80 



9 



Commission believes that split jurisdiction has, for the most 

 part, worked well. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

 Service has broad authority for and experience with the care and 

 maintenance of captive animals. As such, its view of captive 

 maintenance issues is more likely to be influenced by policy 

 concerns not specific to marine mammals. The National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, on the other 

 hand, have a narrower focus, with greater expertise with respect 

 to marine mammal biology, physiology, and behavior and the 

 specific needs of these animals. 



The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, through 

 regulation, has established generic standards setting minimum 

 reguirements that all licensed facilities maintaining captive 

 marine mammals must meet. Among other things, those standards 

 address the physical environment of captive animals (e.g. 

 materials, space, water guality, temperature, ventilation, etc.), 

 the adeguacy of the facility's staff and veterinary care program, 

 and the transportation of animals. The Animal and Plant Health 

 Inspection Service also has a corps of veterinarians who 

 periodically conduct inspections of marine mammal facilities to 

 ensure compliance with the standards. Although the existing 

 standards may need updating to reflect new information on care 

 and maintenance of marine mammals, the existence of a set of 

 enforceable standards is extremely valuable. 



In contrast, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, through their review of specific 

 permit applications, provide closer scrutiny of individual 

 reguests to obtain and maintain marine mammals. Also, inasmuch 

 as their review is tailored to individual circumstances, the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service 

 are able to respond more quickly to specific or novel situations. 

 The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, on the other 

 hand, may have to go through a lengthy rulemaking to amend its 

 applicable regulations. For example, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service has filled a void in the Animal and Plant 

 Health Inspection Service regulations by adopting facility- or 

 program-specific conditions for the use of marine mammals in 

 interactive displays. 



Also, the National Marine Fisheries Service and, to a lesser 

 degree, the Fish and Wildlife Service, through reporting and 

 other requirements, track the condition and whereabouts of 

 individual marine mammals maintained under permits. For example, 

 under the National Marine Fisheries Service's permit conditions, 

 facilities are required to mark marine mammals so that they are 

 identifiable, to provide annual reports describing the health and 

 condition of animals, to report mortalities and provide necropsy 

 reports, and to obtain authorization to sell or transfer animals. 

 These records are maintained in a computerized data base. 

 Without these means of monitoring the whereabouts and identities 



