USDA Requests Comments on Wild and Exotic Animal Handling, Training of Personnel, and Environmental Enrichment

USDA Requests Comments on Wild and Exotic Animal Handling, Training of Personnel, and Environmental Enrichment

January 12, 2023, Covington Alert

This week, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) and request for comments on “Wild and Exotic Animal Handling, Training of Personnel Involved With Public Handling of Wild and Exotic Animals, and Environmental Enrichment for Species.”  The ANPR is part of APHIS’s plan to strengthen exhibitor training requirements regarding wild and exotic animals and licensee and registrant environmental enrichment requirements for all regulated animals.

In view of concerns regarding interactions between wild or exotic animals and the public, APHIS proposes to classify animals based on the level of risk the species presents and specify regulatory requirements for public contact activities based on that risk level.  Category 1 would include exotic or wild animals with the capability to cause severe injury, dismemberment, or death (e.g., macaques and other large primates); Category 2 would include exotic or wild animals capable of causing serious but not likely severe or life-threatening harm (e.g., small primates); and Category 3 would include common farm animals and “pocket pets” unlikely to cause serious injury.  APHIS is seeking comments on whether such classifications provide a useful framework and are appropriately applied. 

For exhibitors, APHIS is contemplating codifying new requirements for training those who handle Category 1 or 2 animals.  APHIS is seeking comments regarding the following aspects of current training in the absence of APHIS requirements:

• The required duration and content;
• Specific requirements for exhibitors who handle particular animal categories or species;
• Training differences based on the extent or type of interaction with the animal;
• Challenges in obtaining the necessary training; and
• Cost and duration.

APHIS is also proposing to categorize public contact activities with exhibited animals and develop general requirements to minimize risk to animals, staff and the public.  The ANPR specifies those areas on which APHIS seeks comment regarding that issue.

For all Animal Welfare Act (AWA) licensees and registrants, APHIS is contemplating new species-specific regulatory requirements for environmental enrichment of all AWA-regulated animals, as distinguished from current requirements that encompass only non-human primates and marine mammals.  APHIS is seeking comments on the following questions:

• What environmental enrichments should be required across species?
• What psychological need-related environmental enrichments should be required for social species?
• What environmental enrichments should be required addressing natural feeding, foraging, and food acquisition behaviors or enclosure space, lighting, and design?
• What other components or types of environmental enrichments should APHIS consider for particular taxa or species?
• If APHIS opts to require a written plan, what specific requirements should the attending veterinarian consider for the plan?
• If environmental enrichment requirements were presented as performance standards, what guidance could APHIS provide to licensees and registrants?
• What direct costs may be associated with providing environment enrichment and are there any reasonably foreseeable indirect costs (e.g., opportunity costs or overhead) that stem from these direct costs?

Stakeholders may submit comments on or before March 10, 2023, regarding the ANPR. Registrants with USDA-regulated research facilities or licensed dealers can submit comments on the environmental enrichment questions highlighted in this client alert. Exhibitors of wild or exotic animals can submit comments regarding the other questions in the client alert. Interested stakeholders should submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal by searching “APHIS-2022-0022.”

If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this client alert, please contact the members of our Animal Food and Drug practice.