[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 53 (Friday, March 17, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 14521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6638]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. 99-061-1]


Declaration of Emergency Because of Scrapie in the United States

    Scrapie, a degenerative and eventually fatal disease affecting the 
central nervous systems of sheep and goats, is present in the United 
States. Scrapie is a complicated disease because it often has an 
extremely long incubation period without clinical signs of disease.
    Currently, scrapie-free countries have an enormous competitive 
advantage over U.S. sheep producers, who are unable to certify that 
their flocks originated from a scrapie-free country or region. Because 
importing countries are demanding that imported sheep come from 
scrapie-free regions and sheep producers in the United States are 
unable to make this certification, U.S. producers are finding 
themselves locked out of the international market, a situation that is 
taking a serious financial toll on the U.S. sheep industry.
    We estimate that scrapie costs the U.S. sheep industry $20 million 
per year in direct losses, and millions of dollars more in lost 
potential markets and flock productivity.
    Therefore, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
has determined it is necessary to accelerate the eradication of scrapie 
from the United States, an accomplishment that would allow the U.S. 
sheep industry to once again become competitive in the global market. 
We estimate this plan will cost a total of $100 million over 7 years.
    However, APHIS resources are insufficient to carry out this 
accelerated scrapie eradication program, which requires $10 million for 
FY 2000. This $10 million includes approximately $3.6 million for 
diagnostic support; approximately $2.6 million for animal 
identification and regulatory enforcement; $1.2 million to indemnify 
owners of animals that are found through surveillance to be high risk, 
suspect, or test positive (although no regulations currently exist to 
provide for the payment of indemnity for sheep and goats, APHIS expects 
to have such regulations in effect in 2000); $625,000 for the purchase 
of animals for diagnostic purposes; $692,000 for activities such as 
necropsy, disposal of animal carcasses, coordination, and training; $1 
million for slaughter surveillance activities; and $250,000 to update 
the generic database for scrapie (making it possible for field and 
laboratory personnel to enter test and other data efficiently and to 
generate required reports) and for data analysis at APHIS' Center for 
Epidemiology and Animal Health.
    Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 
September 25, 1981, 95 Stat. 953 (7 U.S.C. 147b), I declare that there 
is an emergency that threatens the sheep and goat industry of this 
country, and I authorize the transfer and use of such funds as may be 
necessary from appropriations or other funds available to the United 
States Department of Agriculture to conduct a program to accelerate the 
eradication of scrapie from the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This declaration of emergency shall become effective 
February 1, 2000.

Dan Glickman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 00-6638 Filed 3-16-00; 8:45 am]
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