Contact: APHISpress@usda.gov
Washington, D.C., August 19, 2020—The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will hold three virtual listening sessions to gather information to assist in the development of regulations that will ensure the humane care and treatment of birds not bred for use in research, consistent with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
The virtual listening sessions will be held:
The AWA authorizes the regulation of birds not bred for use in research and a January 2020 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion provided a timeline for APHIS to promulgate regulations and standards on their humane care and treatment. Before we propose regulations and standards for regulating such birds, we believe it is important to seek public input from stakeholders and other interested people.
In order to develop regulations for birds that support both stakeholder needs and animal welfare, we will seek input on the following questions during each of the listening sessions:
To register for the listening sessions and learn more about the comment process, please visit:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalwelfare/aw-news/bird-listening-sessions.
APHIS enforces the AWA to ensure the human handling, care, treatment and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, operators of auction sales, carriers, and intermediate handlers.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).