Background
When horses are imported to the U.S. from regions affected with Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations require them to undergo quarantine and special import tests for CEM, including in some cases test breeding. These requirements also apply to U.S. horses exported to CEM regions for more than 60 days and then returned. For this reason, horses sent to the European Union for competition are always returned to the U.S. within 60 days. U.S. competitors do not want their horses undergoing the various CEM tests.
The current “60 day” rule results in shorter travel intervals for U.S. competition horses, increased expense to owners, and additional training obstacles to ensure the horses are competing at peak levels. Extending the re-entry requirements to “90 days” would reduce the stress on US competition horses, reduce the expense to owners, and provide a more level playing field against our international competitors.
AHC’s Position
The AHC supports a change to the re-entry requirements for competition horses exported temporarily for up to 90 days to CEM regions and returned.