On 16 September, APHIS issued a Federal Order suspending the interstate movement of all live swine, swine germplasm, swine products, and swine byproducts from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to the mainland United States until sufficient mitigations could be established to authorise such movement.

APHIS took the precautionary action to safeguard the US swine herd from African swine fever (ASF), although it should be noted that ASF has not been detected in Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands.

Now in effect, the revised order outlines mitigations that allow certain products to move to the mainland US, while continuing to provide the necessary protections against ASF. For instance, the order allows for the movement of processed swine products and byproducts.

The action was taken as part of APHIS’ ongoing efforts to respond to the detection of ASF in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.