[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