Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service March 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations governing importation of cattle and bison, specifically with regard to classification of regions at designated status levels for bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis, and establishing conditions for the importation of cattle and bison from regions with the various classifications.

We are proposing to amend the regulations governing the importation of certain animals, meat, and other animal products by allowing, under certain conditions, the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Paraguay. Based on the evidence from a risk analysis, we have determined that fresh beef can safely be imported from Paraguay, provided certain conditions are met. This action would provide for the importation of fresh beef from Paraguay into the United States while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease.

We are extending the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the animal disease traceability regulations. The proposed rule would require that eartags applied on or after a date 6 months (180 days) after publication in the Federal Register of a final rule following the proposed rule to be both visually and electronically readable in order to be recognized for use as official eartags for interstate movement of cattle and bison covered under the regulations. We also proposed to clarify certain record retention and record access requirements and revise some requirements pertaining to slaughter cattle. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is correcting a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2023. The rule established standards governing the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of birds, excluding birds bred for use in research, covered under the Animal Welfare Act. The final rule erroneously omitted a word from one paragraph in the amendatory text and included an inaccurate phrase in another paragraph of the amendatory text. This document corrects these errors and amends the regulations to add the appropriate wording.

We are extending the comment period for our advance notice of proposed rulemaking that solicits public comment on our plan to strengthen regulations regarding the handling of wild and exotic animals for exhibition, as well as the training of personnel involved in the handling of wild and exotic animals, and to establish standards addressing environmental enrichment for all regulated animals. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey.