View Rule

In the 2014 Farm Bill, Congress amended the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to provide the Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to determine what facilities and activities involving AWA-regulated animals are de minimis and therefore exempt from licensure and oversight. We are amending the AWA regulations to enact this new provision. This change provides APHIS with the flexibility to exempt from licensing those dealers and exhibitors who provide adequate levels of humane care to their animals, allowing us to target our enforcement resources where they are most needed. Dealers and exhibitors operating at or below the threshold will be exempted from APHIS licensing and oversight under the AWA.