[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24339-24340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07370]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0033]
RIN 0579-AE62


Import Regulations for Horses; Technical Amendments

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments.

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SUMMARY: In a final rule published in the Federal Register on September 
14, 2023, and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the regulations 
governing the importation of equines to better align our regulations 
with international standards, as well as to clarify existing policy or 
intent, and correct inconsistencies or outdated information. However, 
in amending the regulations for horses that are refused entry, we 
neglected to account for rare and specific situations in which an 
imported horse's death during travel can be determined to be unrelated 
to foreign animal disease risk. Additionally, in aiming to improve the 
readability of the regulations governing equines imported from Canada, 
we inadvertently changed the regulations to incorrectly read that 
certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and endorsed, rather 
than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian

[[Page 24340]]

Government. This document corrects those errors.

DATES: Effective April 8, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Iwona Tumelty, VS Strategy and 
Policy, Live Animal Imports, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 39, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; 301-851-3300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final rule that was published in the 
Federal Register on September 14, 2023 (88 FR 62993-63004, Docket No. 
APHIS-2016-0033), and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the 
regulations in 9 CFR part 93 governing the importation of equines to 
better align our regulations with international standards, as well as 
to add a number of miscellaneous changes that clarified existing policy 
or intent, and corrected inconsistencies or outdated information.
    One of these miscellaneous changes included amending Sec.  93.306 
to provide APHIS' policies in the rare instances that a horse arriving 
at the port of entry is dead upon presentation. In the final rule, we 
stated that cohort horses arriving in the same shipment as a horse dead 
upon presentation will also be refused entry. We explained that this 
change was necessary because diagnostic testing for these horses would 
not be feasible, as determining what additional testing and quarantine 
would be necessary to mitigate foreign animal disease risk would 
require a necropsy of the dead horse, and dead horses are refused 
entry.
    During implementation of the final rule, it was brought to our 
attention that this neglected to account for situations in which the 
mortality could be directly attributed to a cause other than foreign 
animal disease, such as in the case of obvious physical trauma 
sustained during transport. In these situations, a necropsy of the dead 
horse would not be necessary because determining whether the cohort 
horses pose a risk of spreading foreign animal disease would be 
feasible through current policies for foreign animal disease testing 
and import quarantine.
    We are therefore correcting Sec.  93.306 to account for these 
situations and state that horses arriving in the same shipment as 
horses dead upon presentation will be refused entry unless the cause of 
death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign animal disease.
    In the preamble to the final rule, we also stated that we were 
making non-substantive editorial changes to Sec.  93.317(a), which 
addresses requirements for horses imported from Canada, to improve 
readability. During implementation of the final rule, the Competent 
Authority of Canada alerted us that we had changed this paragraph to 
read that certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and 
endorsed, rather than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of 
the Canadian Government. This is incorrect and is not current practice; 
horses from Canada are accepted for entry into the United States with a 
certificate that is either issued or endorsed by a salaried 
veterinarian of the Canadian Government, and we did not propose nor 
intend to change this regulation. We are therefore correcting Sec.  
93.317(a) to read that certificates required for horses from Canada 
must be issued or endorsed by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian 
Government.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 93

    Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 93 as follows:

PART 93--IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND POULTRY, 
AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR 
MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS

0
1. The authority citation for part 93 continues to read as follows:

    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.


0
2. Amend Sec.  93.306 by revising the second sentence to read as 
follows:


Sec.  93.306   Inspection at the port of entry.

    * * * All horses found to be free from communicable disease and not 
to have been exposed thereto within 60 days prior to their exportation 
to the United States shall be admitted subject to the other provisions 
in this part; all other horses, to include horses dead upon 
presentation, and horses arriving in the same shipment as such horses 
unless the cause of death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign 
animal disease, shall be refused entry. * * *


Sec.  93.317   [Amended]

0
3. Amend Sec.  93.317, in paragraph (a), in the third sentence, by 
removing the word ``and'' after the words ``be issued'' and adding the 
word ``or'' in its place.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of April 2024.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07370 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
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