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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 22-601

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Addendum to the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements

[52 Pa.B. 2362]
[Saturday, April 23, 2022]

Recitals

 A. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease affecting domestic and wild swine.

 B. There is no vaccine to protect swine against African Swine Fever, nor is there a known cure or treatment for this dangerous transmissible disease.

 C. African Swine Fever has a high environmental resistance and can be spread by domestic or wild swine, whether alive or dead, and through raw and processed pork products. African Swine Fever does not cause disease in humans and is not a public health threat.

 D. African Swine Fever is known to be transmissible from infected to uninfected swine through contact and via contaminated feed and fomites (non-living objects) such as shoes, clothes, vehicles, equipment and any other goods, products, facilities, specific insect vectors (soft ticks), containers and other objects with which infected swine—alive or dead—may come into contact.

 E. Section 2321 of the Domestic Animal Law (Law) establishes a list of ''dangerous transmissible diseases'' and provides for the designation of additional dangerous transmissible diseases through regulation or temporary order (3 Pa.C.S.A. § 2321).

 F. African Swine Fever (ASF) is specifically designated as a dangerous transmissible disease at section 2321(a)(3) of the Law (3 Pa.C.S.A. § 2321(a)(3)).

 G. The Domestic Animal Law (Law) (3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2301—2389) and section 1702 of the Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 442), provides the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) broad authority to regulate the keeping and handling of domestic animals to exclude, contain or eliminate dangerous transmissible diseases, such as ASF.

 H. This includes authority, set forth at section 2329 of the Law, to establish and enforce quarantine orders ''Whenever a dangerous transmissible disease. . .exists anywhere within or outside of this Commonwealth. . .the department shall have the power to establish and enforce quarantines of any such infected, exposed, contaminated, suspected or susceptible domestic animal. In addition, a quarantine may apply to any goods, products, facilities, containers, vehicles or materials that may carry dangerous transmissible disease. . .and may be applied on or in or against any premises, area or locality. . .'' (3 Pa.C.S.A. § 2329(a)).

 I. Section 2329(d) of the Law provides specific authority to establish and enforce a general quarantine order ''. . .against any area or locality within this Commonwealth for any of the reasons set forth in subsection (a) to prevent a dangerous transmissible disease. . .from being carried into, within, from or out of the area or locality that is subject to the quarantine. A general quarantine order may include any domestic animals, conveyances, containers, goods, products or materials that may carry dangerous transmissible disease. . .and may include any area or locality, including all buildings, structures, premises and equipment located therein.'' (3 Pa.C.S.A. § 2329(d)).

 J. ASF is found in many countries around the world. Particularly, in sub-Saharan Africa, many Asian and South East Asian countries including Indonesia, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, and in parts of the Caribbean. China has confirmed more than 163 cases of ASF and has lost an estimated 200 million swine which amounts to thirty-three percent of all the pigs in the world. The disease is also spreading within the European Union (EU), and the virus has reached 10 member states of the EU.

 K. Biosecurity breaches in commercial swine operations in these countries have occurred and have been problematic in disease containment strategies. This is due to the agent's high environmental resistance, ability to be transferred by live contact, contact with dead pigs or infected pork products, and by fomites such as feed and conveyances.

 L. Many affected countries have had serious morbidity and mortality numbers in affected swine areas. In addition, costly containment strategies have been largely ineffective and there have been serious long-term trade restrictions, financial losses, and food shortages of affected products as a result. It is not yet known to be present in North America, Central America, or South America.

 M. Most recently, at the conclusion of 2021, ASF was detected as close as it has been to the United States, on the island of Hispaniola involving the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

 N. Swine that are comingled for exhibition, attend multiple events, are stressed during exhibition and transport, are exposed to fomites, and have additional exposure to and contact with the human public.

 O. Exhibition activities provide a greater risk for swine to be exposed to and contract numerous common diseases to swine, as well as, potentially dangerous transmissible diseases and high consequence diseases including African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease and Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus.

 P. The Department recognized that this group of swine (exhibition swine) would be at very high risk to contract, transfer, and spread dangerous transmissible diseases such as ASF. Such diseases require timely monitoring, identification and notification, quick action and confirmation, and an accurate and quick way to account for all animals present and their source origin to properly contain disease.

 Q. The Department through the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021) established reasonable requirements to allow for movement of swine and products within this Commonwealth for exhibition purposes, while protecting against the introduction of ASF into this Commonwealth's commercial production swine population.

 R. The Department has been made aware of national manufacturing supply shortages that have created a temporary hardship in acquiring the required identification devices associated with the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021), and does hereby create, through this Addendum, temporary amendments to the identification requirements of the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021).

Order:

 With the foregoing recitals previously listed incorporated herein and made part hereof this Addendum to the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861) issued Saturday July 17, 2021, the Department orders the following:

 1. All Other Provisions of the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021) Remain In Effect. All provisions of the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021), except for those amended by this Addendum, as set forth below, shall remain in full force and effect.

 2. Quarantine Area. The area covered by this General Quarantine Order is the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 3. Applicability and Time Period of Addendum. The terms, provisions and requirements of this Addendum are applicable to all swine participating in exhibitions in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from the effective date of publication for this Addendum until September 15, 2022 at which point this Addendum will be automatically rescinded and will be no longer applicable and the full provisions of the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements, (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday July 17, 2021), will be enforced.

 4. Temporary Allowance Exhibition Requirement, Identification. The provisions of paragraph 5 of the General Quarantine Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021) are amended in the following manner in instances where an 840 series radio frequency (RFID) capable ear tag cannot be acquired prior to an exhibition due to the current nationwide shortage and backorder of this type of device:

 a. An 840 series radio frequency (RFID) capable ear tag is the standard official identification allowable under the General Quarantine Order, Swine Exhibition Requirements by (51 Pa.B. 3861, Saturday, July 17, 2021), for swine to be exhibited in Pennsylvania. Should this tag type be available to the exhibitor or already in place, it is preferable that it is used as the sole official identification device for exhibition swine.

 b. Because of a shortage of the tag listed in 4. a. above. The Department will temporarily allow for application and recognize allowable for exhibition, a metal National Uniform Eartagging System (NUES) tag which is coded to the state of origin and pinned to the premises of origin or accredited veterinarian's practice through which the tags were sourced.

 c. All Identification Devices and systems that are used (both official and non-official including ear notches) shall be listed and correlated to the specific animal on a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued within 14 days prior to the start of exhibition.

 d. Once placed, an 840 series tag or a metal NUES tag cannot be removed without the consent of both the State Veterinarian and The Area Veterinarian in Charge for the USDA.

 e. 840 series tags without RFID capability are not deemed official for swine exhibition in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any swine being exhibited in Pennsylvania with an 840 series tag without RFID shall also be identified with a NUES tag.

 f. At the conclusion of the time period of this addendum listed in Paragraph 2. and from all points forward, at all Pennsylvania swine exhibitions an 840 series RFID capable tag shall be physically in place on the swine to allow it participation, as is delineated in the Exhibition section of 51 Pa.B. 3861 General Order; Swine Exhibition Requirements, until such time the order is rescinded or withdrawn.

RUSSELL C. REDDING, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 22-601. Filed for public inspection April 22, 2022, 9:00 a.m.]


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