WASHINGTON — Marking the 51st anniversary of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) this week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today asked for input from the public to help determine potential updates to the law’s licensing requirements. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is tasked with upholding and enforcing the AWA. The AWA was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 24, 1966.
“As a trained veterinarian, humane standards of care for animals are close to my heart and central to my love and concern for our four-legged friends,” Perdue said. “Administering the AWA is a key USDA mission, and we are always looking for ways to improve. We welcome comments from the public as APHIS considers changes to the licensing requirements to help us fulfill this important responsibility.”
Each year, USDA issues nearly 6,000 licenses to people who breed, sell, or exhibit animals for commercial purposes. The department is responsible for ensuring that these licensees comply with the AWA’s humane standards of care, which enables the American public to confidently purchase pets and view animals on public display.
The full list of potential changes will be published in the August 24, 2017 Federal Register and be available after publication at the Regulations.gov website. Comments will be accepted through October 23, 2017, either online at Regulations.gov after August 24, 2017 or in writing at: Docket No. APHIS-2017-0062, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
On August 18, 2017, APHIS unveiled a refined public search tool that provides access to AWA compliance records. The public search tool is a component of the Animal Care Information System and will allow APHIS to make animal welfare information publicly available and ensure compliance with all applicable laws.
–USDA
For more articles concerning animal health, click here.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
CHICAGO — Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), a national nonprofit organization that works to ensure that all food-producing animals are raised in a humane and healthy manner, recently awarded more than $170,000 in Fund-a-Farmer Grants to a diverse slate of 60 livestock farmers and ranchers. In solidarity with the movement to address racial inequity in […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is celebrating the agency’s many successful efforts to protect American agriculture and natural resources over the past year. “APHIS has worked hard this last year to address vulnerabilities in our food system and create more, better, and fairer markets for producers […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicating $300 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to conduct surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging and zoonotic diseases in susceptible animals and build an early warning system to alert public health partners to potential threats so they can take steps sooner to prevent or limit the […]
WASHINGTON — Since January 20, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration has been on a mission to Build Back Better. From the American Rescue Plan to the American Jobs Plan and now with the introduction of the American Families Plan, action has been taken to provide relief to the American people, and the necessary investments have been made […]
