[Federal Register: March 17, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 53)]
[Notices]
[Page 14521]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17mr00-44]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. 99-061-1]
Declaration of Emergency Because of Scrapie in the United States
Scrapie, a degenerative and eventually fatal disease affecting the
central nervous systems of sheep and goats, is present in the United
States. Scrapie is a complicated disease because it often has an
extremely long incubation period without clinical signs of disease.
Currently, scrapie-free countries have an enormous competitive
advantage over U.S. sheep producers, who are unable to certify that
their flocks originated from a scrapie-free country or region. Because
importing countries are demanding that imported sheep come from
scrapie-free regions and sheep producers in the United States are
unable to make this certification, U.S. producers are finding
themselves locked out of the international market, a situation that is
taking a serious financial toll on the U.S. sheep industry.
We estimate that scrapie costs the U.S. sheep industry $20 million
per year in direct losses, and millions of dollars more in lost
potential markets and flock productivity.
Therefore, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
has determined it is necessary to accelerate the eradication of scrapie
from the United States, an accomplishment that would allow the U.S.
sheep industry to once again become competitive in the global market.
We estimate this plan will cost a total of $100 million over 7 years.
However, APHIS resources are insufficient to carry out this
accelerated scrapie eradication program, which requires $10 million for
FY 2000. This $10 million includes approximately $3.6 million for
diagnostic support; approximately $2.6 million for animal
identification and regulatory enforcement; $1.2 million to indemnify
owners of animals that are found through surveillance to be high risk,
suspect, or test positive (although no regulations currently exist to
provide for the payment of indemnity for sheep and goats, APHIS expects
to have such regulations in effect in 2000); $625,000 for the purchase
of animals for diagnostic purposes; $692,000 for activities such as
necropsy, disposal of animal carcasses, coordination, and training; $1
million for slaughter surveillance activities; and $250,000 to update
the generic database for scrapie (making it possible for field and
laboratory personnel to enter test and other data efficiently and to
generate required reports) and for data analysis at APHIS' Center for
Epidemiology and Animal Health.
Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of
September 25, 1981, 95 Stat. 953 (7 U.S.C. 147b), I declare that there
is an emergency that threatens the sheep and goat industry of this
country, and I authorize the transfer and use of such funds as may be
necessary from appropriations or other funds available to the United
States Department of Agriculture to conduct a program to accelerate the
eradication of scrapie from the United States.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This declaration of emergency shall become effective
February 1, 2000.
Dan Glickman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 00-6638 Filed 3-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U
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