[FEL-L] RE: USDA seeks comments on captive elephants’ space and living conditions

[Bigcats10 at aol.com]

Darby Holladay (301) 734-3265
Jerry Redding (202)  720-4623

USDA SEEKS COMMENTS ON CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS’ SPACE AND  LIVING CONDITIONS

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2006--The U.S. Department  of Agriculture’s Animal and Pl
ant Health Inspection Service today seeks public  comment on the space and 
living conditions for captive elephants. All elephants  held by circuses, 
exhibitors or zoos are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act  (AWA) and must have a 
USDA exhibitor’s license.  
The comments will assist APHIS in determining whether specific standards are  
needed in the AWA for captive elephants’ space and living conditions and what 
 those standards should be. 
Specifically, APHIS invites responses to the following questions: 
    *   What are the causes of arthritis in elephants?  
    *   What, if any, foot care practices have been used on captive elephants 
to  maintain healthy feet?  
    *   What floors are best for captive elephants? Are there any flooring  
conditions that promote foot problems?  
    *   Do captive elephants require a certain amount of exercise (i.e., 
walking)  to maintain healthy feet?  
    *   What industry/professional standards are available for elephant care 
and  husbandry?  
    *   Are there any other health or care issues related to elephants that 
should  be specifically addressed in the AWA standards? 
The AWA authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to set standards and  
regulations governing the humane handling, care, treatment and transportation of  
certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, carriers and  
intermediate handlers. 
Notice of this action is scheduled for publication in the Aug. 9 Federal  
Register. 
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before Oct. 10. Send  
an original and three copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to 
 Docket No. APHIS-2006-0044, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 
 Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. If you 
 wish to submit a comment using the Internet, go to the Federal eRulemaking  
portal at http://www.regulations.gov and, in the “Search Regulations and 
Federal  Actions” box, select “Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service” from 
the  agency drop-down menu; then click on “Submit.” In the Docket ID column, 
select  APHIS-2006-0044 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting 
and  related materials available electronically.  
Comments are posted on the Regulations.gov Web siteand may  also be viewed at 
USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th St. and Independence  Ave., SW, 
Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:40 p.m., Monday through Friday,  excluding 
holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please  call (202) 
690-2817.  
#  
Note to Reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media  
advisories are available on the Internet. Go to the APHIS news release page at  
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom. Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign  
up to receive APHIS press releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to 
_lyris at mdrdlyriss10.aphis.usda.gov_ (mailto:lyris at mdrdlyriss10.aphis.usda.gov)  
 and leave the subject blank. In the message, type subscribe press_releases. 
_http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2006/08/captive_elephants.shtml_ 
(http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2006/08/captive_elephants.shtml) 
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