Horses
The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to remove the requirement that horses offered for importation to the U.S. be accompanied by documentation of pre-export examination occurring within 48 hours of departure from the port of embarkation endorsed by a salaried veterinary medical officer. APHIS has found that logistical barriers prevent affected parties from meeting this requirement at this time and that other regulatory requirements are sufficient to ensure that imported horses are free of livestock diseases and pests. Comments on this proposed rule are due no later than Aug. 22.
Poultry
Effective June 4, APHIS is imposing the following restrictions on imports of avian commodities from zone PCZ-FV6 in British Columbia, Canada, following a detection of virulent Newcastle disease.
- Imports of live poultry, poultry hatching eggs, commercial birds, and ratites originating from or transiting through this zone are prohibited.
- Imports of fresh, unprocessed shell/table eggs and other egg products, void of the shell (i.e., liquid eggs and dried egg whites), originating from or transiting through this zone, imported as cargo, are prohibited unless they are consigned from the port of arrival directly to an APHIS-approved breaking and pasteurization facility. An import permit and/or certificate are not required for these shipments if they are consigned to an APHIS-approved establishment.
- Processed/mitigated avian products, materials, and byproducts originating from or transiting through this zone, imported as cargo, must be accompanied by an APHIS import permit and/or government certification confirming that the products were treated according to APHIS requirements.
- Unprocessed/unmitigated avian products and byproducts originating from or transiting through this zone will not be permitted to enter the U.S.
Effective June 17, APHIS has removed restrictions on imports of poultry and related products originating from or transiting zones PCZ-265 in Nova Scotia, PCZ-267 in Saskatchewan, and PCZ-268 in Manitoba, Canada, that had been imposed due to concerns about highly-pathogenic avian influenza.
APHIS has also removed similar restrictions on New Zealand, effective June 3.
Produce from Korea
APHIS has drafted pest risk assessments for year-round market expansion of fresh cucumber, Oriental melon, turban squash, and watermelon from Korea into the U.S. for consumption. APHIS is accepting any information that might lead it to revise the draft assessments before it identifies pest mitigations and proceeds with the commodity import approval process.
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