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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 230 / Friday, December 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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, care, treatment, and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, carriers, and intermediate handlers. The Secretary has delegated authority for administering the AWA to the Administrator of the U.S.
Department of Agricultures USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service APHIS. Within APHIS, the responsibility for administering the AWA has been delegated to the Deputy Administrator for APHIS Animal Care program AC. Regulations and standards established under the AWA
are contained in 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3 referred to below as the regulations.
Following the events experienced during the 2005 hurricane season, AC
concluded that entities responsible for animals covered by the AWA could better safeguard the health and welfare of their animals by developing contingency plans for possible emergencies or disasters. Consequently, on December 31, 2012, APHIS
published in the Federal Register 77
FR 7681576824, Docket No. APHIS
20060159 a final rule 1 establishing regulations under which research facilities and dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers of animals regulated under the AWA must meet certain requirements for developing contingency plans and training personnel in their role and responsibilities related to the contingency plan.
After learning that a number of small entities considered the requirements of these regulations excessive for their specific cases, and determining there to be validity to such a claim, on July 31, 2013, we published in the Federal Register 78 FR 46255, Docket No.
APHIS20060159 a stay 2 of the regulations to reexamine any unique circumstances and costs that may vary by the type and size of businesses affected by the final rule.
Since that time, APHIS has issued de minimis exemptions to animal licensure that we believe address the concerns that led to the stay. Additionally, on December 27, 2020, the 2021
Congressional Appropriations Act Pub.
L. 116260 required APHIS to propose 1 To view the final rule, go to https
www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2006-01590209.
2 To view the stay of the regulations, go to https
www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2006-01590214.

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to lift the stay on the final rule establishing contingency plan requirements within 180 days of issuance of that Act.
On June 25, 2021, we published in the Federal Register 86 FR 3356733570, Docket No. APHIS20200101 a proposal 3 to lift the stay and make minor changes to the contingency plan regulations. These changes included updating the compliance dates by which regulated entities must create their contingency plans to 180 days after the effective date of this final rule;
modifying the dates regarding when regulated entities must provide training to personnel to 60 days after the contingency plan being put in place;
removing an extraneous reference to additional requirements for marine mammals to minimize confusion;
removing the requirement that facilities as well as dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers document their personnels participation in requisite trainings; and adding a reference to a new optional form that entities may use to develop and document a contingency plan.
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending August 24, 2021. We received 140 submissions representing 35,654 comments by that date one of the submissions had 35,000-plus form comments in support of the rule attached. They were from non-profit organizations; businesses; an association of research centers; national and state associations for biomedical research; associations of zoos, aquariums, and marine parks; veterinary associations; animal welfare organizations; and members of the public.
Of the 140 submissions, 138
supported the rule, and most exhorted us to finalize it without change to the rule or supporting documents. The comments that we received are discussed below by topic.
Contingency Plans One commenter claimed that creating a contingency plan would be impossible for them because they had too many animals spread over too much acreage to shelter them in one location in the event of an emergency. The commenter noted that their animals used scattered shelters in extreme weather and that their geographical location was not at risk of flooding.
The regulations require entities to identify potential emergencies or 3 To view the proposed rule, the comments we received, and supporting documents go to www.regulations.gov and type APHIS20200101
into the Search field.

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disasters they are likely to experience and outline specific tasks to take such as evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions in the event that these situations occur.
The use of scattered shelters in extreme weather is an example of what could be an appropriate response to a potential emergency or disaster depending on an entitys circumstances.
As such, the regulations authorize their use, if a regulated entity considers them appropriate based on the entitys unique circumstances. The regulations also do not require an entity to plan a response to flooding if flooding could not reasonably be anticipated.
Another commenter suggested that, instead of requiring entities to create contingency plans, USDA should provide yearly educational coaching on best practices for facility management and animal care.
While USDA inspectors will provide advice on facility management and animal care during inspections, such advice is not a sufficient replacement for this rule. The adverse events due to lack of planning detailed in the proposed rule and its supporting economic analysis outline the need for regulatory action. Accordingly, APHIS
maintains that regulations are necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of animals under the care of regulated entities in compliance with the AWA.
Four commenters suggested APHIS
provide additional resources for entities creating contingency plans, such as training materials, webinars, or links for further reading.
APHIS AC will conduct internal and external webinars regarding contingency planning and provide outreach materials on the APHIS website such as Frequently Asked Questions, aids, resources for further reading, and contact information in case entities have further questions.
Another commenter suggested that USDA develop sample templates, provide training for USDA inspectors who will help entities develop contingency plans, and obtain funding for this training.
As stated in the proposed rule, APHIS
has provided an optional form that regulated entities may use as a template.
This template was published alongside the proposed rule and will be available on the APHIS website. The APHIS
website will also include various outreach materials to assist with contingency planning. ACs Center for Animal Welfare has developed a plan to implement the contingency planning regulations and has trained its personnel accordingly. This training is possible without additional funding
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