9 C.F.R. § 93.308 Quarantine requirements.
Title 9 - Animals and Animal Products
(a) Except as provided in this section and in §93.324, horses intended for importation into the United States from any part of the world shall be shipped directly to a port designated in §§93.303 and 92.324 and be quarantined at said port until negative results to port of entry tests are obtained and the horses are certified by the port veterinarian to be free from clinical evidence of disease. (1) Except as provided in §§93.317 and 93.324, and except with respect to horses from Argentina, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands, horses intended for importation from the Western Hemisphere shall be quarantined at a port designated in §93.303 for not less than 7 days to be evaluated for signs of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis. (2) Horses intended for importation from regions APHIS considers to be affected with African horse sickness may enter the United States only at the port of New York, and must be quarantined at the New York Animal Import Center in Newburgh, New York, for at least 60 days. This restriction also applies to horses that have stopped in or transited a region considered affected with African horse sickness. APHIS considers the following regions to be affected with African horse sickness: Oman, Saudi Arabia, the Yemen Arab Republic, and all the regions on the continent of Africa except Morocco. (3) To qualify for release from quarantine, all horses, except horses from Iceland, must test negative to official tests for dourine, glanders, equine piroplasmosis, and equine infectious anemia.14 14 Because the official tests for dourine and glanders are performed only at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, IA, the protocols for those tests have not been published and are, therefore, not available; however, copies of “Protocol for the Complement-Fixation Test for Equine Piroplasmosis” and “Protocol for the Immunno-Diffusion (Coggins) Test For Equine Infectious Anemia” may be obtained from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National Center for Import-Export, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231. (4) Any quarantine period required for a horse shall be counted using the first day after arrival of the horse at the quarantine facility as the first day of quarantine and may be extended for such additional period as the Administrator may require to determine its freedom from disease. Any horse which is positive to any of the port of entry tests named in this paragraph or any other test required by the Administrator, or which is found by the port veterinarian to exhibit evidence of communicable disease during quarantine shall be refused entry into the United States and removed by the importer to a country other than the United States within 10 days of the date that the importer is notified by APHIS that such horse has been refused entry into the United States. Upon request, the Administrator may grant additional time for the removal of a horse from the United States in any case in which he or she determines that delay is unavoidable due to unforseen circumstances and the additional time for removal of the horse will not present a threat of the spread of communicable disease to other animals in the United States. At the option of the importer, such horse may be disposed of in accordance with such conditions as the Administrator believes necessary to prevent the dissemination of communicable disease into the United States. The importer shall be responsible for all costs of such removal or disposal. (b) Special provisions. Horses presented for entry into the United States as provided in §93.303(e) of this part shall be quarantined in facilities provided by the importer and approved by the Administrator. Requests for approval and plans for proposed facilities shall be submitted no less than 15 days before the proposed date of entry of horses into the quarantine facility to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National Center for Import-Export, 4700 River Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, Maryland 20737–1231. Before the facility is approved, an inspection of the facility shall be made by a Veterinary Medical Officer of APHIS, to determine whether it complies with the standards set forth in paragraph (c) of this section: Provided, however, That approval of any quarantine facility and use of such facility shall be contingent upon a determination made by the Administrator that adequate personnel are available to provide services required by the facility. Approval of any facility may be refused and approval of any approved quarantine facility may be withdrawn at any time by the Administrator, upon his or her determination that any requirement of this section is not being met. Before such action is taken, the operator of the facility shall be informed of the reasons for the proposed action by the Administrator and afforded an opportunity to present his or her views thereon. If there is a conflict as to any material fact, a hearing shall be held to resolve such conflict. The cost of the facility and all maintenance and operation costs of such facility shall be borne by the importer. (c) Standards and handling procedures for approval of quarantine facilities provided by the importer. To qualify for designation as an approved quarantine facility provided by the importer for horses, the facility shall be maintained and operated in accordance with the following standards: (1) Supervision of the facility. The facility shall be under the general supervision of an APHIS veterinarian. Inspection and quarantine services shall be arranged by the importer of his or her agent with the Veterinarian in Charge, Veterinary Services, APHIS, USDA, for the State in which the approved facility is located,15 15 The name and address of the Veterinarian in Charge of any State are available from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National Center for Import-Export, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, Maryland 20737–1231. (2) Physical requirements for facilities—(i) Location. The facility shall be located and constructed to prevent horses from having physical contact with animals outside the facility. (ii) Construction. (A) The facility shall be constructed only with materials that can withstand repeated cleaning and disinfection in accordance with §§71.7 and 71.10 of subchapter C of this title. (All walls, floors and ceilings shall be constructed of solid impervious material.) (B) Doors, windows, and other openings of the facility shall be provided with double screens which will prevent insects from entering the facility. (3) Sanitation and security. (i) The importer shall arrange for a supply of water adequate to clean and disinfect the facility in accordance with §§71.7 and 71.10 of subchapter C of this title. (ii) All feed and bedding used for horses in approved quarantine facilities shall originate from an area not under quarantine because of cattle fever ticks (see §§72.3 and 72.5 of subchapter C of this title) and shall be stored within the facility. (iii) Upon the death or destruction of any horse, the importer shall arrange for the disposal of the horse's carcass by incineration. Disposal of all other waste removed from the facility during the time the horses are in quarantine or from horses which are refused entry into the United States shall be either by incineration or in a public sewer system which meets all applicable environmental quality control standards. Following completion of the quarantine period and the release of the horses into the United States all waste may be removed from the quarantine facility without further restriction. (iv) The facility shall be maintained and operated in accordance with any additional requirements the Administrator deems appropriate to prevent the dissemination of any communicable disease. (v) The facility shall comply with all applicable local, State and Federal requirements for environmental quality. (4) Operational procedures—(i) Personnel. (A) Access to the facility shall be granted only to persons working at the facility or to persons specifically granted such access by the supervising APHIS veterinarian. (B) The importer shall provide attendants for the care and feeding of horses while in the quarantine facility. (C) Persons working in the quarantine facility shall not come in contact with any horses outside the quarantine facility during the quarantine period for any horses in such quarantine facility. (ii) Handling of horses in quarantine. Horses offered for importation into the United States which are quarantined in an approved quarantine facility provided by the importer shall be handled in accordance with §93.308(a) while in quarantine. [55 FR 31495, Aug. 2, 1990] Editorial Note: For
Title 9: Animals and Animal Products
PART 93—IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND POULTRY, AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Subpart C—Horses
§ 93.308 Quarantine requirements.
