(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 certificates accompanying sheep semen collected from rams that are not of the genotypes AARR or AAQR, and for all goat semen 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) 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

(iii) The donor animal is not, nor was not, restricted in the country of origin, or destroyed, due to exposure to a TSE.

(iv) Any additional certifications or testing requirements established by APHIS, based on genetic susceptibility of the semen donor, and/or on scrapie testing of the donor or semen, will be listed in the APHIS import permit. Such certifications or required test results must also be recorded on the health certificate accompanying the semen.

(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.

(3) Sheep and goat semen may only be imported for transfer to recipient females in the United States if the flock or herd in which recipients reside is listed in the National Scrapie Database; except that APHIS may permit importation of sheep and goat semen to an APHIS-approved storage facility where they may be kept until later transferred to recipient females in a flock or herd in the United States listed in the APHIS National Scrapie Database, and under such conditions as the Administrator deems necessary to trace the movement of the imported semen. Imported sheep or goat semen not otherwise restricted by the conditions of an import permit may be transferred from a listed flock or herd to any other listed flock or herd or from an approved semen storage facility to a listed flock or herd or another approved semen storage facility with written notification to the responsible APHIS Veterinary Services Service Center.

(4) The importer, the owner of a recipient flock or herd to which delivery of the semen is made, or the owner of an APHIS-approved semen storage facility must maintain records of the disposition (including destruction) of imported or stored semen for 5 years after the semen is transferred or destroyed. These records must be made available during normal business hours to APHIS representatives on request for review and copying.

(5) The owner of all sheep or goats resulting from semen imported under this section shall:

(i) Identify them at birth with a permanent official identification number consistent with the provisions of § 79.2 of this chapter; such identification may not be removed except at slaughter and must be replaced if lost;

(ii) Maintain a record linking the official identification number to the imported semen, including a record of the replacement of lost tags;

(iii) Maintain records of any sale or disposition of such animals, including the date of sale or disposition, the name and address of the buyer, and the animal's official identification number; and

(iv) Keep the required records for a period of 5 years after the sale or death of the animal. APHIS may view and copy these records during normal business hours.

(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 numbers 0579-0040 and 0579-0453) [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; 86 FR 68864, Dec. 3, 2021]