APHIS WANTS FOLLOW-UP HEALTH CHECKS AT ANIMAL IMPORT REGIONS

APHIS WANTS FOLLOW-UP HEALTH CHECKS AT ANIMAL IMPORT REGIONS    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wants to amend its regulations to give it the authority to conduct follow-up checks of designated animal import regions.
   “Once a region has been granted a particular animal health status for a specified disease, the regulations provide no mechanism for APHIS to verify that the assigned import conditions remain appropriate and effective over time,” the agency said.
   “We believe that such verification is sometimes necessary and appropriate to ensure continued protection from the introduction of foreign animal diseases into the United States,” APHIS said.
   The agency’s current regulations set out the process that overseas governments may request the animal health status of a region or approval to export animals or animal products to the United States based on the risk associated with the animals or animal products from that region.
   APHIS will take comments about the proposed rule change through May 5. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Colgrove, chief staff veterinarian for APHIS’ National Center for Import and Export, at (301) 734-4356.