Tuberculosis in Cattle; Import Requirements

We are amending the animal importation regulations to require that steers and spayed heifers with any evidence of horn growth that are entering the United States meet the same tuberculosis testing requirements as sexually intact animals entering the United States. In their current form, the regulations do not distinguish between steers and spayed heifers imported strictly as feeders and those with horn growth, which may be used for exhibitions, rodeos, and roping and bulldogging practices. Animals used for these purposes are often maintained longer than feeder cattle. The longer the life span of an animal, the greater the chances are that, if exposed to tuberculosis, it will contract the disease, develop generalized disease, and spread it to other animals. We believe that the risks of tuberculosis transmission associated with steers and spayed heifers with horn growth justify regulating the importation of such animals in a manner equivalent to the way we regulate sexually intact cattle, which also have longer life spans than feeder cattle and are consequently more likely to spread tuberculosis if they have been exposed to that disease. This action is necessary to reduce the risk of imported cattle transmitting tuberculosis to domestic livestock in the United States.