The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will delay until Oct. 1 its new policy of requiring all importers of earthworms to obtain a permit, and allowing imports of earthworms for environmental release in the U.S. only from countries free of foot-and-mouth disease, the agency said June 17. The new requirements had been set to take effect July 1 (see 2205230014).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow importation of fresh oha leaves from Nigeria into the U.S., subject to certain phytostanitary requirements, it said in a notice published June 7. Comments are due Aug. 8.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is will allow importation of fresh avocado fruit from continental Ecuador into the continental United States, it said. Conditions for importation include a systems approach with production site registration, field sanitation, packinghouse procedures designed to exclude the quarantine pests and procedures for packing, storing and shipping the avocado fruit. Shipments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the Ecuadorean government. Imports of Ecuadorean avocados are authorized as of May 26.
All importers of earthworms will need to obtain a permit beginning July 1, and imports of earthworms for environmental release in the U.S. will be allowed only from countries free of foot-and-mouth disease, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said May 23. In addition to a PPQ 526 pest permit, earthworm importers will also need to “comply with rearing and shipping requirements,” APHIS said. “This new policy applies to all earthworm species and will help to prevent the introduction and spread of potentially harmful pests and plant and animal pathogens transmitted from imported earthworms,” it said.
All new and renewal permit applications for live animals and animal products, organisms and vectors must be filed in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s eFile system beginning May 31, the agency said May 16. “All applicants must use the [Veterinary Services Permitting Assistant (VSPA)] to start the permit application,” APHIS said. “Additionally, applicants with existing VS 16-6 permits must renew them using the VSPA to select materials that match the existing permit.” Amendments to existing permits must be requested in the system in which the permits exist, whether ePermits or eFile, APHIS said. “All permits in the ePermits system will remain valid until they expire.”
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is restricting imports of poultry, commercial birds, ratites, avian hatching eggs, unprocessed avian products and byproducts, and certain fresh poultry products from five more zones in Canada, it announced May 12. That comes on top of the 35 zones already restricted by APHIS over the past three months due to concern over highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Ireland, it said in a notice. APHIS intends to reclassify Ireland as having negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Ireland is currently classified as undetermined for BSE risk, and imports of bovines and bovine products from the country are prohibited. Comments are due June 14.
Canada will “soon” resume exports of table stock potatoes from Prince Edward Island to the contiguous U.S., after U.S. and Canada reached “an understanding” that will include new import requirements, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said March 24. “Canada will lift its ban while APHIS plans to publish a federal order outlining additional required mitigations to protect the U.S. potato industry,” APHIS said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will classify the state of Sonora, Mexico, as having Level I risk for bovine brucellosis, it said in a notice released March 4. Level I is the least restrictive level in APHIS’ bovine importation scheme, and allows imports of sexually intact bovines without a certificate or other restrictions. Sonora imports under this classification may be authorized beginning March 7. APHIS classified Canada as Level I for both bovine brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis in December (see 2112230023), after scrapping its country-specific import requirements for Canada, Mexico and Ireland in 2020 (see 2009160018).