[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]
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