Mexican cattle import rule for Ariz. Port

Mexican cattle import rule for Ariz. Port The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced Friday a final rule that adds San Luis, Ariz., as a U.S. port to control the import of Mexico-origin cattle infested or exposed to fever ticks or tick-borne diseases.
   The regulations require that cattle from Mexico must be individually inspected at APHIS-approved facilities on the Mexican side of the border and be certified free of ticks.
   If ticks are found, the cattle must be dipped in a solution to kill the ticks. The cattle are then held in quarantine for 10 to 14 days before being reinspected. If additional ticks are found, the animals must be dipped and quarantined again.
   However, APHIS said it would not allow cattle to be imported through San Luis until a new facility for handling the cattle is constructed on the Mexican side of the border. This facility will require the proper equipment to meet APHIS-approved chute inspection, dipping and testing.
   From 2000 to 2006, the APHIS noted an average of 45,258 cattle per year entered through the port of San Luis. Historically, 80 percent of U.S. cattle imports from Mexico have gone to Texas and New Mexico. Between 2003 and 2009, more than 6.5 million cattle entered the United States from Mexico at various ports, APHIS said.
   The agency said it doesn’t expect a major shift away from existing ports in Texas and New Mexico to San Luis, because the Arizona border crossing’s “western location makes it inconvenient.”