The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken a firm stand on pet theft. It will not tolerate this practice by any Animal Welfare Act licensee or registrant at any time.
"On this, Pet Theft Awareness Day, I wish to reiterate our commitment to insisting on thorough recordkeeping by AWA licensees and registrants and to expanding our traceback efforts of animals covered under the Act," said Michael V. Dunn, USDA assistant secretary for marketing and regulatory programs. "These and our other enforcement measures in recent years have enabled us to make significant progress in stopping the trafficking in stolen animals."
In 1995, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's animal care program, which enforces the AWA, instituted a policy that subjects all random-source, class B animal dealers who handle 100 or more animals a year to quarterly inspections. Prior to that time, these dealers, who are a significant source of all AWA-regulated animals used in research, were inspected once annually. APHIS is a part of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs mission area.
USDA also assessed more than $450,000 in penalties and revoked 19 licenses, including those of class B dealers alleged to have trafficked in stolen animals. USDA projects that its 1996 enforcement figures that will be released to Congress this spring will be even greater. The number of random-source animal dealers in the United States has dropped from approximately 80 to 40 in recent years.
Since becoming head of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs in January 1996, Dunn has strongly supported these enforcement efforts. Last February, he and Secretary Glickman sent a letter to all animal care field personnel stressing the importance of preventing pet theft.
He has also supported animal care's new strategic direction, which focuses on improving the program's overall performance. This strategy includes possible statutory and regulatory changes. It also includes increased public outreach, as exemplified by animal care's acclaimed (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/anlost.html) missing pets homepage on the worldwide web that provides private citizens with a national forum for searching for their animals. This site has been visited approximately 6,000 times since its inception in July 1996.
Dunn emphasizes that cooperating with both industry and animal welfare organizations is essential to the success of USDA's efforts and that USDA's enforcement focus is on individuals who have historically had problems complying with the law, not all AWA licensees. He notes that, last spring, USDA held three public meetings on the animal care program and that the input from these forums has been incorporated into animal care's strategy for the future.
Under the AWA, USDA requires all licensed animal dealers to maintain records of their acquisition and disposition of animals. USDA's animal care inspectors routinely make unannounced inspections of dealers' facilities and records to ensure they are complying with the Act. If recordkeeping discrepancies indicate that a licensee could be dealing in stolen animals, USDA investigates the matter and takes appropriate enforcement action. Possible penalties include fines and license suspensions or revocations.
Go to:
Contents, Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter
Top of Document
The Animal Welfare Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
National Agricultural Library
10301 Baltimore Ave.
Beltsville, MD 20705-2351
Phone: (301) 504-6212
FAX: (301) 504-7125
E-mail: awic@nal.usda.gov
