Rounds joins GOP senators in requesting withdrawal of USDA sheep, goat rule

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and seven of his Republican colleagues earlier this month requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) final rule on the importation of sheep, goats, and certain other ruminants be withdrawn until its impact on current market conditions has been fully evaluated.

The rule, finalized on Jan. 14, would remove brain disorder-related import restrictions on sheep, goats, and most of their products. The existing import restrictions are critical in protecting against the introduction of other brain disorders, such as scrapie or mad cow disease, for which there are no cures or treatments, according to a Feb. 5 letter the senators sent to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Robert Fairweather. 

Specifically, “the rule seeks to remove bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) related import restrictions on sheep, goats, and most of their products,” wrote Sen. Rounds and his colleagues, who included U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and John Hoeven (R-ND). “The existing BSE-related import restrictions function as a necessary protection against the introduction of other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.”

The senators pointed out that the federal government has invested more than $200 million into scrapie eradication since the early 2000s that, in turn, has decreased the percentage of scrapie-positive cull sheep at slaughter by 99 percent since fiscal year 2003, according to their letter. 

“By allowing scrapie positive animals and genetic materials into the United States, we risk reintroducing the very disease we have nearly eradicated,” Sen. Rounds and the lawmakers wrote, noting that if the disease is reintroduced into domestic flocks, opportunities for export will rapidly decline.

Additionally, they wrote, if the U.S. removed BSE-related restrictions, foreign imports would be increased while trade obstructions from other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the European Union, and China, remain in place.