[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 345-346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-219]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2000 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 345]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. 97-131-3]


Horses From Qatar; 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 Qatar 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 Qatar and 
is in accordance with the standards set by the Office International des 
Epizooties for recognizing a country as free of African horse sickness. 
This action relieves restrictions on the importation of horses into the 
United States from Qatar.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 20, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Glen I. Garris, Supervisory Staff 
Officer, Regionalization Evaluation Services Staff, National Center for 
Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 734-8364.

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 equine viral disease that is not known to exist in the United 
States.
    In Sec. 93.308 of the regulations, paragraph (a)(2) lists 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 May 12, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR 26099-
26100, Docket No. 97-131-1) a proposal to amend the regulations by 
removing Qatar from the list of regions in Sec. 93.308(a)(2) that APHIS 
considers affected with AHS. The proposed action was based on 
information received from Qatar and standards set by the Office 
International des Epizooties (OIE).
    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending 
July 13, 1998. On January 14, 1999, we published in the Federal 
Register (64 FR 2449, Docket No. 97-131-2) a notice reopening and 
extending the comment period until February 16, 1999. During the 
comment period, we received comments from two industry representatives.
    Both commenters stated that APHIS should have performed an on-site 
evaluation to verify the information Qatar submitted to support its 
request to be declared free of AHS, and one commenter stated that he 
could not support the proposed rule because an on-site evaluation was 
not performed.
    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. 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 following conditions are satisfied: 
(1) The country requires that AHS be reported; (2) the country has not 
vaccinated domestic horses or other equines against the disease during 
the past 12 months; and (3) the country has no clinical, serological 
(in nonvaccinated animals), or epidemiological evidence of AHS for the 
past 2 years. Qatar exceeds these requirements. Qatar requires 
reporting of AHS, has not had a recorded case of AHS for over 30 years, 
and has not vaccinated for the disease during this period.
    In addition to the OIE standards, APHIS considered Qatar's horse 
population, quarantine requirements, disease surveillance system, 
laboratory capabilities, and geography.
    Qatar has approximately 1,500 horses, and the majority of these 
horses are maintained at Government-funded equestrian and racing club 
stables or at a small number of stud farms. Qatar allows the temporary 
importation of registered competition horses from member States of the 
European Union (EU) to compete in Qatar with unimpeded return to the 
country of origin immediately after competition. However, competition 
horses that enter under temporary importation rules are maintained in 
Government-funded facilities with strict movement controls, health 
monitoring, and vector control. In addition, Qatar imports horses for 
purposes other than competition under special conditions only from 
countries that meet the export requirements of EU countries. Qatar has 
quarantine and testing requirements for these horses.
    Qatar conducts continuous AHS serum surveys in its domestic horses. 
Currently, there is not a diagnostic laboratory in Qatar that is 
capable of isolating and typing the virus that causes AHS; however, 
Qatar sends samples from its ongoing AHS surveys to the Institute for 
Animal Health at the Pirbright Laboratory in the United Kingdom. In 
addition, all horses that are known to have died or are euthanized in 
Qatar are routinely autopsied, and reports are submitted to the Chief 
Veterinary Officer. If an infectious disease is suspected, all animals 
that were in contact with the suspect animal are isolated and 
monitored. If AHS were suspected, blood, pleural effusions, and tissue 
samples would be obtained and submitted for testing.
    Qatar is a small land mass that extends from the eastern edge of 
the Arabian peninsula. Qatar is surrounded on the north, east, and 
south by water and has a small land border shared with

[[Page 346]]

Saudi Arabia, which is recognized by the OIE as AHS free. The land 
border is strictly controlled by the Government of Qatar.
    APHIS also evaluated Qatar's veterinary service infrastructure and 
the animal health policies and infrastructures for animal disease 
control. Our review of information submitted by Qatar indicates that 
these infrastructures and policies are adequate for disease control.
    Both commenters stated that the supplementary information that 
Qatar submitted should have been made available to the public for 
review.
    Such information was available from the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, we now publish on the 
Internet supporting documentation provided by a region when it requests 
a change in its disease status; however, the request for Qatar was 
submitted before these procedures were in place. The Internet address 
is http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/reg-request.html. This Internet address 
can be accessed by the public. The public may also call or write the 
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    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 Qatar 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 Qatar 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 made effective less than 30 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. The rule 
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive 
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of 
Management and Budget.
    This final rule will recognize Qatar as free of AHS. This action 
will allow horses from Qatar 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 Qatar will 
be affected by this rule. These importers will no longer be required to 
quarantine horses from Qatar 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. However, there have been no horses imported into the United 
States from Qatar since 1992. Removing the requirement for a 60-day 
quarantine for horses from Qatar will make the importation of these 
horses less expensive and logistically easier. As a result, we 
anticipate that U.S. importers might begin importing horses from Qatar. 
However, because the horse population in Qatar in 1998 was 
approximately 1,500 head, we do not expect that the number of horses 
exported to the United States will be significant. In fact, in 1997, 
Qatar exported only 10 horses. Furthermore, most horses imported from 
Qatar 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 Qatar. For these reasons, we anticipate the overall economic 
effect on U.S. entites 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 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 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).


Sec. 93.308  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 93.308, paragraph (a)(2) is amended by removing 
``Qatar;''.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of December 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-219 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
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