(a) No ruminant or product subject to the provisions of this part shall be brought into the United States except in accordance with the regulations in this part and part 94 of this subchapter;3 nor shall any such ruminant or product be handled or moved after physical entry into the United States before final release from quarantine or any other form of governmental detention except in compliance with such regulations. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart, the importation of any non-bovine ruminant that has been in a region listed in §94.24(a) of this subchapter is prohibited. Provided, however, the Administrator may upon request in specific cases permit ruminants or products to be brought into or through the United States under such conditions as he or she may prescribe, when he or she determines in the specific case that such action will not endanger the livestock or poultry of the United States.

(b) Except for ruminants prohibited entry, the provisions in this part relating to ruminants shall not apply to healthy ruminants in transit through the United States if they are not known to be infected with or exposed, within 60 days preceding the date of export from the region of origin, to communicable diseases of such ruminants, if an import permit4 has been obtained under §93.404 of this chapter and all conditions therein are observed; and if such ruminants are handled as follows:

(1)

(i) They are maintained under continuous confinement in transit through the United States aboard an aircraft, ocean vessel, or other means of conveyance; or

(ii) They are unloaded, in the course of such transit, into a ruminant holding facility which is provided by the carrier or its agent and has been approved5 in advance by the Administrator in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section as adequate to prevent the spread within the United States of any livestock disease, and they are maintained there under continuous confinement until loaded aboard a means of conveyance for transportation from the United States and are maintained under continuous confinement aboard such means of conveyance until it leaves the United States; the import permit will specify any additional conditions necessary to assure that the transit of the ruminants through the United States can be made without endangering the livestock or poultry of the United States, and that Department inspectors may inspect the ruminants on board such means of conveyance or in such holding facility to ascertain whether the requirements of this paragraph are met, and dispose of them in accordance with the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) if such conditions are not met; and

(2) The carrier or its agent executes and furnishes to the collector of Customs at the first port of arrival a declaration stating that the ruminants will be retained aboard such means of conveyance or in an approved holding facility during transshipment as required by this paragraph.

(3) Provisions for the approval of facilities required in this paragraph are:

(i) They must be sufficiently isolated to prevent direct or indirect contact with all other animals and birds while in the United States.

(ii) They must be so constructed that they provide adequate protection against environmental conditions and can be adequately cleaned, washed and disinfected.

(iii) They must provide for disposal of ruminant carcasses, manure, bedding, waste and any related shipping materials in a manner that will prevent dissemination of disease.

(iv) They must have provisions for adequate sources of feed and water and for attendants for the care and feeding of ruminants in the facility.

(v) They must comply with additional requirements as may be imposed by the Administrator if deemed applicable for a particular shipment.

(vi) They must also comply with all applicable local, State and Federal requirements for environmental quality and with the provisions of the Animal Welfare Regulations in chapter I of this title, as applicable.

(c) Removal and loss of official identification devices. Official identification devices are intended to provide permanent identification of livestock and to ensure the ability to find the source of animal disease outbreaks. Removal of these devices is prohibited except at the time of slaughter. If an official identification device is lost, and it is necessary to retag an animal with a new official number, every effort should be made to correlate the new official number with the previous official number of the animal.

(d) Cleaning and disinfection prior to shipment. A means of conveyance used to transport an animal to the United States in accordance with this subpart must be cleaned and disinfected in a manner specified within an import protocol prior to transport, unless an exemption has been granted by the Administrator.

[55 FR 31495, Aug. 2, 1990, as amended at 59 FR 67614, Dec. 30, 1994. Redesignated and amended at 62 FR 56012, 56017, Oct. 28, 1997; 68 FR 6344, Feb. 7, 2003; 68 FR 31940, May 29, 2003; 69 FR 64651, Nov. 8, 2004; 78 FR 72996, Dec. 4, 2013; 85 FR 57952, Sept. 17, 2020]