USDA Eases Restrictions on Live Poultry Imports from EU

US - USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule that, effective 15 April, will ease the requirements for imports of live poultry from the European Union by making the following changes.
calendar icon 2 April 2013
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Some of the changes are:

  • Twenty-five EU member states will be recognized as the EU poultry trade region and added to the list of regions considered to be free of Newcastle disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza. Importation restrictions related to these diseases will therefore be lifted.
  • Requirements will be established for the importation of live birds and poultry and poultry meat and products from the EU poultry trade region, and avian disease terms and definitions will be updated.
  • The importation from the EU poultry trade region of hatching eggs that have transited a restricted zone established within that region because of the detection of HPAI will be allowed as long as all control measures in the import permit issued by APHIS are followed and the shipment travels under seal issued by the veterinary competent authority. The seal number must be listed on the health certificate that accompanies the shipment, and seals are not to be broken until the shipment reaches its US port of entry. Hatching egg shipments with seals that are not intact will be rejected upon inspection at the US port of entry. APHIS-issued import permits accompanying hatching eggs from the EU poultry trade region will include specific information regarding the route and means of shipment, listing all other countries that will be involved before arrival in the US and all ports or other points in the route, as well as the types of transportation that will be used for moving the shipment to the United States.

The Federal Register notice can be viewed here.

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