[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 165 (Wednesday, August 26, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45444-45445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22889]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 14

RIN 1018-AD98


Humane and Healthful Transport of Wild Mammals, Birds, Reptiles 
and Amphibians to the United States

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service withdraws the June 6, 1997 
proposed rule to amend 50 CFR part 14, subpart J, pertaining to the 
establishment of standards for the humane and healthful transport of 
live reptiles and amphibians to the United States. We promulgated this 
proposed rule under the authority of the Lacey Act, as amended, enacted 
on November 16, 1981. This action is being taken in part to allow for 
the completion of the current revision process of the Live Animals 
Regulations (LAR) of the International Air Transport Association 
(IATA).
    This decision was made to allow us to explore all possible 
opportunities to align United States humane and healthful transport 
regulations with the IATA LAR standards, which have generally been 
adopted by the international community, including the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES) and the European Community (EC), as their required humane 
transport standards.

ADDRESSES: Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, c/o Office of 
Management Authority, either by mail 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 700, 
Arlington, VA 22203, or by fax (703) 358-2298, or by e-mail to 
R9OMA__CITES @mail.fws.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bruce Weissgold, Office of 
Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone (703) 
358-1917, fax (703) 358-2298, or e-mail Bruce__W[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the proposed rule of June 6, 1997 (62 FR 
31044), we recognized three justifications for amending 50 CFR Part 14, 
subpart J. First, the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (U.S.C. 42(c)) 
prohibit the transportation of all classes of species into the United 
States under inhumane or unhealthful conditions, and require that the 
United States Government promulgate regulations governing the 
transportation of wildlife. We established rules for the humane and 
healthful transport of wild mammals and birds to the United States on 
June 17, 1992 (57 FR 27094) in 50 CFR Part 14 subpart J.
    Therefore, we proposed to extend 50 CFR Part 14, subpart J to 
include rules for the transport of reptiles and amphibians in order to 
more fully comply with the Lacey Act, which requires the humane 
transport of all animals and the promulgation of necessary regulations. 
Furthermore, many reptiles and amphibians are species included in the 
Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES requires that all 
species listed on the CITES Appendices be packed and shipped in 
accordance with the IATA LAR.
    Our second justification for the proposed amendment to the rule is 
the need to protect the well-being of reptiles and amphibians during 
transport. The proposed amendment to 50 CFR Part 14, subpart J 
responded to this problem by providing the Division of Law Enforcement 
with the authority to cite shippers for failure to comply with specific 
regulatory requirements even where, by chance, high mortality has not 
resulted. This additional authority would help us ensure increased 
compliance with humane and healthful shipping standards, and thus 
reduce mortality and injury for transported reptiles and amphibians.
    Finally, the proposed amendments to 50 CFR Part 14 subpart J would 
enable us to process the high and increasing volume of reptiles and 
amphibians entering the United States, and provide a mechanism for 
adequate data capture and recording or inhumane and unhealthful 
transport conditions. Specifically, the proposed regulations would 
equip us with rules that address the particular biological requirements 
of reptiles and amphibians, and enable us to respond better to the 
problems associated with transporting these species, and to record 
instances of mortality of animals in transit and/or substandard 
shipping conditions.
    IATA intends to convene a meeting of its Live Animals and 
Perishables Board (LAPB) in Montreal, Canada, in October 1998. One 
component of this meeting would be the introduction, consideration, and 
debate of amendments to its LAR for reptiles and amphibians. We would 
like to reevaluate our rule-making effort following the outcome of the 
IATA revision process, which may include modifications to the packing 
standards associated with the IATA LAR Container Requirements, 
specifically regulating the shipping of live reptiles and amphibians.
    After proposing amendments to 50 CFR part 14, subpart J, we 
received a large number of comments from the general public, both in 
writing, and verbally at public meetings in New York City (January 17, 
1998) and Los Angeles (January 27, 1998). Substantial information was 
received during the comment periods to warrant changes to our proposed 
rule. The comments that we received covered a broad array of positions, 
including biological, technical, legal, and animal welfare issues 
associated with the proposed rule. Some commenters considered our 
proposals harmful to live reptiles and amphibians in commerce by being

[[Page 45445]]

overly regulatory and not based on the biological requirements of the 
animals. Other commenters indicated that we had favored the commercial 
reptile and amphibian industry in our proposal and had not proposed 
sufficiently stringent standards to ensure humane and healthful 
transport conditions for these animals. We are continuing to evaluate 
the comments we received to determine their applicability to our 
rulemaking process, and whether they could apply to our anticipated 
discussion with IATA on amending their regulations. Once the IATA 
revision process is complete, we will determine whether it is 
applicable to our rulemaking efforts in this area and whether another 
proposed rule is warranted.

    Author: The author of this notice is Bruce Weissgold (see For 
Further Information Contact section).

    Authority: The authority for this action is the Lacey Act, as 
amended (18 U.S.C. 42(c)).

    Dated: August 20, 1998.
Donald Barry,
Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 98-22889 Filed 8-21-98; 3:19 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P