Humane and Healthful Transport of Wild Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians to the United States; Notice of Reopening of Comment Period and Scheduling of Public Meetings

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 14

RIN 1018-AD98

Humane and Healthful Transport of Wild Mammals, Birds, Reptiles

and Amphibians to the United States; Notice of Reopening of Comment

Period and Scheduling of Public Meetings

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public meetings and reopening of

comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the Lacey

Act Amendments of 1981, provides notice of the reopening of the comment

period and the scheduling of two public meetings to receive input from

the general public for the proposed amendment of 50 CFR part 14,

covering the humane and healthful transport of wild mammals, birds,

reptiles and amphibians to the United States. The comment period was

extended to October 6, 1997 for this proposed rule and has, thus,

closed. However, based on requests received, and in order to receive

further input from the general public, the Service will reopen the

comment period for a period of 30 days and hold two public meetings

during that time. Therefore, additional written comments will be

accepted during that time, and oral and written comments will be

accepted at the public meetings.

DATES: A public meeting in New York City (Queens) will be held on

January 17, 1998, from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm, and a public meeting in Los

Angeles will be held on January 27, 1998, from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm.

Comments in writing will be accepted by the Service beginning January

17, 1998, through February 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting in New York City will be held at St.

John's University, Bent Hall Seminar Room, 8000 Utopia Parkway,

Jamaica, NY 11439. The public meeting in Los

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Angeles will be held at The Westin Hotel (Los Angeles Airport), 5400

West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Please note that the

rooms for these meetings are accessible to the handicapped. Written

comments can be presented to the Service at either of the public

meetings or can be sent to: Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Office of Management Authority either by mail, 4401 North Fairfax

Drive, Room 700, Arlington, VA 22203, or by fax (703) 358-2298.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bruce J. Weissgold or Dr. Susan S.

Lieberman, Office of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, telephone (703) 358-2095, fax (703) 358-2298.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On Friday, June 6, 1997, the Service published in the Federal

Register (62 FR 31044) a proposed rule announcing the Service's

intention to amend 50 CFR part 14 subpart J to further implement the

requirements of the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42 (c)) for reptiles and

amphibians. On August 5, 1997, at the request of two commercial reptile

importers, Underground Reptiles and the Reptile Service, the Service

published a notice in the Federal Register (62 FR 42091) extending the

comment period until September 6, 1997. The Lacey Act Amendments of

1981 (Pub. L. 87-79, 95 Stat. 1073) prohibit the importation into the

United States of all wild animals and birds under inhumane or

unhealthful conditions, and require that the United States Government

promulgate regulations governing the importation of wildlife. The

purpose of this rulemaking is to ensure the Lacey Act Amendments'

consistency and enforceability extend across all species of wildlife,

as described by Congress. On June 17, 1992, the Service finalized (57

FR 27094) the rules contained in 50 CFR part 14 subpart J, establishing

rules for the humane and healthful transport of wild mammals and birds

to the United States. This proposed rule, once finalized, will enable

the Secretary of the Interior to meet the responsibilities of the Lacey

Act for reptiles and amphibians.

Thus, to more fully implement the amendments of the Lacey Act,

which requires the humane and healthful transport of all classes of

wild animals and birds and the promulgation of regulations necessary to

that end, the Service proposes to extend 50 CFR part 14 subpart J to

include rules for the healthful and humane transport of reptiles and

amphibians. Furthermore, many reptiles and amphibians are species

included in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Parties to

CITES have adopted a resolution that calls for all CITES-listed species

to be packed and shipped in accordance with the International Air

Transport Association (IATA) Live Animals Regulations. Therefore, the

proposed rule would place these internationally accepted standards into

the Code of Federal Regulations for reptiles and amphibians.

For this, and other reasons discussed in the June 6, 1997 Federal

Register notice, the Service is proposing amendments to 50 CFR part 14

concerning humane and healthful transport of reptiles and amphibians

into the United States.

The Service received numerous letters which indicated that there is

a great deal of misunderstanding in the commercial reptile and

amphibian community regarding the content of the proposed rule and the

process followed by the Service while promulgating these regulations

under the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act. Basic

confusion partially appears to be present as a result of

misrepresentations of the Service's intent and scope of authority to

regulate the transport of live reptiles and amphibians. Among the

misrepresentations was the suggestion that the Service was moving

towards the regulation of the domestic shipping of live reptiles and

amphibians and their export, which the Service has neither the intent

nor the statutory authority to address, as well as a misrepresentation

about the current packing standards of IATA.

The Service received numerous comments on the proposed rule during

the extended comment period, which closed October 6, 1997. Many of the

comments received were form letters and reiterated the concerns that

the proposed rule did not include sufficient ``quantifying

information'' to justify its necessity, would not contribute to

improving the humane and healthful transport of live reptiles and

amphibians, and would substantially increase shipping costs for

commercial traders. Other criticisms included complaints that the

Service relied too heavily in drafting the proposed rule on input from

``Animal Rights Activists,'' technical aspects of the proposed rule

were burdensome and unnecessary, including the Service's proposals

regarding the numbers of animals which could be packed in primary

enclosures, temperature requirements, venomous/poisonous species

shipping requirements, packing materials/techniques restrictions, and

other related issues. The Service also received many individual letters

expressing similar concerns. Conversely, the Service received many

comments critical of the proposal to increase the numbers of small

animals which can be packed per primary enclosure, relative to the

current IATA standards. (The Service has proposed that five small

snakes and lizards can be packed per primary enclosure, while IATA

standards limit such packing configurations to one animal). In

addition, the numerous criticisms were received regarding the Service's

findings in the proposed rule which were made pursuant to Executive

Order 12988. The Service will evaluate this in the development of the

final rule.

The Service also received many comments supportive of the proposals

related to several of the issues discussed above. Many letters

generally supportive of the Service's proposed rule cited the Service's

draft regulations on the numbers of animals which would be packed per

primary enclosure, temperature requirements, and packing materials/

techniques restrictions. Comments supportive of the proposed rule also

cited the Service's proposal to bar the importation of reptiles and

amphibians which have visible external parasites, and to require

veterinary examination prior to dispatch, and veterinary certificates

with shipments of live reptiles and amphibians entering the United

States. Other letters generally supportive of the Service's proposed

regulations cited importers' desire to cut costs in shipping animals,

while others noted that the proposed prohibition on external parasites

would help protect human and wildlife health by reducing the risks of

the importation of pests with zoonotic or other transmittable diseases.

Another supportive letter stated that the new regulations would keep

species poorly suited for international transit from being shipped for

the ``pet trade,'' while another cited that it was incumbent on the

government to ``step in'' and regulate the trade in common green

iguanas (Iguana iguana) and other live reptiles because pet purchasers

in the United States are unable to ``make human, sensible and logical

decisions on their own.''

The Service also received numerous letters which indicated neither

support nor opposition to the proposed rule, but instead offered

constructive suggestions on making technical changes to the proposed

regulations. Many of the technical changes suggested in the letters

addressed the issues discussed above, such as temperature

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requirements, packing densities, materials requirements, venomous

species shipping requirements, and other related issues.

In addition the Service has received numerous criticisms of the

proposed rule from the commercial trade community involved in exporting

hatchling farm raised turtles. The Service notes that this proposed

rule does not affect the export of live reptiles and amphibians from

the United States or their interstate (domestic) commerce. Under the

Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, the Service does not have the statutory

authority to regulate humane and healthful transport of live reptiles

and amphibians being exported from the United States. Therefore, the

only humane and healthful transport rules applicable to the export of

non-CITES reptiles and amphibians from the United States are the IATA

Live Animals Regulations, which are enforced privately by participating

airlines. Exports of live CITES-listed reptiles and amphibians are

still required to be shipped in accordance with IATA packing

requirements, but that requirement is independent, and not related to,

this proposed rulemaking. This proposed rule applies only to live

reptiles and amphibians being imported into the United States.

In order to provide the public with additional opportunities to

communicate with the Service regarding these proposed regulations, and

to provide an opportunity to clarify misunderstandings in the public

sector regarding this proposed rule, including its content and the

process of Federal rulemaking, the Service will reopen the comment

period from January 17-February 17, and hold two public meetings during

that time, one in New York, NY, and one in Los Angeles, CA, as

discussed above (see DATES and ADDRESSES). These two cities were

selected by the Service because of the high volume of live reptiles and

amphibians which are imported into the United States through local Fish

and Wildlife Service designated ports, and the corresponding

concentration of affected members of the general public. Interested

members of the general public are encouraged to attend these meetings

to communicate their opinions and pertinent factual information to the

Service regarding the proposed regulations which can be utilized by the

Service in preparation of a final rule.

Authority

The authority for this action is the Lacey Act, as amended (18

U.S.C. 42 (c)).

Dated: November 26, 1997.

Jamie Rappaport Clark,

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 97-31925 Filed 12-4-97; 8:45 am]

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