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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.

Statement of Need:

A 2014 Farm Bill amendment to the Animal Welfare Act provides the Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to determine when animal dealers and exhibitors are not required to obtain a license under the Act, if the size of the business conducting AWA-related activities is determined by the Secretary to be de minimis. This rule is necessary to establish the thresholds for what constitutes a de minimis level of activity.
 

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The Agricultural Act of 2014 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 113-79), section 12308, which amended section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133).

Alternatives:

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

By the very nature of this proposal, all entities that would be affected are considered small. The entities most likely to be affected by this proposal are businesses engaged in AWA-related exhibition activities that have small numbers of regulated animals. This proposed rule would relieve regulatory responsibilities for some currently licensed entities and reduce the cost of business for those entities. Those currently licensed exhibitors, breeders, and dealers who are under the proposed de minimis thresholds would no longer be subject to licensing, animal identification and recordkeeping requirements.

Risks:

Establishing de minimis thresholds in this proposal would allow APHIS to direct inspection and enforcement efforts on higher risk entities.