§93.404. Import permits for ruminants and for ruminant test specimens for diagnostic purposes; and reservation fees for space at quarantine facilities maintained by APHIS.

For ruminants and ruminant test specimens for diagnostic screening purposes intended for importation from any part of the world, except as otherwise provided for in §§ 93.417, 93.422, and 93.424, the importer shall first apply for and obtain from APHIS an import permit. The application shall specify the name and address of the importer; the species, breed, number or quantity of ruminants or ruminant test specimens to be imported; the purpose of the importation; individual ruminant identification, which includes a description of the ruminant, name, age, markings, if any, registration number, if any, and tattoo or eartag; the region of origin; for cattle, the address of or other means of identifying the premises of the herd of origin and any other premises where the cattle resided prior to export, including the State or its equivalent, the municipality or nearest city, and the specific location of the premises, or an equivalent method, approved by the Administrator, of identifying the location of the premises; the name and address of the exporter; the port of embarkation in the foreign region; the mode of transportation, route of travel, and the port of entry in the United States; the name and address of the quarantine facility, if the ruminants are to be quarantined at a privately owned quarantine facility; the proposed date of arrival of the ruminants or ruminant test specimens to be imported; and the name of the person to whom the ruminants or ruminant test specimens will be delivered and the location of the place in the United States to which delivery will be made from the port of entry. Additional information may be required in the form of certificates concerning specific diseases to which the ruminants are susceptible, as well as vaccinations or other precautionary treatments to which the ruminants or ruminant test specimens have been subjected. Notice of any such requirement will be given to the applicant in each case.

In addition to the requirements in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the importer must submit the following information along with the application for an import permit:

An application for permit to import will be denied for domestic ruminants from any region designated in § 94.1 of this chapter as a region where foot-and-mouth disease exists.

An application for permit to import ruminants may also be denied because of: Communicable disease conditions in the area or region of origin, or in a region where the shipment has been or will be held or through which the shipment has been or will be transported; deficiencies in the regulatory programs for the control or eradication of animal diseases and the unavailability of veterinary services in the above mentioned regions; the importer's failure to provide satisfactory evidence concerning the origin, history, and health status of the ruminants; the lack of satisfactory information necessary to determine that the importation will not be likely to transmit any communicable disease to livestock or poultry of the United States; or any other circumstances which the Administrator believes require such denial to prevent the dissemination of any communicable disease of livestock or poultry into the United States.

In specific cases, a permit may be issued for ruminants that would otherwise be prohibited importation due to TSEs pursuant to this subpart, if the Administrator determines the disease risk posed by the animals can be adequately mitigated through pre-entry or post-entry mitigation measures, or through combinations of such measures. These measures will be specified in the permit. If it is determined prior to or after importation that any pre-entry or post-entry requirements were not met, or the ruminants are affected with or have been exposed to TSEs, the ruminants, their progeny, and any other ruminants that have been housed with or exposed to the ruminants will be disposed of or otherwise handled as directed by the Administrator. Importers seeking a permit pursuant to this paragraph (a)(5) must send their request to the Administrator, c/o Strategy and Policy, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, or via the APHIS website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/live_animals.shtml.

The Administrator may issue permits under paragraph (a)(5) of this section for male sheep determined to be AA at codon 136 and either RR, HR, KR, or QR at codon 171 and for female sheep determined to be AA at codon 136 and RR at codon 171 by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories or another laboratory approved by the Administrator. Such sheep must meet all requirements in this part for import other than the requirement that they originate in a flock or region free of classical scrapie. The permit will provide for post entry confirmation of the animal's scrapie susceptibility genotype and/or genetic testing for identity.