DeHaven outlines AWA enforcement,
describes current agency activities related to dogs and dog breeders
An NAIA conference report
The current climate
The US Congress passed the federal Animal Welfare Act in 1966 in answer to
complaints that stolen pets were winding up in research laboratories, Dr. Ron
DeHaven, deputy administrator for the US Department of Agriculture Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Care division, told the conference audience.
Authority for writing regulations to implement and enforce the law resides in
DeHaven’s department.
In a relaxed and sometimes humerous vein, Dr. DeHaven took the audience on
a virtual tour through his department, outlining his responsibilities under
the AWA and detailing the public comment process for rules changes.
The AWA regulates animal dealers, including commercial kennels that sell puppies
for resale. These facilities must maintain the health of their animals and meet
regulatory standards for animal housing and care. Facilities are inspected before
getting a license and are subject to routine unannounced inspections and to
inspections based on complaints.
To carry out its duties, the agency has a budget in the realm of $12.2 million
and 75-80 inspectors who check on 9900 sites, including commercial kennels,
research laboratories, exotic animal dealers, and animal exhibitors and transporters.
If a facility fails to comply with the rules, the inspector may issue a noncompliance
citation and give the owner a deadline for correcting the infraction. If the
deadline is not met or if the violation is more serious, the enforcement options
include warning citations, negotiated agreements, court hearings, and license
suspensions or revocations.
DeHaven said that the agency’s enforcement philosophy is to get off the
backs of good facility owners, work with those who want to comply, and get rid
of the bad actors. To this end, the inspection philosophy is to protect animals,
to apply the regulations without nit-picking, to be creative in gaining compliance,
and to encourage self-regulation.
“Where appropriate, Animal Care will enter into settlement agreements
wherein some or all of the civil penalty is applied toward facility renovations,
employee training, animal-related research, evaluation of the facilities and
programs by independent experts, or other provisions that will improve the welfare
of animals and focus on the violations that were documented,” DeHaven said.
“We want the inspectors to be innovative in gaining compliance and encourage
facility operators to put in place processes of self-oversight programs that
will promote long-term compliance.”
The current climate
DeHaven’s department recently approved a rule change that makes it easier
to confiscate dogs that are suffering in below-standard facilities; has proposed
a rule change that will give the agency greater authority to deny a license
to unqualified applicants; is working with the Federal Aviation Administration
on enforcement of new rules about airline shipment of animals; and is defending
its definition of ‘retail store’ in a lawsuit brought by the Doris
Day Animal League.
“We’re pretty confident that Congress intended for us to regulate
at the wholesale level,” DeHaven said. As a result, USDA defines ‘retail
pet store’ as anyone who sells directly to the consumer, a category that
includes casual breeders, show breeders, and those who maintain kennels of working
or hunting dogs. The DDAL lawsuit contends that the agency should narrow its
definition of retail outlet so that all breeders will be covered by the law.
“We would be inspecting your backyards and bedrooms if we did that,”
DeHaven said.
While USDA defends the suit in court, the agency staff is examining thousands
of comments to a rules change that would codify the current policy of regulating
only wholesale breeders of hunting, security, and breeding dogs. The comment
period ended in April. The outcome will be printed in the Federal Register when
the proposal is either accepted or rejected.
For more on USDA and the Doris Day Animal league lawsuit, see
DDAL sues government over AWA enforcement and
Court grants judgment against
USDA definition of retail pet store
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