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While the amendment sought by the American Association of 

 Zoological Parks and Aquariums would clear up any uncertainty 

 about the applicability of the NEPA requirements to individual 

 permits, it would do so at the expense of the benefits that 

 result from NEPA analyses in exceptional circumstances. A better 

 approach would be to strengthen the system used by the Services 

 to identify when exceptions to the categorical exclusions are 

 present. 



The Humane Society supports an amendment to prohibit further 

 captures of wild marine mammals for public display purposes. The 

 Humane Society contends that there are already sufficient numbers 

 of certain marine mammals in captivity (e.g. Tursiops) to furnish 

 the needs of the public display industry through captive 

 breeding. For some pinniped species kept in captivity, the 

 demand for display animals can be met by captive breeding or by 

 stranded animals that are unreleasable to the wild. 



The proposed amendment, however, is overly broad. While the 

 demand for public display specimens from some species can 

 probably be met from captive breeding, a reduction in the size of 

 the Navy's marine mammal program, and from unreleasable stranded 

 animals, this is not universally the case. The proposed 

 amendment would have the practical effect of limiting public 

 display opportunities to those species now commonly held in 

 captivity or prone to stranding. Even for some commonly held 

 species, the captive population may not be sufficiently large to 

 allow breeding in perpetuity without a periodic infusion of 

 genetic variability from wild populations. 



A more pragmatic approach would be to amend the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act to require the Secretary, when reviewing 

 applications for public display permits to consider whether there 

 are practical alternatives to the removal of animals from the 

 wild. Only in those cases where it is reasonably demonstrated 

 that taking animals from a wild population is necessary should 

 removals be authorized. 



The Humane Society also seeks to amend the Act to prohibit 

 the intentional feeding of marine mammals in the wild. 



The Marine Mammal Commission has long held the view that the 

 feeding of marine mammals in the wild may be harmful and 

 constitutes a prohibited taking under the Act. Among the 

 considerations that led the Commission to its conclusion are that 

 feeding programs may (1) cause animals to be attracted to fishing 

 boats and other vessels, increasing the likelihood that they will 

 become entangled in fishing gear, be struck by vessels, or be 

 shot, poisoned, or fed foreign objects; (2) cause animals to 

 become dependent on such food sources and become less able to 

 find and catch natural prey when feeding is discontinued; (3) 

 alter migratory patterns, thereby subjecting animals to food 



