APHIS Adds Sri Lanka to African Swine Fever Affected Regions List

Content

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

We are advising the public that we have added Sri Lanka to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) list maintained
on the APHIS website of regions considered to be affected by African swine fever (ASF). We have taken this action because
of the confirmation of ASF in this country.

DATES:

Sri Lanka was added to the list of regions APHIS considers to be affected with ASF, effective December 4, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. C. Aaron Monroy, APHIS Veterinary Services, Regionalization Evaluation Services, Strategy and Policy, VS, 920 Main Campus
Drive, Venture II, Raleigh, NC 27606; phone: (919) 855-7207, email: AskRegionalization@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the regulations) govern the importation of certain animals and animal
products into the United States to prevent the introduction of various animal diseases, including African swine fever (ASF).
ASF is a highly contagious disease of wild and domestic swine that can spread rapidly with extremely high rates of morbidity
and mortality. A list of regions where ASF exists or is reasonably believed to exist is maintained on the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import- This list is referenced in § 94.8(a)(2) of the regulations.

Section 94.8(a)(3) of the regulations states that APHIS will add a region to the list referenced in § 94.8(a)(2) upon determining
ASF exists in the region or having reason to believe the disease exists in the region, based on reports APHIS receives of
outbreaks of the disease from veterinary officials of the exporting country, from the World Organization for Animal Health
(WOAH), (1) or from other sources the Administrator determines to be reliable, or upon determining that there is reason to believe the
disease exists in the region. Section 94.8(a)(1) of the regulations specifies the criteria on which the Administrator bases
the reason to believe ASF exists in a region. Section 94.8(b) prohibits the importation of pork and pork products from regions
listed in accordance with § 94.8 except if processed and treated in accordance with the provisions specified in that section
or consigned to an APHIS-approved establishment for further processing. Section 96.2 restricts the importation of swine casings
that originated in or were processed in a region where ASF exists, as listed under § 94.8(a).

On October 9, 2024, media reports of widespread disease in swine began and on October 25, 2024, the veterinary authorities
of Sri Lanka published a notice in their official Gazette declaring an outbreak of ASF in that country. In response to the
media reports and the official Gazette publication, on December 4, 2024, APHIS added Sri Lanka to the list of regions where
ASF exists or the Administrator has reason to believe that ASF exists, in compliance with § 94.8(a)(3). This notice serves
as an official record and public notification of that action.

As a result, pork and pork products from Sri Lanka, including casings, are subject to APHIS import restrictions designed to
mitigate the risk of ASF introduction into the United States.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of March 2026. Kelly Moore, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2026-04316 Filed 3-3-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P

Footnotes

(1) The World Organization for Animal Health internationally follows a British English spelling of “organisation” in its name;
also, it was formerly the Office International des Epizooties, or OIE, but on May 28, 2022, the Organization announced that
the acronym was changed from OIE to WOAH.

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