Origin Health Certificates for Livestock Exported From the United States

We are amending the regulations pertaining to animal exports and the standards for accredited veterinarians to allow origin health certificates for animals intended for export from the United States to be valid for more than 30 days in some cases, depending on the testing requirements of the country of destination. This change will align our requirements for export origin health certificates with the testing requirements of importing countries. This action will eliminate the need for exporters to obtain another certificate when animals arrive at the port of embarkation after more than 30 days have elapsed, thereby reducing costs and delays for U.S. livestock exporters who ship animals to certain countries. This change will not increase the risk of infected or exposed animals being exported, since all animals are inspected an additional time before leaving the United States.