USDA has sent forward a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review that would revise rules for imports of sheep, goats, and other non-cattle ruminants and their products with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The rule would remove BSE-related import restrictions on sheep, goats and most of their products and add import restrictions relative to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) for certain wild, zoological or other non-cattle species.
The rule would align U.S. import conditions with internationally accepted rules from the World Organization for Animal Health's Terrestrial Animal Health Code. USDA aims to publish the final rule in August.