[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 236 (Thursday, December 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76606-76607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31146]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 76606]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Docket No. 00-045-1]


Office of the Secretary; Declaration of Emergency Because of 
Rabies

    Wildlife is the dominant reservoir for rabies in the United States. 
Rabies transmission from wildlife carnivores poses a serious threat to 
animal and human health in the United States. Rabid raccoons, foxes, 
and coyotes attack large farm animals not normally considered prey, 
such as cattle. Larger farm animals often survive these attacks and 
become infected with rabies. Humans who work in close contact with 
infected livestock, as well as other animals that come in contact with 
such livestock, are at risk of exposure to rabies. In addition, the 
agricultural environment often provides food and refuge that are 
attractions for wildlife that may in turn directly place farmers, 
ranchers, their families, and other people in rural communities at risk 
of exposure to rabies.
    If new rabies strains such as those transmitted by raccoons, gray 
foxes, and coyotes are not prevented from spreading to broader areas of 
the United States, the health threats and costs associated with rabies 
are expected to increase substantially. In the area that stretches west 
from the leading edge of the current distribution of raccoon rabies 
(which stretches from Alabama northeastward along the western edge of 
the Appalachian Mountains to Maine) to the Rocky Mountains, and north 
from the distribution of gray fox and coyote rabies in Texas, there are 
more than 111 million livestock animals--including cattle, horses, 
mules, swine, goats, and sheep--valued at $42 billion. If raccoon, gray 
fox, or coyote rabies were to spread into the above described area, the 
livestock there would be at risk to these specific rabies variants. 
Additionally, raccoon, coyote, and fox rabies-related costs for human 
health care, education, vaccination, and animal control in the United 
States currently exceed $450 million annually. These costs are expected 
to increase substantially if rabies is allowed to spread into the 
described area.
    In recent years, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) and the States affected by rabies have been working 
cooperatively to address rabies outbreaks by implementing an oral 
rabies vaccination program (ORVP), which establishes and maintains 
immunization barriers to control the disease within the outbreak zone 
and prevent its spread to new areas. APHIS contributed $1.3 million in 
FY 1998 and $1.5 million in FY 1999 and FY 2000 toward these rabies 
control efforts. While vaccination barriers have been established, 
reduced State funding in Texas and rapid expansion of raccoon rabies in 
the northeastern and midwestern portions of the United States threaten 
to compromise the established ORVP barriers.

The Texas ORVP

    Since the program's inception in 1995, the Texas ORVP has been 
successful in controlling the outbreak of rabies in coyotes, but the 
rabies outbreak in gray foxes presents a more complex challenge. The 
objective of the gray fox program has been to encircle the outbreak 
with a barrier of vaccinated foxes and then move inward, reducing the 
geographic distribution of fox rabies within the outbreak zone. So far, 
the program has been successful in halting the spread of the disease. 
No rabies cases have developed in gray foxes beyond the established 
ORVP barrier. However, these program gains and any potential advances 
are in jeopardy. Due to reduced State funding levels this year, the 
State of Texas is unable to maintain the entire ORVP barrier for gray 
foxes. The State has enough funds to maintain only the eastern side of 
the ORVP barrier. This limitation compromises the health and safety of 
livestock, other animals, and humans. Reestablishing the entire ORVP 
barrier for gray foxes and continuing to eliminate rabies within the 
outbreak zone are critical.

The Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia ORVP

    Since 1998, APHIS and the State of Ohio have been working 
cooperatively to establish a vaccination barrier against raccoon rabies 
on the State's eastern border. The current Ohio barrier extends from 
Lake Erie to East Liverpool and was strategically placed to halt the 
westward spread of raccoon rabies. A recent case of raccoon rabies on 
the West Virginia side of the Ohio River, however, suggests that the 
current barrier is inadequate and should be expanded. APHIS and State 
officials have determined that an effective barrier would require 
widening the existing barrier and extending it south to meet the 
Appalachian Ridge in West Virginia, where the mountainous habitat can 
also act as a geographical barrier to prevent the spread of rabies. By 
bridging the gap between the current Ohio barrier and the Appalachian 
Mountains, the program will reduce the risk of the disease entering the 
midwestern region of the United States, where it would increasingly 
threaten livestock, human populations, and other animals, and 
significantly raise the control costs throughout the region.

The Northeastern United States and Canadian Border ORVP

    APHIS has also been working with the Departments of Health in 
Vermont and New York, several New York counties, Cornell University, 
and the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Ontario to establish a rabies 
vaccination barrier along the U.S.-Canadian border. The northern border 
ORVP zone currently extends from Niagara Frontier in western New York 
to the St. Lawrence River, through the upper Lake Champlain Valley, and 
terminates in northern central Vermont. A gap in the barrier needs to 
be filled from its eastern point to the Connecticut River Valley in 
eastern Vermont and New Hampshire. APHIS and its cooperators have an 
opportunity to contain the movement of the disease by bridging the gaps 
in the barriers before the currently vaccinated area is compromised. 
This area is particularly susceptible due to the abundant raccoon 
populations present along the river systems. The further north and west 
the disease moves, the more likely it is that livestock, humans, and 
other animals will become exposed to infected wildlife. Vaccinating in 
these new corridors and adding sufficient width to existing barriers 
are critical to containing the northward spread of raccoon rabies.

[[Page 76607]]

    So far, Ohio, Texas, and New York have provided the majority of 
funds for the cooperative programs. Pennsylvania and West Virginia do 
not have the resources to contribute to this effort or to conduct 
independent rabies control programs. The total amount of funding needed 
in FY 2000 to begin reestablishing an adequate ORVP in Texas and 
expanding existing ORVP's in the northeastern region of the United 
States and in Ohio is estimated to be $4.1 million ($0.4 million in New 
York, $0.3 million in Ohio, $1.5 million in Pennsylvania and West 
Virginia, $1.7 million in Texas, and $0.2 million in Vermont).
    APHIS has insufficient funds to expand the ORVP in New York, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia. With additional funds, 
APHIS can continue the ORVP in these States, which is necessary to 
prevent the spread of rabies.
    Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 
September 25, 1981, as amended (7 U.S.C. 147b), I declare that there is 
an emergency that threatens the agricultural production industry in the 
United States, and I authorize the transfer and use of $4.1 million 
from the Commodity Credit Corporation of the United States Department 
of Agriculture for the continuation of the ORVP.

    Effective Date: This declaration of emergency shall become 
effective November 3, 2000.
Dan Glickman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 00-31146 Filed 12-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U