[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30257-30259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14305]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 3

[Docket No. 99-014-1]


Animal Welfare; Acclimation Certificates for Dogs and Cats

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the Animal Welfare Act regulations 
regarding transportation of dogs and cats by removing the requirement 
that a veterinarian certify that a dog or cat is acclimated to 
temperatures lower than the minimum temperature requirements in the 
regulations and requiring instead that the owner of the dog or cat make 
this certification. We are proposing this action because a veterinarian 
cannot always know if the dog or cat has been acclimated to a specific 
temperature. The owner of the dog or cat can best verify that the 
animal has been

[[Page 30258]]

acclimated to the temperature that is recorded on the certificate. This 
proposed action would give responsibility for certifying an animal's 
tolerance for a specific temperature to the person who is most likely 
to know.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by August 6, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 99-
014-1, 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. 99-014-1.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jerry D. DePoyster, Staff Animal 
Health Technician, Animal Care, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-7586; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

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 governing the humane handling, housing, care, 
treatment, and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research 
facilities, exhibitors, and carriers and intermediate handlers. The 
Secretary has delegated the responsibility for enforcing the AWA to the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS). Regulations established under the AWA are 
contained in 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3. Parts 1 and 2 contain definitions 
and general requirements, and part 3 contains specific standards for 
the care of animals. Subpart A of 9 CFR part 3 contains requirements 
specifically pertaining to dogs and cats.
    Section 3.18 of subpart A contains minimum requirements for 
terminal facilities used in the transportation of dogs and cats. Among 
other things, Sec. 3.18 requires that the ambient temperature in an 
animal holding area containing dogs and cats must not fall below 45 
deg.F (7.2  deg.C) for more than four consecutive hours at any time 
dogs or cats are present. Section 3.19 of subpart A contains minimum 
requirements for handling dogs and cats when they are moved within, to, 
or from an animal holding area of a terminal facility or a primary 
conveyance when being transported. Among other things, Sec. 3.19 
requires that dogs or cats must not be exposed to an ambient 
temperature below 45  deg.F (7.2  deg.C) for a period of more than 45 
minutes.
    Section 3.13, paragraph (e), of subpart A requires that carriers 
and intermediate handlers must not accept a dog or cat for transport in 
commerce unless their animal holding area meets the minimum temperature 
requirements provided in Secs. 3.18 and 3.19, or unless the consigner 
provides them with a certificate signed by a veterinarian certifying 
that the animal is acclimated to temperatures lower than those required 
in Secs. 3.18 and 3.19.
    Veterinarians are often asked to sign certificates of acclimation 
for dogs and cats that they have seen only for routine examinations or 
if the animals are ill. A veterinarian cannot determine if a dog or cat 
has been acclimated to a specific temperature based on a veterinary 
examination. Therefore, it is inappropriate to place responsibility for 
such certification on veterinarians. The owner of the dog or cat is 
normally the person who would know if the dog or cat has been 
acclimated to a specific temperature.
    Therefore, we are proposing to amend Sec. 3.13(e) to require that 
the owner of the dog or cat sign the certificate stating that his or 
her animal is acclimated to temperatures lower than those required in 
Secs. 3.18 and 3.19. This revision would give responsibility for 
certifying an animal's tolerance for a specific temperature to the 
person who is most likely to know to what temperature the animal is 
acclimated.
    We are also proposing to correct a typographical error in 
Sec. 3.13(e). In paragraph (e), the Celsius equivalent of 45  deg.F is 
incorrectly listed as 2.2  deg.C. The correct Celsius equivalent is 7.2 
 deg.C.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. 
The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of 
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    The Animal Welfare Act regulations in 9 CFR part 3, subpart A, 
provide specifications for the humane transportation of dogs and cats. 
Among other things under those specifications, carriers and 
intermediate handlers may not accept a dog or cat for transport in 
commerce unless their animal holding area meets certain minimum 
temperature requirements or unless they are provided with a 
certificate, signed by a veterinarian, certifying that the animal has 
been acclimated to temperatures lower than those required.
    This proposed rule would require instead that the owner of the dog 
or cat must sign the certification that the animal has been acclimated 
to temperatures lower than those required by the regulations. The 
proposal stems from concern that veterinarians are not always the ones 
who are best able to make such a certification, since they may have 
minimal knowledge of an animal's history, care, and environment. 
Licensed dealers are the animal owners who would be primarily affected 
by the proposal because licensed dealers transport animals more often 
than other dog and cat owners.
    The entities most affected by this proposed rule would be dealers 
of dogs and cats and the animal's attending veterinarian. Affected 
dealers and veterinarians would benefit, but the economic effect is not 
likely to be significant.
    Practicing veterinarians would benefit because they would no longer 
be put in the position of having to deny certifications when they have 
little or no knowledge of the animal's history, care, and environment. 
Veterinarians would also benefit because they would avoid any potential 
liability stemming from the certifications. Veterinarians would no 
longer receive fees that they might otherwise charge animal owners for 
signing certifications. However, any such fees are likely to be 
insignificant when judged against the veterinarian's overall revenues 
from all sources.
    The owners of the dogs and cats would benefit from the proposed 
rule because it would make the process of obtaining certification 
easier. They would be able to make the certification themselves without 
having to rely on veterinarians who may not always be readily 
available. Another potential benefit for animal owners is that they may 
avoid having to pay fees to veterinarians to obtain their signatures, 
although any such savings are not likely to be significant.

[[Page 30259]]

    Finally, the animals themselves would benefit in that a more 
accurate representation of the temperature to which the dog or cat has 
been acclimated would have a positive effect on the animal's health and 
welfare.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the 
economic effect of rules on small entities, i.e., small businesses, 
organizations, and governmental jurisdictions. In FY 1996, there were 
4,075 animal dealers licensed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service, including dealers of dogs and cats. The American Veterinary 
Medical Association estimates that, as of January 1, 1998, there were 
30,255 veterinarians in private practice in the United States who deal 
either exclusively or predominately with small animals, including dogs 
and cats.
    It is reasonable to assume that most of the affected entities are 
small in size, based on composite data for providers of the same and 
similar services in the United States. In 1992, the per firm average 
annual gross receipts for all 6,804 firms in animal specialty services, 
except veterinary, which include dog and cat dealers, were $115,290. 
This amount is well below the U.S. Small Business Administration's 
(SBA) small entity threshold of $5.0 million annually for firms in that 
category. Similarly, the per practice average annual gross receipts for 
all 15,880 U.S. veterinary practices, which include practices having 
more than one veterinarian on staff, that deal exclusively in small 
animals were $421,000 in 1995. This is well below the SBA's small 
entity threshold of $5.0 million annually for firms in veterinary 
services for animal specialties, which include dog and cat 
veterinarians. It is very likely, therefore, that small entities would 
be those most affected by the proposed rule change. As stated 
previously, we believe any economic effects of this proposed rule would 
not be significant.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials.

Executive Order 12988

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This rule would not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or 
policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this 
rule. The Act does not provide administrative procedures which must be 
exhausted prior to a judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains no new information collection or 
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 3

    Animal welfare, Marine mammals, Pets, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Research, Transportation.
    Accordingly, we propose to amend 9 CFR part 3 as follows:

PART 3--STANDARDS

    1. The authority citation for part 3 would continue to read as 
follows:

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


Sec. 3.13  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 3.13, paragraphs (e) introductory text, (e)(3), and 
(e)(4) would be amended as follows:
    a. In paragraph (e), the introductory text, by removing the phrase 
``signed by a veterinarian'' and replacing it with the phrase ``signed 
by the dog or cat owner''; and by removing ``2.2  deg.C'' both times it 
appears and replacing it with ``7.2  deg.C''.
    b. In paragraph (e)(3), by removing the phrase ``a veterinarian'' 
and replacing it with the phrase ``the dog or cat owner''.
    c. In paragraph (e)(4), by removing the word ``veterinarian'' and 
replacing it with the phrase ``dog or cat owner''.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of June 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-14305 Filed 6-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P