[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 63 (Friday, April 2, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15918-15920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8153]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 1 and 3

[Docket No. 93-076-13]
RIN 0579-AA59


Animal Welfare; Marine Mammals; Swim-with-the-Dolphin Programs

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Reconsideration of final rule and suspension of enforcement.

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SUMMARY: We are hereby suspending the enforcement of those provisions 
of the Animal Welfare regulations and standards that deal with ``swim-
with-the-dolphin programs.'' In addition, we are soliciting public 
comment on all aspects of the suspended regulations and on all human/
marine mammal interactive programs.

DATES: This suspension of enforcement is effective April 2, 1999. We 
invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all comments 
that we receive by June 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 93-
076-13, 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. 93-076-13.
    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 Ave., 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.usdaa.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Barbara Kohn, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Animal Care, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, 
MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-7833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.), the 
Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to promulgate standards and 
other requirements regarding the humane handling, care, treatment, and 
transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, 
exhibitors, and carriers and intermediate handlers. The Secretary has 
delegated responsibility for administering the AWA to the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA). Regulations established under the AWA are contained 
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3. 
Part 1 contains definitions for terms used in parts 2 and 3; part 2 
contains general requirements for regulated parties; and part 3 
contains specific requirements for the care and handling of certain 
animals.
    On January 23, 1995, we published in the Federal Register a 
proposal (60 FR 4383-4389, Docket No. 93-076-2) to amend the 
regulations in 9 CFR part 3, subpart E (referred to below as the 
regulations), by establishing standards for ``swim-with-the-dolphin'' 
(SWTD) programs. After reviewing comments from the public on the 
proposal, we published a final rule in the Federal Register on 
September 4, 1998 (63 FR 47128-47151, Docket No. 93-076-10), that made 
final certain of the proposed provisions, along with changes we made 
based on the comments received. The final rule became effective October 
5, 1998.
    Following publication of the final rule, a number of parties 
affected by the rule contacted us and asked us to address issues not 
specifically raised in the final rule or the proposed rule regarding 
shallow water interactive programs. We are using the term ``shallow 
water interactive program'' because it has come to our attention that a 
number of facilities have different names for their programs in which a 
member of the public enters the primary enclosure of an SWTD cetacean 
to interact with the animal and in which the participants remain 
primarily stationary and non-buoyant. For purposes of this notice, it 
is our intent that the term ``shallow water interactive program'' 
encompass wade programs, encounter programs, or any other program as 
described above.
    The regulated parties stated that it had not been clear to them 
that we intended the provisions of the rule to apply to shallow water 
interactive programs, and that, because of this misunderstanding, they 
had not been able to participate fully in the rulemaking process.
    Although the definition of an SWTD program set forth in the 
proposed rule

[[Page 15919]]

did not exclude shallow water interactive programs, our use in the 
proposal of the word ``swim'' may have led a segment of the regulated 
industry to assume that the regulations would not apply to shallow 
water interactive programs in which the participants remain primarily 
stationary and non-buoyant. In addition, the confusion of the regulated 
parties may have been heightened by our not specifically referring to 
``wading'' until the final rule.
    It was always our intent to include shallow water interactive 
programs within the scope of the rule. However, between publication of 
the proposed rule and the final rule, a number of facilities began new 
shallow water interactive programs, which we were not aware of. 
Therefore, we did not specifically address the potential economic 
impact of the rule on these new shallow water interactive programs.
    We recognize that the number and makeup of shallow water 
interactive programs may have changed since we initiated SWTD 
rulemaking several years ago, and that the industry has gained more 
experience in operating such programs. The parties who contacted us 
following publication of the final rule expressed concern that the 
final rule did not fully reflect, among other things, the current 
issues involved in shallow water interactive programs.
    In response to these concerns, on October 14, 1998, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register (63 FR 55012, Docket No. 93-076-12) in 
which we announced that, as of the effective date of the final rule and 
until further notice, we would not apply to wading programs (referenced 
in this document as shallow water interactive programs) the standards 
in Sec. 3.111(a) of the final rule for space for the interactive area 
in a SWTD program, or the standards in Sec. 3.111(e)(4) for human 
participant/attendant ratio. We stated that, for the purposes of that 
notice, we considered wading programs to be those in which human 
participants interact with cetaceans by remaining stationary and non-
buoyant. Additionally, we expressed our intention to examine more fully 
the issue of interactive space requirements and human participant/
attendant ratios for programs in which contact between humans and 
cetaceans is limited and controlled, with negligible movement of humans 
within the enclosure.
    Additionally, we were made aware of concerns regarding the 
specificity of the experience and training requirements for SWTD 
program personnel, including the attending veterinarian. Some parties 
expressed concern regarding the nature of the veterinary care 
requirements and the issue of interactive session time limits for the 
animals.
    We also have become aware of two unintentional consequences 
concerning the exclusions contained in the definition of an SWTD 
program. First, our intent was to exclude from regulation feeding and 
petting pools where the participant does not enter the primary 
enclosure of the animal. However, the wording we used in the rule does 
not make clear the narrow exclusion we intended.
    Second, we intended to exclude from regulation the participation of 
a limited number of members of a larger public audience that are part 
of a presentation or performance (e.g., when one or two members of an 
audience are invited to interact with an animal as part of the overall 
presentation or performance). Contrary to our intent, however, by 
inserting the exclusion in the definition of an SWTD program, we 
inadvertently allowed this exclusion to apply to shallow water 
interactive programs where all or a significant number of program 
participants are provided the opportunity to enter the primary 
enclosure to interact with the animal.
    While we could attempt to address these issues by responding 
individually to each concern or point, we believe that the most 
effective way to address the concerns and confusion surrounding the 
SWTD rule is to suspend enforcement of the provisions and seek new, 
additional, and more current scientific, documentable, or other 
information on human/marine mammal interactive programs. This 
information will aid the agency in determining the most appropriate 
action regarding the regulation of human/marine mammal interactive 
programs.
    In this notice, we are soliciting information from the public on 
all aspects of human/marine mammal interactive programs, and are asking 
that commenters give special consideration to the issues set forth 
below. We request that commenters submit scientific, documentable, or 
other information to support their positions.
    1. Based on past and present experience with human/marine mammal 
interactive programs, is there a need to have regulations specific to 
these programs under the Animal Welfare Act?
    2. Should shallow water interactive programs be regulated in the 
same way as other regulated interactive programs?
    3. How much space (length, width, and depth) is needed in the 
interactive area for shallow water interactive programs? Is there a 
need for deeper water somewhere in the interactive area?
    4. For shallow water interactive programs, what participant-to-
attendant and participant-to-animal ratios have been or can be used 
safely?
    5. For the purposes of this notice, we consider shallow water 
interactive programs to be those in which human participants enter the 
primary enclosure of the marine mammal to interact with the animal, but 
in which human participants remain primarily stationary and non-
buoyant. Do you believe this definition adequately describes shallow 
water interactive programs? If not, what definition do you consider 
satisfactory?
    6. If shallow water interactive programs are regulated in the same 
way as other programs, should the heading for Sec. 3.111 of the 
regulations, which currently reads ``Swim-with-the-dolphin programs,'' 
be amended to read ``Human/marine mammal interactive programs'' or 
something similar?
    7. In the final rule, we explained that the requirement set forth 
in the proposed rule that the attending veterinarian for an SWTD 
program have at least 2 years of full-time experience with cetacean 
medicine meant that the veterinarian needed at least 4,160 hours of 
experience. This inclusion of a specific number of hours generated a 
number of questions and concerns from regulated parties. Is the SWTD 
rule the appropriate place to address this issue? If so, do you think 
we should remove the reference to a specific number of hours (while 
retaining the requirement for at least 2 years of experience)? Is there 
a better way to make the experience requirement clear? In this notice, 
we are soliciting information on whether there are alternative 
requirements that would assure an adequate level of experience and 
knowledge to achieve the purposes of the regulations.
    8. In the final rule, we required that certain employees at a SWTD 
facility have a specified minimum number of years of experience or 
training, as follows:
    Licensee or manager: At least 6 years experience in a professional 
or managerial position dealing with captive cetaceans.
    Head trainer/behaviorist: At least 6 years experience in training 
cetaceans for SWTD behaviors in the past 10 years, or an equivalent 
amount of experience involving in-water training of cetaceans.
    Trainer/supervising attendant: At least 3 years training and/or 
handling experience involving human/cetacean interaction programs.

[[Page 15920]]

    In this notice, we are soliciting information on whether there are 
alternative requirements that would assure an adequate level of 
experience and knowledge to achieve the purposes of the regulations.
    9. Should therapy sessions (i.e., interactive sessions involving a 
therapist or established programs that deal with mentally or physically 
handicapped persons) be excluded from or covered by regulation? Why do 
you consider therapy sessions different from or the same as other 
shallow water interactive programs? Should regulation of therapy 
sessions be based on the frequency of sessions at the facility or other 
criteria? If based on frequency, what should be the threshold for 
regulation?
    Accordingly, effective April 2, 1999, in 9 CFR part 1, Sec. 1.1, 
the definitions of buffer area, interactive area, interactive session, 
sanctuary area, and swim-with-the dolphin (SWTD) program are suspended, 
and, in 9 CFR part 3, Sec. 3.111 is suspended.

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

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of March 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-8153 Filed 4-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P