Import permits for birds; and reservation fees for space at quarantine facilities maintained by APHIS.
9 C.F.R. § 93.103
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Application for permit; reservation required. Before any permit application is submitted, all construction at the quarantine facility must be completed.
(1) For pet birds, commercial birds, research birds, zoological birds, and performing or theatrical birds, intended for importation into the United States, except as otherwise provided in §§ 93.101(b) and (c), 93.103(c), and 93.107(b), the importer shall first apply for and obtain an import permit. The importer (permit applicant) shall submit a completed VS form 17-128 for ratites or hatching eggs of ratites; or, for other birds, a completed VS form 17-20; or shall submit a document that states that it is an application for a permit to import ratites, hatching eggs of ratites, or birds other than ratites or hatching eggs of ratites. The application
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must include the following information:
(i) The name, address, and telephone number of the importer;
(ii) The status of the importer, such as individual, partnership, or corporation (if incorporated, include State where incorporated and date of incorporation);
(iii) Name and address of the quarantine facility;
(iv) Date of intended quarantine;
(v) The purpose of the importation;
(vi) The region of origin;
(vii) The name and address of the exporter;
(viii) The port of embarkation in the foreign region;
(ix) The mode of transportation, route of travel, and port of entry in the United States;
(x) The name and location of the quarantine facility in the United States to which delivery will be made from the port of entry, in accordance with § 93.106(c)(5);
(xi) A drawing of the floor plan for the facility showing the location of the bird holding area; equipment storage areas; office areas; clothes storage and change areas; feed storage areas; necropsy areas (showing entry and refrigeration); washing areas for equipment; shower areas; ventilation arrangements; and entries and exits; and, for a facility for hatching eggs of ratites in which the hatching eggs of one lot may be quarantined at the same time as the hatched chicks from a previously quarantined lot, the incubation/hatcher and bird (chick) holding areas; and
(xii) Date and certification, by signature of the importer (permit applicant), after the following language:
(xiii) In addition, the application for a permit to import ratites or hatching eggs of ratites, except for ratites and hatching eggs of ratites imported from Canada in accordance with § 93.107, shall specify the number of ratites or hatching eggs intended for importation, the size of the flock of origin, and the location of the premises where the flock of origin is kept; and shall state that, from the date of application through the date of export, APHIS representatives shall be granted access to the premises where the flock of origin is kept. (For ratites intended for importation as zoological birds, the flock of origin shall be the ratites intended for importation.)
(2)(i) An import permit will be issued only after an APHIS representative has inspected the quarantine facility identified on the permit application, and has determined that it meets the standards set forth in § 93.106(c) of this part.
(ii) An application for a permit to import pet birds, commercial birds, research birds, zoological birds, and performing or theatrical birds, may be denied or withdrawn because of: Communicable disease conditions in the area or region of origin, or in a region where the shipment has been or will be held or through which the shipment has been or will be transported; deficiencies in the regulatory programs for the control or eradication of animal diseases and the unavailability of veterinary services in the above mentioned countries; the importer's failure to provide satisfactory evidence concerning the origin, history, and health status of the animals; the lack of satisfactory information necessary to determine that the importation will not be likely to transmit any communicable disease to livestock or poultry of the United States; the lack of APHIS personnel; any outstanding debts to APHIS the permit applicant has not paid when due; or any other circumstances which the Administrator believes require such denial or withdrawal to prevent the dissemination of any communicable disease of livestock or poultry into the United States, such as if:
(A) Any requirement of this subpart is not complied with;
(B) The importer (permit applicant) or any person responsibly connected with the importer's business, any person responsibly connected with the privately owned bird quarantine facility through which the importation is intended, or, in the case of the importation of ratites or ratite hatching eggs, the operator of the flock of origin or a person responsibly connected with the owner of the flock of origin, has been convicted of any crime under any law regarding the import or export of goods, regarding the quarantine of any animal or bird, or the illegal movement of goods within a region, or involving fraud, bribery, extortion, or of any other crime involving lack of the integrity needed for the conduct of operations affecting the importation of birds;
(C) The importer (permit applicant) or any person responsibly connected with the importer's business, any person responsibly connected with the privately owned bird quarantine facility intended for use for the importation, or, in the case of the importation of ratites or ratite hatching eggs, the operator of the flock of origin or a person responsibly connected with the owner of the flock of origin, threatens to forcibly assault or forcibly assaults, intimidates, or interferes with any APHIS representative or employee in or on account of the performance of his or her official duties, unless, promptly upon the incident being brought to the importer's attention by the authorized supervisor of the APHIS representative or employee, and to the satisfaction of that supervisor, the importer justifies the incident, takes effective steps to prevent a recurrence, or provides acceptable assurance that there will not be any recurrences; or
(D) For any violation of the regulations in this subpart.
(iii) In addition, a permit to import ratites or hatching eggs of ratites, except for ratites or hatching eggs of ratites imported from Canada in accordance with § 93.107, will be denied or withdrawn unless APHIS representatives are granted access to the premises where the flock of origin is kept (or, in the case of zoological birds, to the premises where the birds are kept), from the date of the application for the permit through the date of export.
(iv) Except for ratites intended for importation as zoological birds and ratites and hatching eggs of ratites imported from Canada in accordance with § 93.107, a permit to import ratites or hatching eggs of ratites will be denied or withdrawn unless an APHIS representative has visited the premises where the flock of origin is kept within the 12-month period before the intended importation and has determined that the flock is pen-raised and contains sufficient breeding pairs to produce the number of ratites or hatching eggs intended for importation.
(v) A permit to import ratites or hatching eggs of ratites will be denied or withdrawn if an inspection of the premises of the flock or origin, carried out by the national government of the region of export under § 93.101(b)(3), indicates that the ratites and hatching eggs are not identified and marked as required under § 93.101(b)(3).
(vi) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to be responsibly connected with an importer's business, a privately owned bird quarantine facility, or an owner of a flock of origin, if such person has an ownership, mortgage, or lease interest in the physical plant of the importer's business, the privately owned bird quarantine facility, or the farm of the flock of origin, or if such person is a partner, officer, director, holder or owner of 10 per centum or more of the voting stock of the importer's business, the privately owned bird quarantine facility, or the farm of the flock of origin, or is an employee of the importer's business, the privately owned bird quarantine facility, or the owner of the flock of origin.
(vii) A permit may be denied or withdrawn at any time by the Administrator, for any of the reasons provided in paragraphs (a)(2)(ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) of this section. Before such action is taken, the importer will be informed of the reasons for the proposed action and, upon request in case of a dispute of material facts, shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing with respect to the merits or validity of such action, in accordance with rules of practice which shall be adopted for the proceeding. However, withdrawal of a permit shall become effective pending final determination in the proceeding, when the Administrator determines that such action is necessary to protect the public health, interest, or safety. Such withdrawal shall be effective upon oral or written notification, whichever is earlier, to the importer. In the event of oral notification, written confirmation shall be given to the importer as promptly as circumstances permit. This withdrawal shall continue in effect pending the completion of the proceeding and any judicial review thereof, unless otherwise ordered by the Administrator.
(viii) If APHIS receives more than one application for a permit to import birds through a specified port of entry at approximately the same time, such that APHIS personnel could provide services to only one importer (permit applicant) who requests them, APHIS will issue the permit to the first importer who meets the requirements of this subpart to deposit, with the Administrator, the completed cooperative and trust fund agreement, accompanied by the required deposit.
(3)(i) The importer or importer's agent shall pay or ensure payment of a reservation fee for each lot of birds to be quarantined in a facility maintained by USDA. For birds the reservation fee shall be 100 percent of the cost of providing care, feed, and handling during quarantine, as estimated by the quarantine facility's veterinarian in charge.
(ii) At the time the importer or the importer's agent requests a reservation of quarantine space, the importer or importer's agent shall pay the reservation fee by check or U.S. money order or ensure payment of the reservation fee by an irrevocable letter of credit from a commercial bank (the effective date on such letter of credit shall run to 30 days after the date the birds are scheduled to be released from quarantine); except that anyone who issues a check to the Department for a reservation fee which is returned because of insufficient funds shall be denied any further request for reservation of a quarantine space until the outstanding amount is paid.
(iii) Any reservation fee paid by check or U.S. money order shall be applied against the expenses incurred for services received by the importer or importer's agent in connection with the quarantine for which the reservation was made. Any part of the reservation fee which remains unused after being applied against the expenses incurred for services received by the importer or the importer's agent in connection with the quarantine for which the reservation was made, shall be returned to the individual who paid the reservation fee. If the reservation fee is ensured by a letter of credit, the Department will draw against the letter of credit unless payment for services received by the importer or importer's agent in connection with the quarantine is otherwise made at least 3 days prior to the expiration date of the letter of credit.
(iv) Any reservation fee shall be forfeited if the importer or the importer's agent fails to present for entry, within 24 hours following the designated time of arrival, the lot of birds for which the reservation was made: Except that a reservation fee shall not be forfeited if:
(A) Written notice of cancellation from the importer or the importer's agent is received by the office of the veterinarian in charge of the quarantine facility
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during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays) no later than 15 days for birds prior to the beginning of the time of importation as specified in the import permit or as arranged with the veterinarian in charge of the quarantine facility if no import permit is required (the 15 day period shall not include Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays), or
(B) The Administrator determines that services, other than provided by carriers, necessary for the importation of the poultry or birds within the requested period are unavailable because of unforeseen circumstances as determined by the Administrator, (such as the closing of an airport due to inclement weather or the unavailability of the reserved space due to the extension of another quarantine.)
(v) If the reservation fee was ensured by a letter of credit and the fee is to be forfeited under paragraph (a)(3)(iv) of this section, the Department will draw against the letter of credit unless the reservation fee is otherwise paid at least 3 days prior to the expiration date of the letter of credit.
(vi) When a reservation is cancelled in accordance with paragraph (a)(3)(iv)(A) of this section and the provisions of paragraph (a)(3)(iv)(B) of this section do not apply, a $40.00 cancellation fee shall be charged. If a reservation fee was paid, the cancellation fee shall be deducted from any reservation fee returned to the importer or the importer's agent. If the reservation fee was ensured by a letter of credit, the Department will draw the amount of the cancellation fee against the letter of credit unless the cancellation fee is otherwise paid at least 3 days prior to the expiration date of the letter of credit.
(4) Permit applications for ratites. (i) If quarantine space for ratites is desired at either the New York Animal Import Center or the Miami Animal Import Center, permit applications must be submitted to the New York Animal Import Center, USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services, 200 Drury Lane, Rock Tavern, NY, 12575, or to the port veterinarian in charge of the New York Animal Import Center.
(ii) Quarantine space for ratites will be offered in the order that permit applications are or have been received, beginning with those permit applications received on August 12, 1991. Reservations for quarantine space at the Miami Animal Import Center will be limited to a maximum of 100 ratites per permit application. There will be a single waiting list for quarantine space at the Miami Animal Import Center and the New York Animal Import Center. Importers who prefer one of these two facilities over the other may remain on the waiting list until space opens up at the facility of their choice.
(b) Permit. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, when a permit is issued, the original and two copies will be sent to the importer. It shall be the responsibility of the importer to forward the original permit and one copy to the shipper in the region of origin, and it shall also be the responsibility of the importer to insure that the shipper presents the copy of the permit to the carrier and makes proper arrangements for the original permit to accompany the shipment to the specified U.S. port of entry for presentation to the collector of customs. The time prescribed in permits from the importation of pet birds, commercial birds, zoological birds, or research birds, shall not exceed 30 days, and for performing or theatrical birds shall not exceed 90 days. Birds for which a permit is required by these regulations will not be eligible for entry if a permit has not been issued; if unaccompanied by such a permit; if shipment is from any port other than the one designated in the permit; if arrival in the United States is at any port other than the one designated in the permit; if the birds offered for entry differ from those described in the permit.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions in this part, importers are not required to obtain an import permit and provide the shipper with an original import permit for each individual shipment of birds other than ratites transiting the port of Anchorage, Alaska, if the following conditions are met:
(1) The importer applies for and obtains an import permit for multiple shipments of birds transiting the port of Anchorage, Alaska, in accordance with the provisions of this section and related requirements concerning application for the permit. However, the following information is not required on the application:
(i) The species, breed, and number of birds to be imported;
(ii) The region of origin;
(iii) The name and address of the exporter;
(iv) The port of embarkation in the foreign region;
(v) The mode of transportation and the route of travel;
(vi) The proposed date of arrival of the birds; and
(vii) The name and address of the person to whom the birds or poultry will be delivered.
(2) The importer completes a copy of the import permit obtained under paragraph (c)(1) of this section for each separate shipment of birds intended to transit the port of Anchorage, Alaska, by inserting the following information on a copy of the permit:
(i) The species, breed, and number of birds to be imported;
(ii) The region of origin;
(iii) The name and address of the exporter;
(iv) The port of embarkation in the foreign region;
(v) The mode of transportation and the route of travel;
(vi) The proposed date of arrival of the birds; and
(vii) The name and address of the person to whom the birds will be delivered.
(3) The importer, not less than 2 weeks prior to the anticipated date of arrival of each separate intransit shipment of birds at the port of Anchorage, Alaska, provides the port veterinarian with a copy of the completed import permit;
(4) A copy of the completed import permit accompanies each separate intransit shipment of birds or poultry to the port of Anchorage, Alaska;
(5) Import permits issued for multiple shipments of birds transiting the port of Anchorage, Alaska, will be valid only during the calendar year in which they are issued.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-9.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026