Change in Disease Status of Slovakia and Slovenia Because of BSE

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the regulations by adding Slovakia and Slovenia to the list of regions where bovine spongiform encephalopathy exists because the disease has been detected in native-born animals in those regions. Slovakia and Slovenia had already been listed among the regions that present an undue risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States, so the effect of the interim rule was a continued restriction on the importation of ruminants that have been in Slovakia or Slovenia and meat, meat products, and certain other products of ruminants that have been in either of those regions. The interim rule was necessary in order to update the disease status of Slovakia and Slovenia regarding bovine spongiform encephalopathy.