Hm. This doesn’t make sense to me. Not your post, but what the USDA is doing. There have been a few issues, some fairly recently, and they still haven’t evaluated or modified their procedures? Why are they so stuck on the current procedures? Especially when scientific evidence is available indicating that this might not be the best protocol.
I don’t know, it’s 2020 and I would think one could have accurate testing and results for such a thing.
Their procedures/protocol apparently haven’t been updated since 2016 (available on the public sites).
i posted a link of the dressage horse in 2017 who went through a similar situation.
Money hasnt exactly been flowing through the federal government for the sciences over the past few years. I also don’t know the exact number of cases of false positives but it may be low enough that the powers that be dont see it as a crisis issue. I don’t know the entire process for changing the protocol but it is probably fairly extensive and not an easy undertaking.
That’s… not at all bad for a government agency lol. Updating these protocols unfortunately isn’t going to be their priority, especially since they’re still relatively recent (last updated less than 5 yrs ago). Someone must be assigned this project as a priority.
Yes, that is a good point about funds. It also isn’t a very easy process to update government protocol or procedures. Usually there is a lot of paperwork, a lot of steps to take, and a lot of channels to go through. There is also the matter of priorities. There may be items of higher priority than this issue. Esepcially if the number of false positives is quite low, as you said.
I think there’s some miscommunication on that point.
The fees are set by regulation. USDA can’t arbitrarily change the fees. However, total fees per day may vary based on what work USDA does on any given day.
i work import/export law enforcement and I’ve seen agencies make exceptions when prodded by congresspeople. Including one pretty memorable import when APHIS was convinced to issue a permit for a sanctuary to import an endangered eagle from a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza country. The bird had been shot and was found by US troops and nursed back to health. The bird actually recovered in the care of a USDA vet posted with the military so APHIS very reluctantly allowed the bird to come in after a long quarantine under the USDA vet. That’s pretty close to unheard of - USDA is serious about HPAI.
I don’t think trying to contact the president would be effective but congresspeople? Absolutely. And “playing the military card?” Absolutely. When an animal and that much money is at stake, I’m not going to judge anyone for playing every card they’ve got. (And I’m saying that as one of the people who occasionally has to respond to “Congressional inquiries.”)
Maybe for the POTUS. Or for the head of the USDA.
But there is someone who is the head of horse importation, who should be making this a very big priority, and “dumbing it down” for the people above him or her to get the change approved without the powers that be needing to know the nitty gritty details.
This is such a sad situation for everyone involved.
To give some perspective on the money here are two links. As many here know, inflation in the sciences far outstrips inflation in general. I think the historical trends are on page 6 within both documents.
https://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/fy17budsum.pdf
https://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/fy2020budsum.pdf
Well said.
No miscommunication on that point. The facility at LAX is privately owned and run by Jet Pets, not the USDA. If it was run by the USDA as the facilities in Miami and NY are, then the daily fees would be capped at around $260 per day. Jet Pets first charged the family $375 per day, then arbitrarily raised it to $1200 and are now saying they are raising it to $1300.
It looks like the importation of horses is being made so difficult and expensive to dissuade the practice. Why not come clean and admit it.
This thread has really opened my eyes. I have thought about importing in the past but never in a million years could I have imagined this scenario. Certainly would hesitate to do it now and would advise everyone to stay clear of Jet Pets!
Who exactly are you implying is in charge of this?
Maybe I’m incorrect, but I believe that Jet Pets has probably bumped the price up substantially to force a resolution. This has to be tying up their whole quarantine barn.
Yes, I believe that’s it as well. That’s why one of the “asks” was about a true quarantine stall (that wouldn’t affect the whole facility).
Jet Pets is a business. If they can’t hold other paying clients, they’re squeezing more out of this one. It’s unfortunate.
One of the reasons they are so slow to update their protocols is that these foreign animal diseases and testing are written into US Code (as in it’s written into law) and as such require an act of Congress to change. They do this so there is absolutely no grey area for USDA vets - were they not to follow protocol, they’d be breaking federal law. It also gives the USDA vets the back up in these situations where people are very angry at them of saying (correctly) its out of their hands. But it also means change comes at a glacial pace, as our Congress is not exactly known for efficient and speedy updating of laws.
That being said, other countries have managed to take into account the western blot in their most recent import guidelines. Canada, for instance, allows an 'alternate test acceptable to CFIA" their USDA equivalent.
“During post entry quarantine in Canada, the horses must be retested for Glanders using a complement fixation test negative at 1/5 or, where applicable, an alternate test acceptable to CFIA.”
https://inspection.gc.ca/animal-health/terrestrial-animals/imports/import-policies/live-animals/2011-5/eng/1325285856958/1325285922473
I wasn’t able to find Mexico’s requirements. I asked up thread if they had considered taking the horse to Canada/Mexico and they said it wasn’t allowed. But if there is one thing to be learned from this whole mess it’s to always ask the right person and not assume what someone told you is true. I have no idea if they actually talked to the Mexican agriculture department to ask if they could trailer the horse to Mexico for quarantine. Similarly, Sonny Perdue has NO authority (and probably no clue other than what his office staff told him 5 min before the call) as to whether the EU would accept the horse back. I suspect if you talked to the EU/Netherlands equivalent of the USDA, they might very well take the horse back based on test results and arrival testing, although I don’t know EU import regulations myself.
Another nugget of wisdom I took from this was the person who frequently imports up thread who said “if you have a problem in quarantine, send the horse back ASAP and save your money.” It sounded harsh when I first read it, but you can see the wisdom of that advise for sure.
There are hundreds of horses coming through quarantine right now for the winter festival. Nobody is trying to dissuade it. USDA could care less about if people are buying horses in europe and bringing them in to the country.
Our quarantine and rules are easy compared to other countries. Try taking a dog or cat to Japan or South Korea.
I also wonder if in retrospect, an immediate send-back might have been more successful, not just to save the money of quarantine but because it might have been much easier to get europe to take the horse back and a flight to take him if it had only just left, with the expectation that OF COURSE the horse will test negative as soon as he is back. With seven weeks of uncertainty, they’ve had much more time to think about it and to wonder if there’s risk.
But I never would have thought of that, had this been my import gone wrong. I would totally expect that he’d clear and that all would be well. I also never would have thought that sending him back the first day would have been the cheapest way out.
This is where the hardened experience of agents who aren’t emotionally invested in the situation is so good to have.
Remember going to “ the top” means you get a politically appointed bureaucrat or glib politician, not actual experts in details of veterinary requirements importing livestock- which horses are.
Theyve gotten a little looser lately but used to be Hawaii (which is not a foreign country) turned around any cats or dogs coming in without stringent procedures. So did England and So Africa IIRC. In many cases go back home or Euth. Likewise animals coming in here from some areas are not admitted.
International anything gets complicated.
Some of these comments are absolutely HORRENDOUS and you all should be ashamed! Picking on the trainer and the mom for their use of exclamation marks. Do you know how frustrating it is to deal with government bureaucracy? How shameful of you to pick on this family over their attempts to prevent an innocent animal from being euthanized. They are not professionals at dealing with the government. Were you not taught if you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all?
Tweeting at the President may seem unwise to you-but honestly what does it hurt? Nothing. If you were in this situation, you would likely be doing EVERYTHING in your power. Even if the President never sees it, certainly others may.
Also, it absolutely is valid to bring up they are a military family, when you all, are the same ones criticizing them for being a wealthy family with elitest problems. News flash, they aren’t. They are clearly an average family who have found themselves in an atrocious situation, and some of you are heartless enough to be critical of them. First you give them no sympathy because they are just some rich family. Then you criticize them for bringing up the fact that they are a military family.
I am seriously disgusted by so many of you. I didn’t know people could be so heartless towards fellow equestrians. Shame on you.
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