The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has proposed to amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to add requirements for contingency planning and training of personnel by research facilities, dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers. All licensees and registrants with animals regulated under the AWA would be required to establish a plan that would:
-Identify situations the facility might experience that would trigger the contingency plan
-Outline the specific tasks to be carried out under the plan, including animal evacuation instructions and provisions for providing backup sources of food, water, veterinary care, etc.
-Identify a chain of command and identify who would carry out the tasks listed above.
-Address how response and recovery will be handled in terms of materials, resources and training needed.
NABR’s final draft comments regarding USDA’s proposed rule on contingency planning are now available to our members. We urge members to submit their own comments to USDA using NABR’s comments as a guide or simply by endorsing the NABR comments. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) extended the comment period for this proposed rule to February 20, 2009. This proposal would amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to require contingency plans and training of personnel by research facilities. To file comments online and view comments that have been filed by others, see:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0159