Horses From Qatar; Change in Disease Status

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

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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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