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USDA REDUCES TIME PERIOD FOR INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF CATTLE FROM CERTAIN BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS ZONES

WASHINGTON , May 24, 2005 —The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that it is amending its bovine tuberculosis regulations to reduce the amount of time between testing a herd for the disease and moving the herd interstate from 6 months to 60 days.

Current regulations permit the interstate movement of cattle and bison from a modified accredited or accreditation preparatory state within 6 months after the entire herd has been tested for TB. APHIS has determined that this 6-month period is too long especially when considering the potential exposure of cattle in these states to TB infected wildlife.

APHIS is amending its regulations to reduce the time period following whole herd testing from 6 months to 60 days. This interim rule will lower the potential risk of movement of infected animals and decrease the likelihood of TB transmission.

Bovine TB is a contagious, infectious and communicable disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. It affects cattle, bison, deer, elk, goats and other species, including humans, and can be fatal.

APHIS classifies each state according to its level of occurrence of bovine TB. There are five classification designations: accredited free; modified accredited advanced; modified accredited, accredited preparatory and nonaccredited. A modified accredited state is one in which bovine TB has been found in less than 0.1 percent of the total number of herds of cattle and bison in the state for the most recent year and complies with the provisions set forth in the Uniform Method and Rules.

An accreditation preparatory state is one in which bovine TB has been found in less than .5 percent of the total number of herds of cattle and bison in the state for the most recent year and complies with the provisions set forth in the Uniform Methods and Rules.

This interim rule is scheduled for publication in the May 24 Federal Register. APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and related information, including the names of organizations and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

Consideration will be given to comments received on or before July 25. Comments can be submitted by postal mail, commercial delivery or by e-mail. Send an original and three copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. 04-065-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238 or e-mail comments to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. E-mail comments must be contained in the body of the message; do not send attached files. Please include your name and address in the message and type “Docket No. 04-065-1" on the subject line. To submit comments online, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for locating this docket and submitting comments.

Comments received can be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building , 14th St. and Independence Ave., S.W. , Washington , D.C. , between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. , Monday through Friday, except holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.

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