MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
those provisions of the rule that appeared to warrant 
change. Based upon that review, the Service pub- 
lished a Federal Register notice on 15 October 1990, 
proposing amendments to the rules. With respect to 
the marine mammal section of the regulations, the 
proposed amendments were limited to editorial chang- 
es, including the elimination of duplicative provisions. 
The Commission, in consultation with its Commit- 
tee of Scientific Advisors, reviewed and provided 
comments on the proposed regulations on 4 January 
1991. The Commission supported adoption of the 
proposed rule with certain modifications, including a 
reduction in the length of time before departure that 
a marine mammal may be consigned to a carrier. The 
Commission strongly supported the requirement that 
marine mammals be accompanied in shipment by 
individuals knowledgeable in their care. It also noted 
that the effectiveness of this requirement would be en- 
hanced if the carrier were required to inform the 
caretaker of any unexpected delays during transport, 
and except as precluded by safety considerations, 
accommodate requests by the caretaker for access to 
the animal. In addition, the Commission recommend- 
ed that Fish and Wildlife Service representatives 
Participating in efforts to develop international animal 
transport standards pursuant to the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES) seek agreement on terms 
consistent with those issued under the Animal Welfare 
Act and the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981. 
The Service published its final rule in the Federal 
Register on 17 June 1992. All of the recommen- 
dations made by the Commission were adopted in the 
final rule. Under the new regulations, carriers may 
not accept a marine mammal for shipment more than 
six hours before the scheduled departure. The regula- 
tions also specify that the carrier must notify the crew 
as to the presence of any live animals in a shipment 
and require that in all instances, the animals and their 
humane care are to take precedence over the handling 
of inanimate cargo. The regulations also change the 
amount of ventilation area required for enclosures 
containing marine mammals from 16 percent to 20 
percent of the enclosed area. 
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