(a) The certificates, declarations, and affidavits required by the regulations in this subpart shall be presented by the importer or his or her agent to the collector of customs at the port of entry, upon arrival of animal semen at such port, for the use of the veterinary inspector at the port of entry.

(b) For all animal semen offered for importation, the importer or his or her agent shall first present two copies of a declaration which shall list the port of entry, the name and address of the importer, the name and address of the broker, the origin of the animal semen, the number, breed, species, and purpose of the importation, the name of the person to whom the animal semen will be delivered, and the location of the place to which such delivery will be made.

(c) All animal semen intended for importation into the United States shall be accompanied by a health certificate issued by a full-time salaried veterinary officer of the national government of the region of origin, or issued by a veterinarian designated or accredited by the national government of the region of origin and endorsed by a full-time salaried veterinary officer of the national government of the region of origin, representing that the veterinarian issuing the certificate was authorized to do so.

(d) The health certificate must state:

(1) The name and address of the place where the semen was collected;

(2) The name and address of the veterinarian who supervised the collection of the semen;

(3) The date of semen collection;

(4) The identification and breed of the donor animal;

(5) The number of ampules or straws covered by the health certificate and the identification number or code on each ampule or straw;

(6) The dates, types, and results of all examinations and tests performed on the donor animal as a condition for importing the semen;

(7) The seal number on the shipping container;

(8) The names and addresses of the consignor and consignee; and

(9) That the semen is being imported into the United States in accordance with subpart C of 9 CFR part 98.

(e) The certificate accompanying sheep or goat semen intended for importation from any part of the world shall, in addition to the statements required by paragraph (d) of this section, state that:

(1) The donor animals:

(i) Are permanently identified, to enable traceback to their establishment of origin; and

(ii) Have been kept since birth in establishments in which no case of scrapie had been confirmed during their residency; and

(iii) Neither showed clinical signs of scrapie at the time of semen collection nor developed scrapie between the time of semen collection and the export of semen to the United States; and

(iv) The dam of the semen donor is not, nor was not, affected with scrapie.

(2) In the region where the semen originates:

(i) Scrapie is a compulsorily notifiable disease; and

(ii) An effective surveillance and monitoring system for scrapie is in place; and

(iii) Affected sheep and goats are slaughtered and completely destroyed; and

(iv) The feeding of sheep and goats with meat-and-bone meal or greaves derived from ruminants has been banned and the ban effectively enforced in the whole region; and

(3) Semen originating in regions other than Australia and New Zealand is to be transferred to females in a flock that is listed in the Scrapie National Database as part of the Scrapie Program in the United States. Imported semen may be further distributed to any other listed flock with written notification to the APHIS Veterinary Services area office.

(f) All shipping containers carrying animal semen for importation into the United States must be sealed with an official seal of the national veterinary service of the region of origin. The health certificate must show the seal number on the shipping container. The semen must remain in the sealed container until arrival in the United States and, at the U.S. port of entry, an inspector determines that either:

(1) The seal numbers on the health certificate and shipping container match; or

(2) The seal numbers on the health certificate and shipping container do not match, but an APHIS representative at the port of entry is satisfied that the shipping container contains the semen described on the health certificate, import permit, declaration, and any other accompanying documents.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0040)

[55 FR 31558, Aug. 2, 1990. Redesignated at 56 FR 55809, Oct. 30, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 37644, July 13, 1993; 61 FR 15184, Apr. 5, 1996; 61 FR 17242, Apr. 19, 1996; 62 FR 56026, Oct. 28, 1997; 65 FR 56777, Sept. 20, 2000; 72 FR 64128, Nov. 15, 2007]