CHAPTER VIII 
MARINE MAMMAL MAINTENANCE STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS 
On 20 September 1979, the Department of Agriculture 
Standards and Regulations for the Humane Handling, Care, 
Treatment, and Transportation of Marine Mammals went into 
effect. These Standards, promulgated by the Department of 
Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act in response to the 
Commission's recommendations of 20 October 1975, were the 
subject of lengthy and extensive correspondence, consultation, 
and rulemaking which are discussed in the Commission's 
previous Annual Reports, and include most of the Commission's 
recommendations transmitted in the course of that process. 
The Standards require dealers, research facilites, 
exhibitors, operators of auction sales, carriers, and inter- 
mediate handlers to comply with minimum standards relating 
to the various aspects of maintenance and transportation of 
marine mammals in captivity. All such persons or facilities 
Maintaining marine mammals in captivity in the United States 
must obtain a license from the Department of Agriculture 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and must maintain 
those marine mammals in compliance with the Standards unless 
a variance has been obtained to allow a limited time for 
modification or construction of new facilities or other 
actions necessary to achieve full compliance. Persons and 
facilities were required to apply for variances within 60 
days of the effective date of the Regulations and variances 
were granted by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service for a period of up to three years to allow for the 
necessary modifications or construction of new facilities. 
It was anticipated that this variance period would also 
provide an opportunity to observe and evaluate the practical 
effects of application of the Standards and to make appropriate 
changes, as necessary, based upon that experience. 
Although administration and enforcement of the Standards 
and Regulations are the direct responsibility of the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service under the Animal Welfare 
Act, coordination of these activities and those of the 
National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife 
Service relating to scientific research and public display 
permits was considered both necessary and desirable. For 
this purpose, a cooperative agreement was concluded among 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service 
on 20 September 1979. This cooperative agreement, detailing 
each agency's responsibilities and authorities under the 
