travel can be determined to be unrelated
to foreign animal disease risk. Additionally, in aiming to improve the
readability of the regulations governing equines imported from Canada,
we inadvertently changed the regulations to incorrectly read that
certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and endorsed, rather
than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian
[[Page 24340]]
Government. This document corrects those errors.
DATES: Effective April 8, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Iwona Tumelty, VS Strategy and
Policy, Live Animal Imports, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 39,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; 301-851-3300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final rule that was published in the
Federal Register on September 14, 2023 (88 FR 62993-63004, Docket No.
APHIS-2016-0033), and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the
regulations in 9 CFR part 93 governing the importation of equines to
better align our regulations with international standards, as well as
to add a number of miscellaneous changes that clarified existing policy
or intent, and corrected inconsistencies or outdated information.
One of these miscellaneous changes included amending Sec. 93.306
to provide APHIS' policies in the rare instances that a horse arriving
at the port of entry is dead upon presentation. In the final rule, we
stated that cohort horses arriving in the same shipment as a horse dead
upon presentation will also be refused entry. We explained that this
change was necessary because diagnostic testing for these horses would
not be feasible, as determining what additional testing and quarantine
would be necessary to mitigate foreign animal disease risk would
require a necropsy of the dead horse, and dead horses are refused
entry.
During implementation of the final rule, it was brought to our
attention that this neglected to account for situations in which the
mortality could be directly attributed to a cause other than foreign
animal disease, such as in the case of obvious physical trauma
sustained during transport. In these situations, a necropsy of the dead
horse would not be necessary because determining whether the cohort
horses pose a risk of spreading foreign animal disease would be
feasible through current policies for foreign animal disease testing
and import quarantine.
We are therefore correcting Sec. 93.306 to account for these
situations and state that horses arriving in the same shipment as
horses dead upon presentation will be refused entry unless the cause of
death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign animal disease.
In the preamble to the final rule, we also stated that we were
making non-substantive editorial changes to Sec. 93.317(a), which
addresses requirements for horses imported from Canada, to improve
readability. During implementation of the final rule, the Competent
Authority of Canada alerted us that we had changed this paragraph to
read that certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and
endorsed, rather than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of
the Canadian Government. This is incorrect and is not current practice;
horses from Canada are accepted for entry into the United States with a
certificate that is either issued or endorsed by a salaried
veterinarian of the Canadian Government, and we did not propose nor
intend to change this regulation. We are therefore correcting Sec.
93.317(a) to read that certificates required for horses from Canada
must be issued or endorsed by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian
Government.
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 93
Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 93 as follows:
PART 93--IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND POULTRY,
AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR
MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS
0
1. The authority citation for part 93 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a;
31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
0
2. Amend Sec. 93.306 by revising the second sentence to read as
follows:
Sec. 93.306 Inspection at the port of entry.
* * * All horses found to be free from communicable disease and not
to have been exposed thereto within 60 days prior to their exportation
to the United States shall be admitted subject to the other provisions
in this part; all other horses, to include horses dead upon
presentation, and horses arriving in the same shipment as such horses
unless the cause of death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign
animal disease, shall be refused entry. * * *
Sec. 93.317 [Amended]
0
3. Amend Sec. 93.317, in paragraph (a), in the third sentence, by
removing the word ``and'' after the words ``be issued'' and adding the
word ``or'' in its place.
Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of April 2024.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07370 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
