On 4 December 1985, the Fish and Wildlife Service published 

 in the Federal Register proposed regulations governing the 

 humane and healthful transport of wild animals and birds. 

 These regulations were intended to satisfy the reguirements of 

 the 1981 amendments to the Lacey Act, which governs the impor- 

 tation and shipment of wild animals and birds in interstate 

 commerce. The 1981 amendments reguired, among other things, 

 the implementation of transportation standards for all wild 

 animals and birds. Separate regulatory reguirements have 

 been proposed for the transport of marine mammals. The Com- 

 mission commented on the proposed regulations by letter of 

 4 February 1986. Several proposed changes to the standards 

 involving marine mammals were set forth in the Commission's 

 letter, including the recommendation that the standards be at 

 least as stringent as the corresponding provisions of the 

 Standards for the Humane Handling, Care, Treatment, and Trans- 

 portation of Marine Mammals promulgated under the Animal 

 Welfare Act. Final regulations were published by the Service 

 on 10 November 1987 and were to take effect 90 days later. 



On 8 February 1988, however, the date the regulations 

 were to become effective, the Service postponed their effective 

 date until 1 August 1988. The Service explained that post- 

 ponement was necessary because possible confusion or 

 misinterpretation of the rule by persons involved in the 

 shipment of wildlife could lead to the adoption of shipping 

 practices that might harm the wildlife being transported or 

 might unduly impose economic hardship on the industry. On 1 

 March 1888, animal welfare groups brought suit against the 

 Service, seeking to have the regulations take effect 

 immediately. On 18 April 1988, the District Court for the 

 District of Columbia found that the delay of the effective 

 date was without good cause and issued a preliminary injunction 

 ordering that the rules were effective as of 8 February 1988. 

 With the exception of the Commission's recommendation that 

 marine mammals not be delivered to a carrier more than four 

 hours prior to the scheduled departure, all the Commission's 

 recommendations were adopted in the final rule. 



Animal Welfare Act Amendments 



The Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-188), enacted on 

 23 December 1985, included amendments to the Animal Welfare 

 Act. The main thrust of these amendments was to enhance the 

 humane treatment of animals used in research by minimizing 

 pain and distress. Congress directed that the Secretary of 

 Agriculture promulgate standards with respect to animals in 

 research facilities reguiring that: (a) animal pain and 

 distress be minimized; (b) principal investigators consider 

 possible alternatives to any procedure likely to produce pain 

 or distress; (c) veterinarians be consulted in planning poten- 



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