[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 42 (Thursday, March 4, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 10400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5359]


      
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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 42 / Thursday, March 4, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 10400]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 1 and 3

[Docket No. 98-106-2]


Animal Welfare; Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We are extending the comment period for our notice of a 
petition for rulemaking received by the Secretary of Agriculture. The 
petition, sponsored by several petitioners, requests that the Secretary 
amend the definition of ``animal'' in the Animal Welfare Act 
regulations to remove the current exclusion of rats and mice bred for 
use in research and birds and ``grant such other relief as the 
Secretary deems just and proper.'' This extension will provide 
interested persons with additional time to prepare and submit comments 
on the petition.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments on Docket No. 98-
106-1 that are received on or before May 28, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 98-
106-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
    Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 98-106-1.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our 
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS rules, are available on the Internet at http://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
    Any person who wishes to submit a comment electronically must use a 
form located on the Internet at http://comments.aphis.usda.gov. 
Electronically submitted comments need only be submitted once. These 
comments are available for public viewing at the same Internet address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Jerry DePoyster, Senior Veterinary 
Medical Officer, AC, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1228, (301) 734-7833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On January 28, 1999, we published in the Federal Register (64 FR 
4356-4367, Docket No. 98-106-1) a notice of petition and request for 
comments regarding a petition for rulemaking received by the Secretary 
of Agriculture. The petition, sponsored by several petitioners, 
requests that the Secretary take two actions: (1) Initiate rulemaking 
proceedings to amend the definition of ``animal'' in the Animal Welfare 
Act (AWA) regulations to remove the current exclusion of rats and mice 
bred for use in research and birds, and (2) ``grant such other relief 
as the Secretary deems just and proper.'' The AWA regulations are 
contained in title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), parts 1 
through 3; the definitions of terms used in the AWA regulations are at 
9 CFR 1.1.
    Comments on the petition were required to be received on or before 
March 29, 1999. We have received a request to extend the period during 
which comments will be accepted. In response, we are extending the 
comment period on Docket No. 98-106-1 for an additional 60 days. This 
action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and 
submit comments.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2131-2159; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(g).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of February 1999.
Joan M. Arnoldi,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-5359 Filed 3-3-99; 8:45 am]
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