Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities; Unsealing of Means of Conveyance and Transloading of Products

In a final rule published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2005, we amended the regulations regarding the importation of animals and animal products to establish a category of regions that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States via live ruminants and ruminant products and byproducts, and added Canada to this category. We also established conditions for the importation of certain live ruminants and ruminant products and byproducts from such regions. In this document, we are amending the regulations to broaden who is authorized to break seals on means of conveyances carrying certain ruminants of Canadian origin. Additionally, we are amending the regulations regarding the transiting through the United States of certain ruminant products from Canada to allow for direct transloading of the products from one means of conveyance to another in the United States under Federal supervision. These actions will contribute to the humane treatment of ruminants shipped to the United States from Canada and remove an impediment to international trade, without increasing the risk of the BSE disease agent entering the United States.