[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 13 (Thursday, January 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3070-3071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01010]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0033]


Determination of the Newcastle Disease Status of the Cantons of 
Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino of Switzerland

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are reinstating the animal 
health status of the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino in 
Switzerland as free of Newcastle disease. This recognition is based on 
an assessment we prepared and made available for public review and 
comment.

DATES: This change of disease status will be recognized on January 20, 
2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONACT: Dr. Rebecca Gordon, Import Risk 
Analyst, Regionalization Evaluation Services, Strategy & Policy, 
Veterinary Services, APHIS, USDA, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200, 
Raleigh, NC 27606; [email protected]; (919) 855-7741.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 govern the 
importation of animal products into the United States in order to 
ensure that the products do not introduce or spread diseases or pests 
of livestock, including Newcastle disease (ND). Section 94.6 contains 
requirements governing the importation of carcasses, meat, parts or 
products of carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching eggs) of poultry, 
game birds, or other birds from regions in which ND is considered to 
exist. The section provides that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) will maintain a list on the internet of regions in 
which ND is not known to exist. It further provides that, should a 
region be removed from the list due to an outbreak, APHIS will 
reinstate the region to the list in accordance with the procedures in 9 
CFR 92.4.
    Section 92.4 provides that after removing disease-free status from 
all or part of a region, APHIS may reassess the disease situation in 
that region to determine whether it is necessary to continue import 
prohibitions or restrictions. When reassessing the region's disease 
status, APHIS considers the standards of the World Organization for 
Animal Health (OIE) \1\ for reinstatement of disease-free status, as 
well as all relevant information obtained through publicly available 
means or collected by or submitted to APHIS through other means. Prior 
to removing import prohibitions or restrictions, APHIS makes the 
information regarding its assessment of the region's disease status 
available to the public for comment through a notice published in the 
Federal Register.
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    \1\ The World Organization for Animal Health internationally 
follows a British English spelling of ``organisation'' in its name; 
also, it was formerly the Office International des Epizooties, or 
OIE, an acronym still in usage.
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    In accordance with the process for reinstatement, we published a 
notice \2\ in the Federal Register on October 26, 2020 (85 FR 67705, 
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0033) announcing the availability for review and 
comment of our evaluation of the ND status of the Cantons of 
Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino. Based on this evaluation, APHIS concluded 
that Switzerland has effectively controlled and eradicated ND in its 
domestic poultry population in the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and 
Ticino. APHIS also concluded that competent veterinary authorities of 
the Cantons have adequate disease control measures in place to rapidly 
identify, control, and eradicate the disease should it be reintroduced 
into Switzerland. Therefore, APHIS recommended that the Cantons 
Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino should be reinstated onto the list of 
regions in which ND is not known to exist.
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    \2\ To view the notice and assessment, go to www.regulations.gov 
and enter APHIS-2020-0033 in the Search field.
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    We solicited comments on the notice for 60 days ending December 28, 
2020. We received no comments by that date.
    We are therefore reinstating the animal health status of the 
Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino as free of ND.

[[Page 3071]]

Congressional Review Act

    Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this action 
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 
U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of January 2022.
Jack Shere,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-01010 Filed 1-19-22; 8:45 am]
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