developing standard operating procedures in the event of illness 

 or death of seals, and establishing procedures for screening 

 seals to be returned to the wild to prevent the introduction of 

 new diseases into the population. 



With regard to the Animal Care Committee, the Commission 

 recommended in its letter that the Committee be expanded to 

 include a marine mammal veterinary scientist versed in animal 

 care committee responsibilities and an interested member of the 

 public. It also recommended that the Committee have responsi- 

 bility for responding fully to any questions placed before it by 

 individuals concerned about the care, maintenance, handling, and 

 health of captive and wild monk seals. 



Also, with respect to the captive maintenance of seals, the 

 Commission's 11 December letter noted a need for further training 

 in maintaining facilities and meeting seal nutritional needs. 

 The Commission recommended that the Service ask the Department of 

 Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and 

 outside consultants to provide a training program in January 1990 

 for individuals involved in caring for captive Hawaiian monk 

 seals. 



In its letter, the Commission also recommended that: 

 protocols on animal care and reintroducing seals back into the 

 wild be developed before the January training session; necropsies 

 be performed by a veterinarian with marine mammal experience who, 

 if possible, is a board-certified pathologist; arrangements be 

 made with a reputable laboratory to promptly work up specimen 

 material taken from captive or wild monk seals on a routine 

 basis; and holding facilities for seals at the Kewalo Basin on 

 Oahu, Hawaii, not be used for maintaining any marine mammals 

 unless they are completely rebuilt. 



Staffing needs for the Hawaiian monk seal program were 

 examined during the program review, and the Service advised the 

 Commission that it intended to hire a biometrician to work on 

 monk seal data by March 1990. It was apparent, however, that 

 there also was a need for a full-time data manager and an 

 administrative assistant to relieve the monk seal recovery 

 program project leader of extensive administrative burdens. The 

 Commission therefore recommended that the Service move expedi- 

 tiously to fill all three positions and that it make the 

 appropriate changes in its current budget to accomplish this. 



Finally, the Commission noted in its 11 December 1989 letter 

 that the program suffered serious problems because of inadequate 

 funding from the Service and excessive reliance on the good will 

 and charity of Congress, other agencies, and volunteers. Among 

 other things, this situation has required the staff to operate in 

 a constant atmosphere of budgetary crisis and uncertainty, and it 

 has precluded efforts to effectively plan and carry out an 



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