Safeguarding 
American 
agriculture is a 
responsibility that 
requires constant 
diligence in order 
to maintain trade 
markets for animal 
exports and ensure 
that animal imports 
are disease free. 
If the United States ever has an outbreak of a 
foreign animal disease, VS stands ready to 
contain or eradicate the disease immediately. 
This readiness allows trade to continue with 
minimal interruptions and provides insur- 
ance for farmers and producers that dreaded 
animal diseases will not become established 
in this country. With its state-of-the-art 
Emergency Management Operations Center 
at its headquarters in Riverdale, VS can coor- 
dinate efforts to manage disease outbreaks 
all over the United States. VS also conducts 
test exercises regularly to practice its 
response techniques. In the rare event of a 
serious foreign animal disease outbreak, a VS 
task force known as the Regional Emergency 
Animal Disease Eradication Organization 
(READEO) team can be onsite rapidly to 
implement the measures necessary to con- 
tain the disease. The last time a READEO was 
called into action was in 1983 to eradicate an 
outbreak of avian influenza. 
CITES-Protected Animals and Birds 
In addition to their other duties, APHIS 
employees cooperate with the Department of 
the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(FWS) in honoring the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species 
in Flora and Fauna (CITES). CITES is a pro- 
tective treaty that regulates the commercial 
trade of endangered plants and animals and 
monitors trade involving species threatened 
with extinction in the near future. More than 
123 countries, including the United States, 
have endorsed this treaty. 
6 Protecting Animal Health in a Global Environment 
Although FWS is responsible for overseeing 
all aspects of CITES within the United States, 
wildlife officials consult with APHIS to 
ensure that exotic animal species entering 
the country under CITES meet animal quar- 
antine requirements so that these animals 
will not introduce pests and diseases that 
could endanger animal health of the live- 
stock industries of the United States. When 
U.S. zoos apply to FWS for CITES permits to 
import protected animals, FWS verifies with 
APHIS that these facilities are in compliance 
with the Animal Welfare Act. APHIS inspec- 
tors at ports of entry are also trained to iden- 
tify CITES-protected species and to notify 
the Department of the Interior if these 
species are found during inspection. 
Safeguarding American agriculture is a 
responsibility that requires constant dili- 
gence in order to maintain trade markets for 
animal exports and ensure that animal 
imports are disease free. VS never lets its 
guard down in the fight against foreign ani- 
mal diseases. At ports of entry, APHIS head- 
quarters, VS laboratories, and field offices 
across the Nation, veterinarians are working 
to ensure that domestic livestock is pro- 
tected against disease and that all trade poli- 
cies are in the best interest of U.S. producers 
and continue to safeguard American agricul- 
ture. After all, tomorrow’s animal health 
depends on today’s activities. 
For more information about APHIS 
programs, visit the APHIS homepage at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov 
