Chapter XII 



MARINE MAMMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, permits 

 to take marine mammals for public display, scientific 

 research, or to enhance the survival or recovery of a 

 species or stock may be issued by the Secretary of 

 Commerce or the Secretary of the Interior, depending 

 on the species of marine mammal involved. Prior to 

 the 1994 amendments, the Act required that such 

 permits specify the methods of capture, supervision, 

 care, and transportation to be followed pursuant to 

 and after taking or importation, including require- 

 ments for maintaining the animals in captivity. 



The 1994 amendments greatly limited the authority 

 of the National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and 

 Wildlife Service over marine mammals once they are 

 removed from the wild. While no corresponding 

 amendments to the Animal Welfare Act were enacted, 

 the practical effect was an increase in the prominence 

 of the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant 

 Health Inspection Service in matters concerning the 

 care and maintenance of captive marine mammals. 



Since its inception, the Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion has worked with the responsible agencies to 

 ensure the safety and well-being of marine mammals 

 in captivity. Noting the shift in agency responsibili- 

 ties resulting from the 1994 amendments, the Com- 

 mission on 6 August 1994 offered to convene an 

 interagency panel to review how the amendments 

 affect the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Ser- 

 vice's marine mammal program and to identify the 

 resources needed for the Service to meet its responsi- 

 bilities. By letter of 12 September 1994 the Service 

 responded favorably to the Commission's offer and 

 agreed with terms of reference the Commission had 

 drafted. 



Subsequently a preliminary draft report was 

 developed by the Commission to serve as background 

 for the review. That report noted that the Animal and 

 Plant Health Inspection Service would need sufficient 



personnel and funding to (1) strengthen the inspection 

 program by establishing a corps of marine mammal 

 inspectors with specialized training and knowledge; 

 (2) strengthen enforcement to ensure that problems are 

 corrected promptly and, when warranted, licenses are 

 suspended or revoked in a timely manner; (3) increase 

 oversight of post-capture maintenance of animals; 

 (4) inspect foreign facilities to ensure that they meet 

 standards comparable to those applicable to U.S. 

 facilities; (5) regulate interactive displays of marine 

 mammals, such as swim-with-a-dolphin programs, to 

 ensure the welfare of the animals and the safety of 

 human participants; (6) establish a special class of 

 license for exhibitors of marine mammals; (7) estab- 

 lish a system for maintaining and reviewing necropsies 

 and other records concerning the health and condition 

 of captive marine mammals; and (8) develop im- 

 proved methods for marking and identifying captive 

 marine mammals. 



By letter of 1 February 1995 the Animal and Plant 

 Health Inspection Service advised the Commission that 

 it could not support the conclusions set forth in the 

 draft report. The Service noted that its responsibility 

 had not increased significantly with amendment of the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Although it did 

 acquire direct responsibility for swim-with-the-dolphin 

 programs, which the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service previously had overseen, no other changes in 

 its mandate or jurisdiction had occurred. The Service 

 also took the position that it has no authority or 

 mandate to inspect foreign facilities, that no necropsy 

 reports or annual reports are required under the 

 Animal Welfare Act, and that separation of inspectors 

 by facility type, e.g. , by establishing a team of marine 

 mammals inspectors, is not practical in the current 

 economic climate. 



The Commission by letter of 5 May 1995 respond- 

 ed to the points raised by the Service. The Commis- 

 sion noted that, while technically the 1994 amend- 



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