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mammals to the Secretary of Agriculture and APHIS, then it is 

 particularly important that this amendment assign all 

 responsibility for captive marine mammals to APHIS in the 

 clearest possible terms. In the event Congress decides to take 

 this approach, the Department of Agriculture should be consulted 

 as to their willingness and capability to assume these 

 responsibilities . 



First, the law needs to clearly state whether captive marine 

 mammals are afforded the special protection of the MMPA, or if, 

 while held captive, they are subject only to the jurisdiction of 

 the Animal Welfare Act. If the former is true, then 

 responsibility must be clearly assigned for oversight of all 

 MMPA-mandated activities involving these animals, including 

 public display requirements for acceptable education and 

 conservation programs and public access, and requirements for 

 scientific research and enhancement specific to captive marine 

 mammals. Other responsibilities that would need to be explicitly 

 assigned under such circumstances include the tracking and 

 monitoring of captive marine mammals, including the development 

 and maintenance of a comprehensive marine mammal inventory 

 database; the development and implementation of standards for 

 "interactive" programs, including swim-with-the-dolphins programs 

 and captive feeding programs; and addressing the many marine 

 mammal -specific captive maintenance concerns addressed in our 

 proposed revised permit regulations. 



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